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The Daily Faceoff
Which NHL GM is under the most pressure this offseason?
- For me it’s Ken Holland. The Oilers showed real progress and potential this season, and they can’t afford to take a step backward.
- Will they re-sign Evander Kane?
- Will they find a younger goaltender to rely on as a long-term starter? Is there a chance Holland is able to place a “retired” Mike Smith on LTIR and buy out Zack Kassian, creating more breathing room to add a goaltender and re-sign Kane?
- Will he trade one of Kailer Yamamoto or Jesse Puljujarvi?
- Can he find a way to upgrade a D-corps on which every guy aside from Darnell Nurse seemingly plays one pair higher than he should?
- For a team that made the conference final, the Oilers’ future is quite cloudy. The range of outcomes is incredibly wide for 2022-23. But the potential to field a true contender next year is high, too. It all comes down to how Holland plays it.
BLH’s Thoughts: These are really fair questions from Matt Larkin. From the sounds of things, I think Evander Kane is going to give the Oilers are serious chance to keep him. He’s been sticking around Edmonton lately and I think the experience of playing alongside Connor McDavid as well as the Oilers getting to the Western Conference Final has him taking a shine to the idea of spending a few more years with the club. Time will tell on that though.
With the way Jack Campbell’s name is coming up in Oilers rumors more and more lately, you’d have to think Edmonton could be the front-runner for his services and I don’t mind that but I really want this team to upgrade their defense if they’re not going to go out and grab an elite goalie.
If Evander Kane doesn’t find his way back to Edmonton, I really think they should make a real run at John Klingberg or Kris Letang. I get that they’re older and they’re going to be after some serious term and dollars, but these are serious upgrades on what the Oilers have on the right side of their defense too. I also believe that the quality of the team’s up and coming forwards is good enough to fill in on the third and fourth lines but they’d have to be comfortable re-signing Puljujarvi and Yamamoto and playing them in the top-six too to make that plan work.
I would seriously be impressed if one GM didn’t come into Edmonton and try and re-create the 80s Oilers. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but last I checked, the Oilers don’t have Andrei Vasilevskiy manning the net for them.
All that said, I still believe the club is going to have more money than expected to play around with but at the same time I think some moves might come closer to the end of training camp.
I do wonder if it would be smarter to move Yamamoto while his perceived value is high instead of selling low on JP.
Cult of Hockey
Edmonton’s Hockey Ops shuffle may lead the Oilers fully into the modern analytics age: 9 Things
- Tyson Barrie’s name is being thrown around in trade talks. But word is Barrie likes Edmonton very much and badly wants to stay. Further, I do not believe the Oilers will absolutely move him.
- Evander Kane has been spending some time in Edmonton. He recently made an appearance at Edmonton’s Brick Invitational tournament. It may take a lot of maneuvering for Ken Holland to return him, including the possibility of spending an asset(s) to do so.
- The Oilers have already had discussions about trying to return deadline acquisition Brett Kulak… But I would not expect re-upping Kulak to be automatic. Even if he would like to stay in his hometown, fact is…this is Kulak’s first experience to potentially benefit from being a UFA.
- None of the opinions about pending RFA Jesse Puljujarvi seem to be “in the middle”… If he were to start the 2022-23 season alongside (say) Ryan McLeod and Warren Foegele, I expect both Puljujarvi and the team would be in good shape… What if the player does not see that as the best spot for him?
- There is a lot of smoke around UFA goaltender Jack Campbell and the Oilers right now… Campbell was even linked to Edmonton by Elliotte Friedman in the excellent 31 Thoughts podcast this past week.
- Some have arrived at the conclusion that Brad Holland will replace Archie Henderson, who this past week was said to be retiring as Director of Pro Scouting… I can see Brad Holland well suited for another role: Bringing the Oilers organization fully into the new age of analytics.
BLH’s Thoughts: The only reason to trade Barrie right now is to open up more space under the cap. His performances, at least to me, haven’t warranted moving him.
I’ve written before that Montreal is a very real option for Brett Kulak but seeing as this is his first foray into UFA status, Leavins makes a good point in that Kulak might want to shop around and who’d blame him. It’s not like his spot is cemented in Edmonton with Keith and Broberg looking to claim their own spots on the roster.
I don’t believe I’ve read once that Puljujarvi has said he’s entitled to a top-six spot on the Oilers roster. Every player in the league wants to play on their team’s top two lines, right? Those are the lines that get the most TOI and where the best players play. Why wouldn’t a talented winger want to play there?
Conversely, Jesse has spent a lot of time in Edmonton’s top-six too and I would imagine there’s a feeling from him that he’s confident he can play there and be effective. However, I’ve only ever heard him say or read a quote from him saying that he simply wants to play in the NHL and he’ll play where ever the coaches ask him.
So, right now, either the Oilers are scrambling or the media has no bloody idea what they’re talking about OR everything they’re saying is right…
Tom Gazzola is saying it’s a mutual decision that both club and player go their separate ways, Mark Spector says he’s heard JP is a play killer, Ken Holland has said there’s been no trade request, Bob Stauffer says he doesn’t know but you can’t say he doesn’t like the guy because he was the one that compared him to Nichushkin and regards him as a top-nine forward, and Chris Johnston says they’re shopping Pulju. There’s no consistency to this story coming out of Edmonton.
“if the Oilers were smart they would realize what they have before they give it away.”
Then you’ve got stories coming out from outlets like NBC Sports saying if there’s one guy your team should trade for it’s Jesse Puljujarvi because he could be had for a dime and the Oilers don’t value him correctly. That should be a MASSIVE signal to Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, any other players who don’t understand why Puljujarvi is important, and more importantly, the Oilers management, their new analytics head (Brad Holland), and the coaching staff.
It’s about time the Mahe Brothers got some help…
Trade Rumors
Spector’s Hockey
- Elliotte Friedman reports the Montreal Canadiens will continue testing the trade market on veterans such as Christian Dvorak, Jeff Petry and possibly Josh Anderson.
- There have been some trade rumors regarding restricted free agent winger Jesper Bratt.
- The Devils could also pursue St. Louis Blues goaltender Ville Husso if he tests the unrestricted free agent market on July 13.
- A lack of draft capital could make the Seattle Kraken turn to the UFA market rather than pursue talent via trades. Friedman believes they’ll be aggressive, suggesting they could target such notables as Johnny Gaudreau, Nazem Kadri, John Klingberg, etc.
- The Philadelphia Flyers made a legitimate pitch for Chicago Blackhawks winger Alex DeBrincat. They’ve also tested the trade market on most of their players.
- Friedman thinks the Columbus Blue Jackets will consider upgrading their blueline.
- Friedman wondered if they’ll [Ottawa] move Matt Murray and land Claude Giroux.
- GM Pat Verbeek will want something tempting to part with goaltender John Gibson.
- Elliotte Friedman reports the Minnesota Wild would like to bring back UFA goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury for another season.
- It’s uncertain if they’ll [Washington] bring back goalies Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov. They could pursue Colorado’s Darcy Kuemper if he becomes a UFA next week. They could be in on J.T. Miller.
BLH’s Thoughts: The days of the Pacific Division being one of the worst in the league are coming to an end… That should also up the pressure on Ken Holland and the Oilers to get these summer moves right. It’s not the time to gamble, that’s for sure.
