This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!
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Oilersnation
Monday Mailbag – What do the Oilers need to get into the NHL playoffs?
What is everyone’s take on Philip Broberg?
- “He’s been impressing me more and more honestly. He seems to always be on the ice for more shots for than shots against and I love the way he jumps up into the play but doesn’t get caught out of position too much. Defensemen take a while to develop but I think we’re seeing Broberg take some big steps forward right in front of our eyes.” – Yaremchuk
Which team won the Bear for Foegele trade?
- “Both teams got what they wanted, but neither player has played as well as either team would have liked to this point. I don’t see a clear winner on either side at this point, so I’d say undetermined at this point.” – Gregor
Is it time for the Oilers to empty the bank – pay whatever price the coyotes want for Chychrun and try to ensure they make the playoffs?
- “Nothing says “kick me in the nuts and take my lunch money” like “pay whatever price the Coyotes want . . .” The Oilers don’t need a superstar goaltender now, they need a tandem capable of consistently playing .915.” – Brownlee
BLH’s Thoughts: Broberg is looking very good, unfortunately he got dinged up last night in Bakersfield’s game with Ontario, but until he was sent down he started to look very comfortable. Hopefully he’s not out long but I’m not going to hold my breath on that considering how the hockey gods have treated Edmonton’s young stars early in their careers…
The Oilers won the Bear/Foegele trade because they didn’t only get a very good foot soldier who will shine in the post-season when the refs put their whistles away, but by moving Bear it allowed them to elevate Evan Bouchard as well as sign Ceci and Barrie to give them excellent depth on the right side of their defense. Also, how many times has Bear been healthy scratched for Carolina compared to McLovin’?
Edmonton will have Broberg as a full-timer starting next season I bet. There’s no need to go all-in on Chychrun. If they’re going make a big splash, go for John Gibson or a netminder or that ilk.
Lowetide.ca
Trade Deadline
- “A tough defensemen like Calvin de Haan, rugged fourth-line winger Nicolas Deslauriers and scoring winger Dominik Kubalik all seem to have some buzz around them with Edmonton as a possible destination. Assets out? 2023 draft picks seem to have great appeal, Edmonton has several LH defensemen prospects, and could afford to trade a promising forward prospect like Maxim Berezkin. We wait.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Oh yeah, I can see a ton of teams just chomping at the bit to acquire Russian prospects now.
Anybody else concerned with the prices prior to Monday’s deadline? I mean, if the Oilers can come away with Nic Deslauriers and a left-shot defender like Jeremy Lauzon (love his ruggedness), Robert Hagg (not my fav, but the money works better than De Haan), or Brett Kulak (personally, I don’t know what the draw is to him), for a reasonable price, I think that could be considered a win.
Now, I wonder about a guy like Colin Blackwell (SEA) instead of Carson Soucy because he’s an excellent bottom-six player like Josh Archibald and he only makes 725k. I reckon the Oilers could swap out Tyler Benson for him and be better for it. To boot, he’s only 28 years old. This is a foot soldier that could grow with the team and make them harder to compete against and then next season or in the summer they could go after Soucy if they still love him that much.
While Blackwell is a right-shot who plays center and he’s good for around 12-15 goals a year, he’s got poor faceoff metrics (46.2%) and he’s only 5’9″ according to Hockey Reference. Ideally, you’d like a guy who can win draws for your playoff run, but I suppose you could always throw Derek Ryan or Ryan McLeod down the middle too.
I’m just thinking of a line of Deslaurier-Blackwell-Kassian and how annoying they’d be to play against.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WL_3SEV9e4
Trade Rumors
- NHLTradeRumors.me – According to Elliotte Friedman, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Edmonton Oilers are discussing a potential trade centering around Dean Kukan.
- NHLRumors.com – The Los Angeles Kings are interested in Arizona Coyotes Jakob Chychrun. The Kings are after a top-six winger that has term. They’ve spoken with the Vancouver Canucks about Conor Garland. They could add a bottom-six forward and some depth on the blue line before the deadline.
- The Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals are looking for cheap depth.
- The Hockey Writers – The Rangers have the room to take on Kessel’s contract, and they might be one of the few teams willing to take a calculated risk and trade for the forward before Monday’s deadline.
- According to Ryan Rishaug of TSN, the Oilers might be interested in Carson Soucy out of the Seattle Kraken organization.
- Rishaug also notes that the Oilers could check in on the cost to acquire Nick Paul out of Ottawa.
- Labeled the ”perfect playoff pickup” Max Domi is likely to be traded before Monday’s deadline as the Columbus Blue Jackets are actively trying to deal him to another team.
- The Daily Goal Horn – The Winnipeg Jets could be coming to the realization that they need to be sellers… What really looms large is the future of Mark Scheifele this summer if the team opts to retool with younger players. If he’s available it’s believed the New York Rangers are a top suitor.
- Elliotte Friedman noted in his latest podcast that the Rangers are still shopping the rental market… Their two top trade targets remain Anaheim Ducks rental forward Rickard Rakell, and Seattle Kraken’s rental defenseman Mark Giordano.
- Spector’s Hockey – Stefen Rosner and Owen Krepps cite sources claiming Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon is “pushing hard” to acquire goaltender Semyon Varlamov from the New York Islanders.
- Stu Cowan recently reported Canadiens GM Kent Hughes isn’t looking to stage a fire sale leading up to deadline day. He indicated he’s not trying to move defenseman Brett Kulak, who became the subject of recent media trade chatter.
- Geoff Baker reports teams seeking a top-four defenseman like the Kraken’s Mark Giordano include the Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues.
- Bob Duff cited Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reporting he believed Tyler Bertuzzi has let Red Wings management know he’s open to moving on.
