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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Lowetide
NEW WAIVE
- The Philadelphia Flyers are about to hire John Tortorella… Zack Kassian to the Flyers is more possible today than yesterday, so maybe the Oilers will be looking at waivers in the fall. Dmitri Samorukov is waiver eligible, I wonder if Holland packages him with some other asset and gets a needed piece that way.
- I expect the Jesse Puljujarvi situation might be solved draft week, if this lingers it’s likely JP signs with the other RFA’s (usually toward the end of the summer). I think we’ll see a draft weekend trade, the most likely being No. 29 dealt for two lower picks ala the 2021 deal with the Minnesota Wild.
- I’m more convinced now than before that Evander Kane is headed to the Philadelphia Flyers. Philly will need to trade an established player to get it done, but they have some fantastic talent and will have zero problems making room.
- Andrei Kusmenko is a real option for Edmonton.
BLH’s Thoughts: It’s hard to argue with LT here. Kane to the Flyers makes WAY too much sense on a number of levels. As long as Bobby Clarke is still alive, the Flyers will be a team that is always on the lookout for a power forward who can score and loves to scrap. I imagine they’d look to move Travis Konecny because it might just be too difficult to move James Van Riemsdyk’s $7M contract.
Now, we’re hearing that Kane’s arbitration case might not get settled until a couple weeks into free agancy. So do you think that might slow things down a bit? I mean, is Evander Kane the domino piece that controls the market?
Samorukov is on a one-way deal next season and he didn’t even get a sniff this year. Two shifts is all Jim Playfair let him have against St. Louis. So unless Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson see something different, he’s a good candidate to get moved too. That said, it might not happen until after training camp too but if a deal has to wait until then, Holland probably isn’t getting much back for him. Maybe a swap of young players on NHL deals who aren’t making their respective clubs.
I do wonder if Holland waits on Puljujarvi with regards to a trade. It might be easier to deal him if he’s signed to a contract and teams might want to see how he is in training camp before closing a deal for my favorite Oilers winger.
Cult of Hockey
Will the crooked path that brought Evander Kane to the Oilers last winter now bring him back?
- On a four year deal, Lawton told host Bob Stauffer that based only on his performance, Kane would get close $7 million per year.
- But Lawton suspected the market wouldn’t bear such a high bid in the end…
“When it’s all said and done, I believe he’ll get something that starts with a 5 (million per year) in that four year range. I think that will not necessarily be a byproduct because someone won’t go higher. But I think Evander is going to recognize how great it was to play with really great centre men no matter what, and to have a chance to win. I’m hoping with his maturity that those things are going to resonate. And that doesn’t mean he will sign with Edmonton. He could find another team that has that type of profile. But I do think he’ll look in that direction when it’s all said and done.”
BLH’s Thoughts: I was a little shocked when I heard Brian Lawton say that too. $5M!!! Damn! Get that guy locked up, Dutch!
That being said, there’s always an NHL owner out there willing to shell out the cash on a fella like Kane. I imagine that all the shenanigans happening in Chicago last year had an impact on the teams willing to sign Kane once he became a free agent, but that’s last season. Next season could be completely different, however, if Kane is smart and he values winning and scoring and awesome f*cking hockey games; he’ll give Edmonton another chance in addition to bringing along Andrei Kuzmenko. This’ll be one of Ken Holland’s greatest challenges.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFFJCkRZG_c
Trade Rumors
Spector’s Hockey
- Edmonton Oilers winger Zack Kassian and Ottawa Senators goaltender Matt Murray topped Frank Seravalli’s list of this offseason’s potential contract buyout candidates.
The Daily Goal Horn
- The Senators will be selecting 7th overall in the NHL Draft in Montreal on July 7th. According to GM Pierre Dorion, there’s been no shortage of interest.
- …one has to believe if they’re serious about winning next season it must be for a young player that can have an immediate impact.
- Could Alex DeBrincat with the Chicago Blackhawks be that player? Talk of the 24 year-old, who posted 41 goals twice in his young career being traded continue.
- Nick Alberga added on Monday that (John) Gibson told the Ducks he is open to a trade. The Fourth Period confirmed that report.
- There are three or four teams that I could see being in on him if he’s traded. Keep your eyes on the Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, Colorado Avalanche, and Toronto Maple Leafs.
BLH’s Thoughts: Just in terms of expendable assets, those other teams are in a much better position to make a trade for John Gibson than the Oilers are I think. The Leafs could simply send Alex Nylander, couldn’t they?
Bob Stauffer (Oilers NOW) brought up the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Ottawa Senators this week in connection to Zack Kassian. He mentioned both players could use some muscle and offered up Connor Brown’s name as a possible player coming back Edmonton’s way. You would think in a scenario where Kassian and Brown are swapped that Edmonton would have to eat salary considering the Sens winger makes $1.1M less than Kass.
For what it’s worth, Brown had almost identical stats to Jesse Puljujarvi last season (64gp 10g 29a 39pts).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbIu85qy6pk
