Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with excerpts from 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!
From The Hockey Writers
Travis Hamonic Willing to Leave the Western Conference
Set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting that defenseman Travis Hamonic has opened the window to leaving the Western Conference and is interested in playing for whatever team provides the best option. While he could re-sign with the Canucks, and the team still appears to have interest in bringing him back, it’s a massive change from his reputation as a player who was only willing to play for a handful of teams.
BLH’s Thoughts: Could this be the kind of player who Edmonton would target to make their defense deeper or in the unlikely event that Adam Larsson walks? Perhaps Hamonic would be able to come to the Oilers and fill that void since he and Larsson play a very similar style.
From The Athletic
Lowetide: Caleb Jones, Oilers reach crossroads that could land Jones in Seattle
The Oilers badly needed Jones to step forward last season, to slide into the role that was supposed to be occupied by Oscar Klefbom. The veteran’s injury, thought to be a year-long and maybe longer, was a fantastic opportunity for all LH defencemen in Oilers camp (only Darnell Nurse was assured of a spot on left defence) leading into the 2020-21 season.
Jones didn’t grab the job after he was first-man up at the beginning of the season. Edmonton needs a rock-solid solution on the second pair if Klefbom can’t play, and if he can, the third-pairing lefty will likely be charged with mentoring Evan Bouchard in the early months of the season.
There are players who arrive at the five-year mark of their playing careers with five years of experience, and there are players who arrive at the same point with one year of experience five times.
I expect the Oilers will set him free if the Kraken come calling at the expansion draft. I expect it will be a mistake.
BLH’s Thoughts: I think a lot of people forget that for a 4th round pick like Jones, he’s made it a lot further than most players selected in that round are supposed to. Around 20% of the players picked in that round make it to 100gp and Jones is already at 93gp.
Now, ideally, you’d like to get to 200gp before you make a definitive judgement on a defenceman, but in this case Jones has failed to earn the trust of his coaches, has some talent breathing down his neck in the form of Dmitri Samorukov and Philip Broberg, and has acted out in a public way to display his dissatisfaction with the lack of playing time he got in the playoffs.
Top that off with an expansion draft coming shortly and the Oilers looking to copy the defenses of the remaining teams in the playoffs (MTL, VGK, NYI, TBL) for next year and the prospects of Jones coming back are slim and none regardless of how his underlying numbers look.
From Spector’s Hockey
BLACKHAWKS SHOPPING STROME?
OTTAWA SUN: Bruce Garrioch reports the Chicago Blackhawks are looking to move Dylan Strome. He had just 14 points in 40 games this season. “He would be eligible for the expansion draft,” writes Garrioch.
BLH’s Thoughts: As an Oilers fan, one has to wonder if the club, who is in search of a third line center, would look to acquire Connor McDavid’s best friend? If so, what would that sort of trade look like?
Bob Stauffer has hinted that the Oilers will need to acquire their new 3C via trade and it could likely come before the expansion draft from a team in a spot of bother with their protection list…
My feeling is that Chicago would prefer to use Strome in a bigger deal to bring in a Seth Jones-like player and Larry Brooks says they’re in the Jack Eichel sweepstakes now too.
What’s Ken Holland going to offer that the Blackhawks don’t already have a plethora of and keeping in mind, he’s trying to get him on the cheap. Would Tyler Benson be enough?
So, unfortunately, I don’t see much of a fit for Edmonton here. The vibe I’m getting is that the Oilers want to get a bit older with regards to the players they’ll be bringing in this summer.
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