“Bourgault’s fantastic season makes him a trade piece…” Says THW Writer

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!

The Hockey Writers

Oilers Should Consider Trading Budding Prospect Xavier Bourgault

Regardless of what Holland manages to pull off this summer, Bourgault is not part of that equation.
Not unless he’s traded to land a piece the Oilers need. Bourgault’s fantastic season makes him a trade piece other teams will look at…
Leon Draisaitl becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2025. Connor McDavid hits free agency in the summer of 2026. Bourgault likely won’t help either player, at least not until the closer to the end of their current terms.
The trick will be not to give him away. If you value this player — which the Oilers probably do — the deal has to be right. If it isn’t, it’s one of those moves that could come back to haunt Edmonton, especially if they push all their chips in over the next couple of seasons and don’t win the pot.

BLH’s Thoughts: Listen, all of that is mind-dumbingly obvious, but the Edmonton Oilers are now poised to be favorites to make the Western Conference final every year. If Leon or Connor were to leave while the Oilers are in this window, that says more about the player than the club in my mind and I’m very confident they will be adding another important piece or two this summer be that Evander Kane, Josh Anderson, Filip Forsberg, Rickard Rakell, a starting goalie, etc.

Ken Holland has stated that his job is to build a team that will be a playoff contender not for the short term but the long term and dealing the likes of Bourgault would not be following that plan. In fact, this club could have one of the most promising RWs in the ENTIRE league shortly if they play things smart over the summer considering they’ve got Puljujarvi and Yamamoto already contributing in top-9 roles at such a young age.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84hjhmnCayc

Oilersnation

Contract comparisons for Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto

Yamamoto produced 20-21-41 in 81 games (0.51 PPG) while Puljujarvi scored 14-22-36 in 65 games (0.55 PPG).
They were very close this season and even over the past two years. Puljujarvi has 29-32-61 in 120 games (0.51 PPG) and Yamamoto scored 28-34-62 in 133 games (0.47 PPG).
I was told by the NHL management type that goals carry a bit more weight.
This season Yamamoto averaged 16:52 TOI/game while Puljujarvi was at 16:14.
Puljujarvi had a better start to the season, while Yamamoto had a better second half. Puljujarvi also got injured and had COVID in the second half and he never looked as comfortable when he returned.
The Oilers need to be careful of recency bias. Puljujarvi had a strong start and weaker finish, while Yamamoto struggled early, but finished very well.

"I'm not sure how much better Yamamoto is going to get. Puljujarvi's got room to improve. He can improve his puck skills and stick skills. Now, whether or not he's willing to do it, I've got no idea." – Jason Gregor pic.twitter.com/5BbX834XV2

— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) June 23, 2022

Puljujarvi is big and still doesn’t know how strong he is. He’s a solid forechecker and uses his reach to knock down pucks and keep plays alive. He gets many good looks, but has yet to show an ability to finish consistently.
Yamamoto is a very tenacious and cerebral player, likely because he had to be due to his lack of size. Woodcroft, and Tippett before him, mentioned how teammates, specifically Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, like playing with him. It is because he’s predictable. He reads the ice well and knows how to use his linemates.
Puljujarvi has more upside, in my opinion, but he needs to improve his puck skills and his edge work/balance.
Yamamoto is more versatile in the eyes of his coaches.
I don’t agree with the notion Puljujarvi is a great defensive player because of his on-ice GA or XGF%. He had the highest on-ice Sv% on the Oilers at .941.
- a goalie’s Sv% can drastically alter those two stats for a forward. Puljujarvi has yet to be used on the PK, and had way more offensive zone to defensive starts…
When you look at recent signings for players who filed for arbitration, it is realistic to expect Puljujarvi and Yamamoto to land a salary between $2.6m-$3.2m.
Yamamoto and Puljujarvi are not foundation pieces. They are both, solid complementary forwards…
The challenge for the Oilers is they signed Warren Foegele at $2.75m when he was 25 years of age and hadn’t produced like Yamamoto and Puljujarvi.
If the Oilers can sign them for a combined $6m then Edmonton should get good value on their investment.

"If you're asking me who I'd take long term, I'd take Puljujarvi over Yamamoto." – Jason Gregor (6/22/2022)#LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/PeStBA6aim

— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) June 23, 2022

BLH’s Thoughts: Bob Stauffer has mused a couple of times since the playoffs ended that Puljujarvi had to be spoken to with regards to selfless play (hitting, blocking shots, etc.) and he responded, well might I add, and that tells me he’s willing to do whatever it takes as long as it’s within his ability. So, why not ask him to keep up his style of play from the post-season and concentrate on becoming a key forward on the team’s shutdown third line alongside Ryan McLeod and either RNH or Warren Foegele?

If the Oilers can get 40 goals from Jesse and Killer for $6M or less, that’s a win in my books. I’m just not confident that management will do the right thing and keep both which is really disappointing because I really want to see Bourgault, Yamo, and JP rocking that right side in 2023/24.

https://twitter.com/BeerLeagueHeroe/status/1539948445519466496

Trade Rumors

Spector’s Hockey

Arthur Staple raised some eyebrows in his roundup of offseason decisions facing the New York Rangers. What drew considerable attention was his report citing two league sources claiming general manager Chris Drury was “vocally unhappy” with Artemi Panarin’s performance in the 2022 playoffs.
John Glennon reports Nashville Predators GM David Poile confirmed his club offered an eight-year contract to Filip Forsberg.
Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler checks in at No. 3 on Frank Seravalli’s updated list of this offseason’s trade targets.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reporting Pierre-Luc Dubois informed Jets management of his intention to test the open market when he’s eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in 2024.

NHLRumors.com

There had been no talks between the Blues and goaltender Ville Husso but at some point, it’s expected. The Blues may not be able to go as high as some teams can go – maybe $3.5 – $4 million.
Have already written about the idea of the New York Islanders trading their 2022 first-round pick, 13th overall, to the Montreal Canadiens for forward Josh Anderson.
Islanders forward Anthony Beauvillier carries a $4.15 million salary cap and may be in need of a change of scenery after a disappointing season.
- Could the Canadiens be interested in the 25-year-old Quebec native? Canadiens GM Kent Hughes was his agent.
A first-round pick and some good prospects for either Provorov or Konecny is something the Flyers should consider.