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 NHLTradeRumors.me
Casey Cizikas is a very popular pending unrestricted free agent. Although he is not known for producing a lot of offense, he is an immensely effective defensively. He has plays with a bit of grit, which is always a nice element for a bottom-six forward to have. He not only has been the true heart of the Islanders’ fourth-line, but also one of their top penalty killers in the process.
- New York Islanders
The New York Islanders will certainly try to bring back Cizikas because of his importance to the team… However, the Islanders have limited cap space and three big-time RFAs in Ilya Sorokin, Adam Pelech and Anthony Beauvillier to bring back, too.
- New York Rangers
He is exactly the type of bottom-six forward they need. He not only would give them a defensively sound bottom-six center, but also great leadership because of his vast experience.
- Boston Bruins
With the Bruins on the verge of losing Sean Kuraly to free agency, Cizikas would be a serious upgrade. The Bruins also are expected to have a good amount of cap space to work with, so the possibility is on the table if he hits the market.
BLH’s Thoughts: I’ll add the Edmonton Oilers to that list. For the same reasons the teams above, the Oilers could 100% use a player like Cizikas on their 3rd line with an eye on transitioning to the 4th line.
This organization needs an injection of “I’ll run through a f*cking wall to score/stop that goal.”
Matt Hendricks was the last one to really embrace that role and I still love that guy for everything he had to put up with in Edmonton and what he did for the team. The Oilers need more of that.
From The Cult of Hockey
The Edmonton Oilers pursuit of Duncan Keith comes down to the wire: 9 Things
6. The Oilers have made an official offer to the Mike Smith camp. And while I didn’t hear this directly, I have heard it reported that negotiations between Smith and the club are now on-going. I would be surprised if things are finalized before the expansion draft, though. That means Stuart Skinner is likely the goalie to be protected.
BLH’s Thoughts: Is it just me or would the Kraken taking Stuart Skinner be a blessing in disguise for the Oilers. No disrespect to Skinner, but Edmonton will have one too many goalies in Bakersfield next season if he’s on the roster, no? I don’t think Konovalov signed with the Oilers to be sent to the ECHL nor do I think after playing the year in the AHL is Olivier Rodrigue going to Wichita. Tack that on to the fact that the Oilers are using Caleb Jones as trade fodder to bring in Duncan Keith… Skinner could be playing in the Kraken’s system next season…
4. If I were to pick 4 left wingers the Oilers would entertain during this off-season, they would be Zack Hyman, Taylor Hall, Alex Killorn and Tomas Tatar. I’m not saying there might not be more names. But I think the club feels that any of the 4 (in that order) could line up on Connor McDavid’s port side, along with Jesse Puljujarvi over on the right. I suspect Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is ticketed for the Leon Draisaitl–Kailer Yamamoto line. Of those 4 that I mentioned, I suspect the Oilers might like Hyman the best in terms of over-all fit. But I also think Hyman will have a lot of suitors. I do think Taylor Hall would return to Edmonton for less than some people might think but he would also be looking for term.
BLH’s Thoughts: There’s some chatter out there that Taylor Hall might be open to signing long-term in Edmonton for around what RNH signed for (TWIN deals! Remember when I brought that up a few weeks ago?) and having him back with the club would be a really fun story to follow, but you have to wonder what sort of player is best for Edmonton’s top-six. How many bulldozers do they have up there to work the muck, right?
Personally, I like the idea of trading for Alex Killorn and being able to bring in a proper 3C too. Although, I wouldn’t be against paying Philip Danault and then going a tad cheaper on the top-six LW too…
3. I wonder at those who think Caleb Jones is better than Duncan Keith and that as a result Jones would be “A Bridge Too Far” in the Keith stakes. Jones is an NHL-caliber skater. He moves the puck o.k. But there are gaps in the rest of his game that he has not been able to close. He’s had a couple opportunities to do so. And if a player keeps making the same mistakes, does that say something important about his ability to learn and to be coached? Also, remember: Names such as Dmitry Kulikov, Kris Russell and Slater Koekkoek and William Lagesson all out-played young Jones this past season. And while I respect all 4 of those guys as pro’s, none of them are Duncan Keith. It is not uncommon for home fan bases to over-value their own prospects. But when Jones has sat in the press box, I’ve seen what I perceived to be the reasons why.
