Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation from all of the internet’s best sites including Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, The Athletic, TSN and more!
Aaron Portzline (The Athletic): Seth Jones has reportedly informed the Columbus Blue Jackets that he plans to pursue unrestricted free agency when he hits the market in 2022. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday that Jones has told the Blue Jackets “that he will not be re-signing.”
- “The Blue Jackets were prepared to offer Jones, 26, what would have been almost certainly the largest contract in franchise history, and they likely would have named him the club’s next captain if he’d signed long term.But none of it, apparently, was enough to convince the perennial Norris Trophy candidate to spend his prime years in Columbus.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Hey, aren’t the Blue Jackets in the market for a no.1 center?And isn’t there a team out there looking to trade one?
If Buffalo called up Columbus and said, “We’re willing to discuss sending Jack Eichel your way if you’d be interested in sending us Seth Jones.”, do you think that would be a feasible scenario?
For the Sabres, I can think of worse players than Seth Jones and Rasmus Dahlin to build a team around.
On the other side of that deal, how would Jack Eichel, Patrik Laine, and Cam Atkinson look on the first line going into next season?
As it relates to the Oilers, I can’t see Edmonton being in on any Seth Jones talks without being willing to send a package that included Jesse Puljujarvi, Evan Bouchard, another A-grade prospect, and a first rounder to Columbus.
Courtesy of Spector’s Hockey
ESPN.COM: Emily Kaplan believes it’s time for the Nashville Predators to start incorporating more young players into their lineup. She also anticipates they’ll prioritize re-signing defenseman Mattias Ekholm if he seeks a long-term extension before his contract expires next summer.
Free-agent goaltender Pekka Rinne won’t be back as Juuse Saros has taken over the starter’s job. Kaplan proposed trying to entice the Seattle Kraken into selecting Ryan Johansen or Matt Duchene in this summer’s expansion draft.
BLH’s Thoughts: One young player I’m looking forward to watching develop in Music City is a favorite of The Oil Knight’s, Phil Tomasino (32pts in 29 AHL games played this year). He’s electric in the same way Mat Barzal is and if the coaching staff in Nashville give him some rope and two excellent linemates, this is a player I could see being in the Calder Trophy race by year’s end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQNTG3PsZwo
Other players I really dig in the Predators system include a trio of Russians. The goalie of their future, Yaro Askarov, hard-nosed playmaking defender, Semyon Chistyakov, and tanky winger Igor Afanseyev.
Throw in swift skating gritty forwards Luke Evangelisa and Grant Mishmash as well as diminutive puck-moving dman David Farrance, and you’ve got a really nice future brewing in the Honky Tonk.
I’m very happy for former Edmonton Oiler Matt Benning. He landed in a fantastic city and fought valiantly in their series with the Hurricanes. The Oilers could’ve used some of that growl in their lineup against Winnipeg…
Courtesy of NHL Rumors (dot) Com
Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Likely to be left unprotected for the Seattle Kraken expansion draft include forwards Jared McCann, Jason Zucker, Teddy Blueger and Zach Aston-Reese and defensemen Marcus Pettersson and Mike Matheson.
BLH’s Thoughts: Geez, if Aston-Reese is going to be left unprotect, I wonder if the Oilers could get their hands on him after the expansion draft if he isn’t selected. He’s just the kind of bottom-six winger the club could use as his style of play is perfectly suited for the post-season.
Alright, I think you’re all ready. Here are our way-too-early Selke favorites:
1.) Zach Aston-Reese
2.) Connor Brown
3.) Tyler Bozak
4.) Riley Nash
5.) Anders Bjork https://t.co/6kLOuk3QWF— EvolvingWild (@EvolvingWild) December 22, 2019
That said, Jason Zucker is really the player the Oilers would really need if they’re looking for a player would really compliment their top-six with some goal-scoring.
He had a down year this past season with only 9 goals for the Pens but he only played 38 games as well.
Zucker has two year’s left on his contract that sees him paid $5.5M per year. That’s about what they’re looking to sign Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for, so it’d probably be a tad rich for Edmonton but the Penguins MUST cut salary going in to next season since they are already over the cap going into next year.
What about Edmonton sending James Neal, Mikko Koskinen, and a prospect to Pittsburgh for Zucker and Tristan Jarry? Pittsburgh could buy out Neal or Kosikinen (or both) and open up some serious cap space and the Oilers would have a shooting winger and a young netminder to share the pipes with Mike Smith.
Zack Kassian is another option as Brian Burke looks to add some truculence to his roster.
Either way, Pittsburgh is going to have to work some serious magic to get under the cap. Maybe that also means the end of the Crosby-Malkin-Letang era…
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