Well, how are you this morning? I hope well considering the stunning amount of disgruntled Edmonton Oilers fans who took to Twitter last night after the draft to let their feelings of discontent be known regarding who the club took in the first round of the 2020 NHL entry draft and how bad GM Ken Holland did at the trade deadline considering he’s letting Andreas Athanasiou and Matthew Benning walk.
Well, if you’re feeling deflated that perhaps this blog post will turn that frown upside down as I got bombarded with DMs late last night letting me know what Edmonton is attempting to do this week.
Now keep an open mind when reading these rumors and consider the time we’re in. A lot of unique and unorthodox transactions may very well take place, so anything can happen even if they don’t seem all that realistic right now.
The team is interested in bringing in the following players,
- Jacob Markstrom
- Taylor Hall
- Tyson Barrie
They’re also looking at a top-four defenseman in the Eastern Conference. Someone who can definitely play on the 2nd pair but in times of need can hop up into the 1st. I was told someone like Brett Pesce or Brady Skjei. Not those players necessarily but ones like them.
I was also notified that the team has the slightest interest in Justin Abdelkader (surprise!) and that Oscar Klefbom’s career is in serious jeopardy due to a chronic shoulder problem that surgery may not fix.
There are also some people who believe that the club may move Mikko Koskinen in order to bring in a higher-tier goalie. I’m told there’s a chance Edmonton could possibly get a 3rd round pick for him.
Another way the club might be able to bring in some upgrades is to move James Neal to free up cap space.
Lastly, there seems to be a bit of pressure on Holland to find that top-pairing stud on the blueline and bluechip defender Evan Bouchard is being used as trade fodder to make that happen. I’m of the belief that the team thinks that Philip Broberg and Dmitri Samorukov have a higher ceiling.
Other News
Yesterday, Bob Stauffer said that the Ottawa Senators aren’t done adding size to the club and they’d like to add another big body to the team which means they’re looking at someone on the Oilers.
He also said to expect an announcement detailing the signing as soon as Friday of a veteran AHL goalie to help out in Bakersfield and maybe in Edmonton in a pinch.
During the same show, Mark Spector mentioned that the Oilers should be announcing the signing of Jesse Puljujarvi any day now.
I’m sure more will come in the following days! Enjoy day two of the draft everyone!
