Holland Takes Shot at Oilers Roster: “Everybody can play defence, it’s a commitment. It’s a desire. It’s a determination.”

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!

Sportsnet

Oilers face crucial off-season looking to learn important lessons from playoff exit

“Holland has another summer to tweak a lineup that needs to shade towards defence now, having led the league in offence this season.”
“If the goaltending tandem of Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell is going to stay the same, and it surely is, then it is incumbent on the Oilers to shore up their game defensively…”
“Staios will take on more roles of an assistant GM, Holland said, and it is clear that the grooming process is well underway for the top job here…”
“Figure out how to become a top 10 team in goals against — rather than 17^th, as they were this past season — and you might have the key to the safe.”

BLH’s Thoughts: I’ve wondered in the past how a team that focused on defense would look like in Edmonton because every GM that’s been hired here since Glen Sather left all those years ago has attempted to recreate the run-and-gun Oilers of the 80s. To Ken Holland’s credit, he’s probably come the closest but it hasn’t heeded the expected returns. Now, it’s time to round out this roster and bring in the right pieces that will shore up the other end of the ice.

Watching Connor and Leon light up the league has been fun, but how much more fun would it be if the Oilers were as dominant at both ends of the ice like the Bruins are?

“Everybody can play defence,” Holland said. “It’s a commitment. It’s a desire. It’s a determination.”

Ouch! If you’re in the Oilers locker room and you hear your GM pull that doozy out of his pocket, how are you feeling?

The Athletic

Oilers GM Ken Holland focused on ‘unfinished business’ entering final year of his contract

“The Oilers have three assistant GMs with different purviews. Holland’s son, Brad, handles pro scouting. Keith Gretzky runs AHL Bakersfield. Bill Scott is the capologist… There were whispers internally that former Oilers defenceman Steve Staios, who was hired to be Holland’s special adviser in September, is the next in line for the GM job.”
“Holland wants to find a permanent scout to cover Canada’s most populated province, which would free up Staios to watch more pro games.”
“Staios has had an extensive off-ice career since he retired from the NHL in 2012. He’s worked in player development and was an assistant coach for the Maple Leafs before becoming the general manager of the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. Hamilton won league titles in 2018 and 2022 under his watch.”
“Cap space is tight, so Holland is banking on more internal growth. The one thing he’d like to see is a greater emphasis on defence from the players.”
“Last offseason, the Oilers were earmarking Duncan Keith’s $5.5 million cap hit for Bouchard when his contract expired.”
“It appears a bridge deal is more likely for Bouchard. Fellow 2018 first-round defenceman Noah Dobson just finished the first season of a three-year, $4 million AAV deal. That could be a template. The only way Bouchard gets a bigger AAV — and the Oilers get him signed past four years — is if Holland clears out money.”

BLH’s Thoughts: I still don’t get why Staios is the leading candidate to replace Holland. So he won a couple of OHL titles four years part in a cyclical league, and then what? What makes him better than somebody like Mathieu Darche out of Tampa or Eric Tulsky in Carolina? Pretty typical Oilers to go about it this way though. The last time this club made a decision out of fear of losing a key piece it cost them over $9M/yr on the cap…

As for Bouchard, it’s going to be a tough decision. I mean, I wouldn’t be terribly shocked if he signed a one or two year deal here so that management can see what he looks like for an entire campaign alongside Ekholm or Nurse. Especially if the plan is to bring in Damon Severson.

Trade Rumors

The Hockey Writers

As per Jim Biringer, New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald said they’ve reached out to the agent of pending RFA forward Timo Meier about a long-term contract extension. The Devils paid a hefty price to acquire the forward ahead of this past NHL Trade Deadline and he’s due a qualifying offer of $9 million.
While Auston Matthews has noted his intent is to re-sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Terry Koshan reported a sports betting site had the Chicago Blackhawks as the favorite to land Matthews if the Leafs were to trade him this summer.
According to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, not a lot of talk has surrounded the Anaheim Ducks and their search for a new head coach, but the process is underway and the team has interviewed a number of possible candidates. Among them, the Ducks have spoken with: Andrew Brunette (Devils), Spencer Carbery (Maple Leafs) & Mike Vellucci (Penguins).

BLH’s Thoughts: Jesus Christ… $9M for Timo Meier? That’s brutal.

Ha! Auston Matthews to Chicago would be hilarious. I don’t see it unless Dubas hates it in Toronto and wants to give the brass one last f*ck you before heading for greener pastures on another continent. Who does Chicago even offer at that point anyhow… Good Lord…

I’m hoping Spencer Carbery gets the job in Anaheim because I love the name. I feel like it would be the kind of name that would fit right in when the original six was around. Very old timey.