Happy American Thanksgiving to my friends south of the border! Does anybody else find it ironic that Bill Peters was effectively fired on “Black Friday”?… I’m sorry, that attempt at humor is pretty dark. Here are some rumors flying around the blogosphere for your entertainment!
The Rumored Cost to Acquire Taylor Hall
Dan Rosen from NHL.com recently wrote in a mailbag what he figures the ask is on Taylor Hall,
“I think New Jersey should push to get back a young defensemen, preferably someone in the NHL now who can jump right into their lineup, along with a high draft pick and/or a top prospect.” (source)
BLH’s Thoughts: Well, coming at this from and Oilers POV, I’m thinking that Ray Shero is going to ask for one of Philip Broberg or Evan Bouchard in addition to a first-rounder or one or Tyler Benson, Kailer Yamamoto, or Raphael Lavoie. Fair play to him to expect that too, but I don’t like the idea of adding another $10M forward to Edmonton’s top-six. I’d prefer the Oilers use that money to add further depth to the roster.
I’d offer defender Dmitri Samorukov and the pesky winger Kailer Yamamoto.
Look, I get it. There’s unfinished business for Hall in Edmonton and he’s probably one of a handful of players who’d be willing to go back and play there. That said, I’d have no problem if he was coming back on a discounted “team-friendly” contract. I like how Benson and Bouchard are trending in Bakersfield and in two or three seasons, Philip Broberg and Raphael Lavoie are going to be lighting up the NHL on ELC contracts.
Besides, if I’m Hall, I’m looking at the Colorado Avalanche and drooling at that potential and all of that cap space. That’s definitely a team he could go to, have a solid chance at winning a Cup, AND make major skrilla. Say he signs a shorter deal, maybe a three-to-four year contract, he can still go to Edmonton after that. It’s possible the Oilers could be even better then than they’re shaping up to be in the short-term.
Did the Oilers GM Reveal His Asking Price for Jesse Puljujarvi?
The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman recently conducted an interview with Oilers GM Ken Holland and asked him what the ideal package or type of player was that he was looking for in return for Puljujarvi,
Something young. It’s gotta be young. I’m not looking to trade him for somebody who’s old. It’s gotta be young player for young player – or maybe younger player/prospect, pick. It’s gotta be something that can go onto our team and be a young player – much like he’s gonna be – or it’s gonna be more futures. Now, if we get past Sunday, obviously I’ll re-evaluate as I go forward. (source)
Here’s a discount code for a subscription to The Athletic should you be without. If you sign up through that link you’ll get 40% off and I’ll get a tidy little coupon for Amazon.
BLH’s Thoughts: If you’ve been following this saga as long as I have, then this isn’t new news. The ask has always been a young player. Names like Julien Gauthier (CAR), Alexander Volkov (TB), Klim Kostin (STL), Lias Andersson (NYR). The Detroit Red Wings reportedly had an offer on the table a few weeks ago and Bruce Garrioch said earlier in the year that Edmonton and Ottawa had been talking.
To date, none of the proposals Holland has received have been up to snuff. Every player offered up is still an AHL player who’s had a cup of coffee with their NHL clubs. I realize that Puljujarvi is playing in a league that is a shade below the AHL but he’s head and shoulders better than every one of those players listed above.
In my opinion, there are two scenarios waiting to be played out here,
- 1) Holland uses Puljujarvi to beef up the Oilers for the upcoming playoff run. Be that in an attempt to acquire JG Pageau from Ottawa, Taylor Hall from New Jersey, or Chris Kreider from New York.
- 2) Puljujarvi is dealt at the draft for a player on a bigger ticket when Edmonton’s plethora of players on one-year deals become free agents and they’ve got much more cap space to work with.
Two wildcard plays might be A) trading the big Finn to Arizona for Marian Hossa’s contract and a sweetener like a high draft pick or prospect (Victor Soderstrom) or young player (Christian Dvorak) or B) Edmonton packaging their first-rounder plus Puljujarvi to move up.
Quick Hits:
- Montreal to make a massive move? (source)
- Is Torey Krug on the block? (source)
- Flyers looking to move a young defender? (source)
- Bruins eyeing up Toffoli? (source)