BLH’s Thoughts: Headline – “Oilers Fans Overvalue Analytics Darling! Shocking!”
2. Mark Spector wrote an excellent column this week on how outsiders see Duncan Keith. I recommend reading it. You can find it here. Mark has a rolodex infinitely bigger and deeper than mine. A couple hockey people I heard back from also watched Keith play lots of minutes this past year. They told me the following: No, Duncan Keith isn’t the Stanley Cup/Norris Trophy winning Duncan Keith. But they say he remains a well above-average skater for an NHL D-man. They said Keith’s time spent alongside Adam Boqvist was “adventures in babysitting”, especially in the defensive zone (although one man said Boqvist is actually decent in-between the bluelines). Both were highly critical of Jeremy Colliton’s defensive structure. It was a mess. No Black Hawk thrived under it. I immediately thought back to how Dallas Eakins’ system crashed & burned in Edmonton when he was a rookie coach. So, there you are. From 2 guys not associated with the Oilers in any way, shape or form who watched Keith play between a 3rd and a half of his 54 games. They’d take him.
BLH’s Thoughts: Kinda makes you wonder what would’ve happened to Nail Yakupov had Eakins not got his meat hooks into him…
The only people on social media saying they wouldn’t take Duncan Keith are using pretty graphics and shiny stat sheets to support their position or aping what others are saying and not bringing up anything original.
Almost every person who’s played or worked at the NHL level in some capacity that has commented on this move over the past week and some has said they’d take him and that’s because they know the game. They know that he’d go into Edmonton and not be required to play the same role he’s been filling in Chicago for the past decade +. They know that if he couldn’t fulfill the responsibility of a 2nd pairing defender, he could play on the third pairing. They also know that when the best player in the entire world says, jump, you say, how high?
1. The comparisons between Keith and other signings by Edmonton front offices aren’t comparable. Pedigree matters. Those other guys were never as good as Keith. And most of them haven’t kept themselves in as good of shape as Keith either. So, not only did they start from behind in terms of pure skill. They didn’t close the gap with hard work and commitment. But Duncan Keith has. He too can still shred. People with no horse in the race but who work in hockey at a high level for a living say so.
We know Keith isn’t as good as back when Chicago was winning Cups. If he was Chicago wouldn’t trade him.
Frankly, some of the over-the-top criticism of the player is unbecoming and a bad look for the market.
Here you have a future Hall of Famer who “wants” to come here. Professional hockey people are saying he can still play. A couple people have said to me that the Oilers very best players are loving the idea. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned being around the game all these years? The players almost always know.
BLH’s Thoughts: What?! The fans in Edmonton appearing unbecoming? What is Leavins smoking? The Oilers fanbase is a collective group of Angels. They’re saints! They’d never utter a negative word about a player who’s never played for the club.
You know, Bobby Orr could travel through time from 1968 and land in Edmonton today, say he wants to play for the Oilers, and that small group of local loudmouths within this fanbase would find a way to shit all over that idea. “Yeah, he’s a point per game player in 1968, but how’s his 200ft game? Can he even defend? F*ck that guy, we’ve got Caleb Jones and Ethan Bear!”
I mean, I’m sitting here wondering how Colorado Avalanche fans had to deal with the debacle that was trading for Ray Bourque in 2000… Poor fans… How they won that Stanley Cup in ’01 without Brian Rolston, Martin Grenier, Samuel Påhlsson and a first-round draft pick (2000 draft, 27th overall, Martin Samuelsson) will forever be a mystery to me.
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