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!
The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, and The Daily Goal Horn just to name a few!
If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!
Give us a follow on the socials!
- Youtube: Beer League Heroes Channel
- Twitter: @beerleagueheroe
- Instagram: @beerleagueheroes
- Facebook: Beer League Heroes
Oilersnation
Is it time for the Oilers to trade the first round draft pick?
What was everyone’s first reaction to the Jay Woodcroft contract extension?
- “It would be a pretty bad look on the organization if the guy who led them to a mid-season turnaround and deep playoff run was cast aside and replaced with yet another name from the omnipresent game of veteran coach musical chairs.” – Cam Lewis
BLH’s Thoughts: The Panthers didn’t make a deep run, but they were the best offensive team in the NHL and they still replaced their coach with a retread… At the moment, Woodcroft’s deal goes one year longer than Ken Holland’s. That might be something worth being mindful of.
Now, who will the Oilers send to Bakersfield next? That’s the question I want answered. Will it be a hotshot out of the CHL? Will it be an ex-NHL coach looking to work his way back into the league like Dan Bylsma is with Seattle?
Do you think the Oilers will wait for the Evander Kane contract decision before approaching free agents if his grievance with the Sharks extends beyond July 13th?
- “I don’t see Oilers being a big player in free agency as they don’t have much cap space unless Duncan Keith surprises us and retires. I think trades are more likely at this point.” – Jason Gregor
BLH’s Thoughts: Can somebody correct me here, Smith/Klefbom hit LTIR ($6M+), Kassian gets bought out ($2M+), Barrie is traded ($4.5M), and they’ve already got $7M+ to spend. Isn’t that around $19M in cap space? So Kane, Puljujarvi, Yamamoto, and let’s say Husso costs $15M-ish, they’ll have another $4M abouts (maybe $3M if Holland wants to reserve a million for in-season transactions) left over to play with won’t they?
Ah, but I’m leaving out McLeod. Reckon he gets more than $2M without arb rights?
Of course the LTIRs would wait until the end of training camp but they could also announce the RFA signings then too and in that time, maybe more cost-cutting moves could be made.
I’m not convinced that this is going to be a quiet off-season for the Oilers. There’s a lot of opportunity out there for him to take advantage of teams with owners who have alligator arms…
What would you like to see the Oilers do more of during the regular season to create a better atmosphere in the building?
- “I really liked that the Avs turned into some kind of 2000s karaoke during their playoff run. Playing classic sing-along songs rather than aggressively intense EDM music might be good for the vibe of the crowd at Oilers games.” – Cam Lewis
BLH’s Thoughts: What?! You mean Kiss cams, Oilers trivia, and Cotton-Eyed Joe isn’t doing it! Lewis is right though, more sing-a-long songs, and funny/catchy chants on the big screen for the crowd might make it more entertaining in between whistles but they’ll need somebody who has the ability to work the crowd for this not just a guy who’s been scratching records for a decade.
I’ve been watching the Avalanche a lot during the playoffs and I’ve noticed their speed on defence a whole lot, which makes me wonder what everyone thinks the Oilers need to upgrade on their roster and what they have too much of?
- “A lot of teams look slow compared to Colorado. Speed is always a useful upgrade. No difference here. They need an upgrade in goal. They need the kind of numbers from Jesse Puljujarvi that actually show up on the score sheet. They need an encore from Zach Hyman.” – Robin Brownlee
BLH’s Thoughts: Speed looks good until you meet a team who is better at moving the puck and smart positionally. I think what was impressive about the Avs this year was that every team they met on their way to the Cup tried to bully them out of the series and they withstood every challenge. I wonder how that Nashville series looks if Saros doesn’t get hurt right before that playoffs start though.
