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!
*Sorry, the original title of this was ‘Dreger says the Ask for Duncan Keith is Ethan Bear’ and that’s false. I whipped this post up pretty quick and was careless with the title. As you’ll read down the line here, there is a belief amongst some that Bear is what Stan Bowman is asking for in return for Keith and why not ask for the moon and work your way down?*
From The Daily Goal Horn
Coyotes looking to trade Phil Kessel
According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Arizona paid out his bonus on July 1st. That means he’s only owed $1 million in actual salary which could be perfect for some teams with cap space, but are also looking to be fiscally sound.
The 33 year-old winger can still produce and would give any offensively challenged team a boost. Last season, he scored 20 goals and 43 points in 56 games for the Yotes.
The likely alternative is for the Coyotes to retain some of his cap hit in order to facilitate a trade and receive a late first round pick from a contender.
BLH’s Thoughts: Hmmm. Brian Lawton did bring up Phil Kessel’s name on Oilers Now earlier this week… This kind of acquisition is right up Ken Holland’s alley too…
Jets’ Seth Jones blockbuster?
Jets beat writer Mike McIntyre answered a question with regards to a Seth Jones trade.
One name he brought up that was interesting is Kyle Connor. That indicates to me the Jets desire to add a top defenseman is still very strong. Especially since he believes Winnipeg would part with such a prized forward.
- “I would be hesitant to trade anyone for Seth Jones unless you are guaranteed to lock him up long-term, and at a price you can afford. But the pending UFA next summer is an intriguing player. Connor is a trade chip if taking a big blue-line swing, IMO.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Do the Jets have another young scoring winger coming up in their system who is as good as Kyle Connor or trending to be better? No? Then why in the hell would they consider that trade? If they wanted Jones, why didn’t they get him instead of PL Dubois when they traded Patrik Laine?
Oilers closing in on Duncan Keith
The 37 year-old rearguard has two years left at $5.5 million per season with a full no-move clause. Darren Dreger provided an update yesterday as the two sides get closer to a deal.
- “Still back and forth between the Oilers and Blackhawks, but there’s still mutual interest in getting something done,” Dreger said on TSN.
Ultimately, the Blackhawks want to do right by Keith. It seems Edmonton is where he wants to go, but Chicago would like young a defenseman back in return. That’s why a deal has yet to be concluded.
Some believe Ethan Bear could be the young player Chicago covets, but it is unlikely Edmonton will part with him
BLH’s Thoughts: Man, if Bear is the ask and Chicago isn’t willing to eat 50%, I don’t see why the Oilers would continue the conversations. I’m not the biggest Bear supporter, but even then I can see a straight one-for-one trade would be a heavy victory for Stan Bowman. I mean, unless Edmonton really wants to rid themselves of Ethan Bear, which I don’t have any indication that is the case, I can see why the deal hasn’t been consummated yet.
The Oilers can still win this deal AND get the intangibles they’re looking for, right? Why must they overpay in order to get Duncan Keith? It’s Chicago who is over a barrel here.
My feeling is that the closer we get to the 17th of July, the more reasonable the negotiations will get.
Oilers may try and acquire Zach Hyman’s rights from Maple Leafs
During a radio spot on Toronto TSN 1050, Darren Dreger indicated the Edmonton Oilers are targeting Zach Hyman this offseason. What he indicated is that they may trade for his rights in order to begin early negotiations prior to free agent frenzy on July 28th.
The 28 year-old Hyman is UFA and will make substantially more than the $2.25 million AAV he earns now. Estimates have him looking at 7 years with an AAV around $5.5 million range.
BLH’s Thoughts: I got a DM this morning from one of my sources out East basically confirming this. Now, I don’t know what the return would be but you’d have to think it’d be more than the suggested late-to-mid round pick and for Ken Holland to do this, he’d have to have a pretty good indication that Hyman would sign in Edmonton. The club has wasted enough draft picks over the years as it is.
One thing that an Oilers fan or pundit has to ask himself is, how creative would Ken Holland have to get in order to fit in Tyson Barrie, Duncan Keith, Adam Larsson, Phil Kessel, and Zach Hyman into his lineup next season because those are the most recent names being connected to the club… I’m not going to say that scenario is impossible, but man, the sell job Holland would need to do to get those GMs to eat cash and for those players to take a discount would have to be legendary…
Maple Leafs interested in Taylor Hall
Darren Dreger was discussing Taylor Hall on the latest edition of TSN’s Insider Trading.
- “But there’s outside interest as well [on Taylor Hall], including from the Toronto Maple Leafs, which may surprise some,” he said. “Toronto has interest, I’m sure, if they can’t get Zach Hyman signed, or depending on what happens with Freddy Andersen.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Hall’s never struck me as one to be the type that savors going home to try and win with the Maple Leafs, and how they’d afford him over Zach Hyman is a bit of a mystery to me. Mind you, Hall is obviously the better of the two wingers, so I could see the attraction.
As this pertains to the Oilers, that final LW spot is up for grabs and I’m still hearing that they’d have interest in Hall if he hits the market.
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