Edmonton Oilers Talk: “Names like Barrie and Zack Kassian could be in play for trade.” Says Local Pundit

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The Athletic

Early look at Oilers free-agent targets for 2022 offseason

Names like Barrie and Zack Kassian could be in play for trade, and in Kassian’s case a buyout could make sense for Edmonton.
Assuming the Oilers buy out Kassian (saving $2.5 million for next year), and trade Barrie with some savings (say, $1.5 million), Holland would have about $7 million in cap room entering free agency.
The needs? Similar to last offseason: A strong goalie option, a scoring left winger and a shutdown defenceman (preferably right-handed).
The only clear upgrades are Husso, Darcy Kuemper and Jack Campbell; all three men will be expensive. Could Holland land Husso for less than $4.5 million AAV over three years? Husso has played in 46 NHL games; there’s enormous exposure on a big contract for such an unproven goaltender.
The Andreas Athanasiou experiment in Edmonton didn’t go well last time, but it was brief and injury plagued. Mason Marchment is similar to Husso, impressive but a resume short on previous accomplishments. Ilya Mikheyev is more of a two-way type.
Ian Cole and Jan Rutta are currently playing for teams that are closer to the Stanley Cup than Edmonton. Both veterans may want to stay put if a contract is offered. Calvin de Haan is a more attractive option in terms of availability, and would be a solid option if the money works.

BLH’s Thoughts: LT makes a lot of sense here, but I’m not completely in love with his prognosticated roster here. One guy in the bottom six who’ll be able to compete with the big boys, Warren Foegele. I can’t see Ryan McLeod getting shifted to RW either. Gagner and Ryan are basically the same player and I don’t envision Tyler Benson coming back to be an extra on this team nor do I think the Oilers need him.

With regards to affordable options, I would like the team to look at Nico Sturm (725k, 27yrs old), Colin Blackwell (725k, 29yrs old), Dakota Joshua (750k, 25yrs old), Riley Nash (750k, 33yrs old), Curtis Lazar (800k, 27yrs old), and Josh Brown ($1.2M, 28 yrs old).

See, as fun as it would be to have four scoring lines with small skill, it’s unrealistic and this is hockey after all. You need an element of size, toughness, and physicality on your team because every elite team in the league has it and it’s what plows a club through the playoffs when your skill hasn’t shown up. The trick is not to overpay and put uber lofty expectations on your grunts which is what happened with Kass.

Or you could sign all the small skilled players available, go for four lines of attempted outscoring of the opponent, and subsequently watch McDavid, Nuge, Draisaitl, and the new goalie enjoy a health diet of cheapshots for the year because we know that Darnell Nurse isn’t going to do anything as he’ll be the only guy on the roster capable of deterring that sort of behaviour. The Flames would be licking their chops…

The Hockey Writers

Oilers’ Woodcroft Setting Example by Healthy Scratching Kassian

When at his best, Kassian is truly a player who can change the impact of games. It’s why general manager Ken Holland chose to give him a four-year, $12.8 million extension back in January of 2020. Perhaps the perfect example of just how effective he can be as a player came back in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
For a first-time NHL head coach to come in and healthy scratch a popular player in the room like Kassian not once but twice really says something about him.
Woodcroft has preached team play since the moment he got the job in Edmonton and has put those words to action by giving all of his players – particularly ones in the bottom-six who were limited under the previous coaching regime – chances to contribute.
By making this decision on Kassian, it’s clear that he is not playing favorites and isn’t interested in what anyone has done in the past. Instead, he is going to ice the lineup that gives his team the best chance to win on a nightly basis.
Doing this is sending a message to not only Kassian but every player on this Oilers roster that inconsistent and disengagement will not be tolerated.

BLH’s Thoughts: The other thing that should be noted is that now the Oilers have the depth at forward to sit Kassian if he’s choosing to turn his back on the role that he’s being assigned. That makes it a helluva lot easier for Woodcroft to scratch him for Brassard or Archibald.

Now, that being said, I’m extremely confident that Kassian is going to be back in the lineup against St. Louis tomorrow night and to add to that, I think we’ll like what we see from him.

Now, what if we’re at the point to where Kass is only impactful part time? I mean, I do believe the plan is to attempt to move his contract this summer, but in the event that he’s still in an Oilers jersey to in 2022-23, do you think there’s a chance that to get the most out of him, maybe it’d be best to get him in the lineup for 60-75% of the games he’s available for? Maybe play him against certain opponents where his skillset would be optimal for that matchup…

Trade Rumors

Spector’s Hockey: Ben Kuzma suggested it could cost the Vancouver Canucks an annual average value of $8 million over five or six years to sign J.T. Miller to a contract extension.
- Winger Brock Boeser is a restricted free agent this summer who is due a $7.5 million qualifying offer while captain Bo Horvat is also slated to become a UFA in 2023.
- Goligoski’s signing prompted O’Brien to wonder if blueliner Matt Dumba’s days with the Wild could be numbered. He also speculated they could be forced to trade the rights of winger Kevin Fiala, who is slated to become a restricted free agent this summer.
The Daily Goal Horn: The Rangers and pending UFA Ryan Strome have exchanged numbers on a new contract per multiple reports, but there’s been very little progress since.
- Larry Brooks of the NY Post also mused on the possibilities for the Rangers should Strome walk via free agency. His alternate options included Vancouver Canucks J.T. Miller and Bo Horvat.
- Two other possibilities Brooks’ offers that don’t seem very realistic are Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin and St. Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly.
- One name that Brooks puts forth that I agree with as well is Winnipeg Jets’ Mark Scheifele.