But as for what the Oilers need to do, there’s a part of me that wants them to sign John Klingberg and a goalie and call it a day. Re-sign the RFAs, trim the fat, and give the kids the chance to contribute to this team’s success whilst taking advantage of their cheap ELCs… How good would a Nurse/Klingberg tandem be for Edmonton? Pushing Ceci and Bouchard down the lineup wouldn’t be a bad thing in my opinion. It’s when you’ve got #6/7 dmen playing as #3/4s that cause problems…
Right now, the 29th-ranked pick in the draft is Ryan Chesley, a defender from the US National Development Program… If he’s still around when the Oilers draft, do we take him, and throw another talented D-man into the hopper, then trade a prospect like Samorukov or Broberg as part of a big deal…or, knowing we have plenty of kids marinating in the AHL, trade the pick?… (For the record, the 28th and 30th ranked players don’t seem that appealing.)
- “I’m curious how you can say players aren’t that appealing? Have you watched them regularly? Craig Button has Connor Geekie ranked 29th on his list. He is 6’3”, 195-pound centreman who scored 24 goals and 70 points in 63 games as a 17-year-old in the WHL. Virtual identical stats that Ryan McLeod had (and McLeod was a year older). To be drafted in the first round means you are one of the best 32 players in your age group in the world at the time. That is impressive. Suggesting none are appealing is rather insulting IMO.” – Jason Gregor
BLH’s Thoughts: Oh, Jesus Christ Gregor! Calm down ya condescending prick. Buddy was simply asking if there there might be a better option than drafting that late in the first round. I mean, what do you think is more appealing, drafting a somebody that is probably five years from making an impact on the club or making a deal to bring in some immediate help? Maybe Arty Lehkonen would’ve been scoring clutch goals for the Oilers instead of the Avs if Holland would’ve been willing to trade that first rounder but I suppose that “appeal” factor leans more to somebody coming in and scoring those goals sometime between 2026 and 2028.
Lowetide
Holland’s List
- Sign Evander Kane or acquire replacement (Mason Marchment, Lawson Crouse)
- Solve No. 1 goalie issue (Mike Smith, Jack Campbell, Ville Husso, Braden Holtby)
- Improve RW depth chart (no one is completely safe from last year’s team)
- Skill and speed on every line, with some of that size/speed also coming in larger sizes
- Upgrade the second pairing (Artem Zub, Carson Soucy)
- Improve depth enough so Bakersfield recalls are quality (Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway)
BLH’s Thoughts: I agree with point no.1. Evander Kane was such a good fit here but there’s lots of unknown unknowns between now and 7/13 to consider him a guarantee to re-sign with Edmonton. I believe somebody will blow their brains out on Mason Marchment if FLA doesn’t find a way to bring him back and Lawson Crouse is now hitting his peak so he won’t be a cheap acquisition. The Coyotes are looking for picks in 2023 and I’m lead to believe that he’s a part of the core they want to build around.
I wonder if the Blues might try to trade Binnington in order to keep Husso and there’s a small part of me that thinks Campbell is going to stay in Toronto. Things have cooled a bit on Holtby by the sounds of it too. So… Holland might be hitting the trade market (Georgiev, Vanicek/Samsonov, Gibson) if he can’t convince Darcy Kuemper to leave the Avs.
Ken Holland could have one of the deepest, fastest, strongest, smartest RWs in the entire league in two to three years if he keeps his finger off the big red trade button on his desk. Bourgault is going to be a player it looks like, he’s already got Pulju and Yamo hitting their strides, and then there’s Petrov and Lavoie on the farm. The skill on both sides of the puck is already in place, just sign Kane, use RNH in the other LW spot and have Hyman spot fill on the right side until one of the kids takes the spot.
To upgrade on the 2nd pair, all the Oilers have to do is re-sign Brett Kulak. I’ve got no problems with Duncan Keith playing there but my preference is for him to be on the 3rd pair. Hopefully by 2023 Philip Broberg is on that 2nd pair though.
I’m with LT on the depth upgrade. Just grab some players with speed, grit, and a burning desire to stay in the NHL. No more Turris, Brassard signings. Maybe that’s Nico Sturm, Curtis Lazar, Josh Leivo, or Ryan Carpenter? Alex Chiasson can’t skate fast, but he plays a tough game, has a good shot (13 goals in VAN last year), does what it takes on the ice… He’s only 31, I wouldn’t mind him back on the team.
It’s really too bad that Brendan Perlini didn’t work out. His size, speed, and shot were really intriguing.
