A couple of days ago another report out of New York was published that the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Rangers were interested in making a trade that would involve disgruntled forwards Lias Andersson and Jesse Puljujarvi but this time more pieces had been added. A 1st rounder from the Rangers and a B-level prospect from the Oilers.
The Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins commented on this in his latest 9-Thoughts post and he said this,
An old associate of mine in New York tells me that there is renewed “smoke” these days over the possibility of a trade between the Rangers and Oilers involving Jesse Puljujarvi. It goes something like this: Edmonton is not opposed to the idea of receiving Blueshirts prospect Lias Andersson. But word in New York is that Ken Holland would also demand a 1st Round pick from the Rangers (with another mid-level Oilers prospect included in a 2-for-2 deal). Any fire here? Unsure. I have not heard the same from anyone in Edmonton. (source)
Some debate is ongoing as to who that mid-level prospect could be. It wouldn’t shock me if it was Cooper Marody as he’s coming off of a poor season and there are some in the organization that are very unhappy with his attitude and how he handled his off-season prior to the 2019/20 NHL campaign. I wondered if Tyler Benson might be that player. His skating is not where it needs to be and as we’re seeing with Jeremy Bracco and the Maple Leafs, just because you’re a star in the AHL doesn’t mean that will translate to the NHL. Big difference between those two being how they handle themselves as professionals… Work ethic has never been a question connected to Benson and he’s got the hands and the smarts to play, it’s just the boots aren’t quite there.
The Edmonton Sun’s Jim Matheson went on to throw some shade on an older Puljujarvi-to-the-Panthers rumor in his latest.
But right now, the Panthers feel centres are more important than wingers, something not unusual for most NHL teams, and after trading Vincent Trocheck to Carolina for four pieces, they still feel Borgstrom is at worst a top-nine centre.
Plus, the Panthers don’t really need Puljujarvi. They have fellow right-winger Owen Tippett pencilled in for regular work, and they just signed Russian Grigori Denisenko, who might also be an NHL right-winger. (source)
If Ken Holland can grab a late first in this draft in a deal involving Puljujarvi, that may very well be considered a coup. But what about this scenario?
- Edmonton trades Puljujarvi to the Senators for two 2nd round picks (52nd/53rd overall) in this year’s draft
- Edmonton trades down from 20th overall to 24th overall with the Wild and pick up another 2nd round pick (42nd overall)
Thank would give them four picks from 24th overall to 53rd overall! I know… I’m wishin… But humor me for a second, please. This is how I would spend those picks,
24th overall – Jake Neighbours (LW, Edmonton Oil Kings) – Hard-nosed Dustin Brown-like player.
42nd overall – Daniel Torgersson (RW, Frolunda U20) – Big-bodied right-winger who scores everywhere he goes.
52nd overall – Alexander Pashin (RW, Tolpar UFA) – Highly skilled and insanely quick but tiny winger. Absolutely electric forward.
53rd overall – Michael Benning (RD, Sherwood Park Crusaders) – Puck-moving point-producing defender. CJHL defender of the year in 2019/20.
I don’t think that my favorite player in this draft for the Oilers, Jan Mysak, will be available and Jake Neighbours intrigues me a bit due to his leadership qualities and him being an absolute tank on the ice. He was the one who put Lafreniere on the railroad tracks at the prospects game and hit him full bore when the consensus 1st overall pick tried to cross his own blue line with the puck. Neighbours isn’t just a grunt though. He has the skills and skating to be an NHL player as he scored 70pts in 64gp for Edmonton. The final thing that draws me to this player is that Edmonton needs to start developing effective and impactful players to come into their bottom and middle-six and this is where I see Neighbours’ ceiling being.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8KA92NeOdI
Getting back to the Puljujarvi rumor, the research that I’ve done has lead me to the conclusion that the Oilers really aren’t interested in Andersson because of his foot speed and the best they could possibly hope for is actually Henrik Borgstrom but other players are possibly in the mix such as Tyson Jost (COL), Casey Middlestadt (BUF). Dominik Bokk (CAR), and Pavel Zacha (NJ). The one thing linking Jost, Middlestadt, and Andersson is their footspeed though (or lack thereof).
Just an aside (Again… Sorry), what’s up with Markus Lehto’s clients wanting moves away from their original clubs? Is it Joel Quenneville in the cases of Teuvo Teravainen and Borgstrom? What about Kasperi Kapanen and Pulju? Has there been an agent who’s had so many clients behave like this so publicly recently or maybe this is a very Lehto-specific tactic? Using the media to get things moving I mean.
Those of you that are thinking that the Senators are a perfect match for Puljujarvi and the Oilers should consider one thing, Pierre Dorion might not be into the big Finn. Which is daft in my opinion… If you can come out of the 2020 NHL draft with TWO of Alexis Lafreniere, Quinton Byfield, Jamie Drysdale, Marco Rossi, Tim Stutzle, or Lucas Raymond AND Jesse Puljujarvi, you’ve got to jump all over that!
PATRICK RUSSELL INSTAGRAM INTERVIEW
I reached out to Edmonton’s Dangerous Dane to see if he was willing to answer a few questions for a new series of posts we’re going to be posting up on the BLH Hockey Instagram account recently and to our delight (and quite frankly, our surprise) he said yes!
Now, this isn’t some hard-hitting piece where I get a bunch of dirt on the locker room. There’s no way I was getting that and there was no way I was asking those questions either. I wanted to ask him questions as if I was a fan at different stages of my life. So some questions might resonate with an elementary school student, some might catch the eye of someone playing Junior hockey right now, and some may very well hit with an older crowd.
So here you are,
Who was your favorite hockey player growing up?
I always liked Jarome Iginla, he was a hard working player that never quit on a puck. I respected the way he played the game, hard and with passion.
Which NHL team was your favorite?
I didn’t really have a favorite team, I just followed the league and watched highlights occasionally.
What’s your favorite hockey memory?
I would have to pick two, my first NHL game was a huge moment for me. I was undrafted, went to college late and I know that many doubted my decision to leave college early. It was a good feeling to accomplish that first game in the NHL. The second would be the World Championship on home ice in Denmark, the sport have grown tremendously in Denmark lately and it was really cool to witness how big it has gotten.
Who’s been the hardest player to play against so far?
I don’t think I can point one guy out, but personally I thought that Tampa Bay has a really good and quick team, we have had some good games against them, but they are a good team.
Can you describe the battle of Alberta? How nasty is it?
Fun games to be part of. A lot of juices flowing, which is awesome. We play each other a lot throughout the year, so obviously some tension is gong to build up and I think that shows on the ice.
Why the NCAA route over major junior or European pro?
I decided to go the NCAA route because I felt it was the best option for me, I was 20 years old when I aged out of junior in Sweden. They decided they didn’t want me, so I went to the USHL which might have been the best thing that could happen for my career.
If you had to start a hockey team from scratch and you could pick any player from any era to build around, who would you take?
That’s a tough question, but I think I would have to pick Wayne Gretzky. That would be a good foundation for a succesfull team, haha!
What kind of advice do you have for young hockey players looking to take a similar route you did?
Never give up. Work harder than the guy next to you. They might have more talent when you’re younger, but if you work harder eventually you will pass them, so be patient and work hard every day.
A big thank you to Patrick and personally, I can’t wait to see him back out there on the ice kicking ass in the corners and in front of the net for the Oilers when hockey does return!
