Edmonton Oilers Offseason Talk: Barrie to SEA/MTL, Kassian to CBJ, and More Rumors!

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Cult of Hockey

Buzzinga! Brilliant advice from NHL insider for Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland

On Oilers Now, host Bob Stauffer put it to the Friedman that if the Oilers were to lose Evander Kane to free agency it might be a good idea to trade for Montreal’s Josh Anderson, a big forward who can skate and provide a physical impetus.

“If I’m the Oilers, like, good players should want to come and play with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, especially after these playoffs, and if I were you guys I’d be identifying those players rather than chasing after other guys by trade.” – Friedman

For Edmonton to give up an asset like a first round pick or last year’s first round pick Xavier Bourgault to take on that iffy bet…
Edmonton has much less money to spend this time summer than last summer — though Stauffer was hinting today that Edmonton might somehow have more cap room than most fans generally expect — but there will be names no one images right now ending up on the Oilers.
A player like Holloway, for example, might well step up and in the next five years score every bit as much as Josh Anderson and at a fraction of the cost.

BLH’s Thoughts: Yeah, I thought that was a very direct message from EF to Stauffer and Staples makes a good point about Holloway. I like Josh Anderson as much as the next old school hockey guy, but he’s running into injury problems at the worst time of his career. Now, that said, medical treatment isn’t what it used to be, it’s much better and careers are being lengthened more and more each year.

Just for me though, I would like to see a much deeper Oilers squad next year. If they can’t get Kane, there’s a list of players below from Daniel Nugent-Bowman that would be worth targeting that includes Nichushkin, Marchment, Palat, and Copp.

As for that extra cap space Stauffer is hinting at, I think that comes from a Zack Kassian buyout. $2.5M saved in the first year, $1.2M in the second and then I think it’s a shade over 900k in years three and four that will cost the Oilers. More on Edmonton’s options with Kass below.

The Athletic

Edmonton Oilers offseason priorities: A 10-step plan for success

Bring Back Woodcroft
- Here’s a free bit of advice. When you have a coach who appears to be beloved by his players and who just guided your team to the conference final for the first time in 16 years, you lock him up.
Sweet Talk Kuzmenko
- …he’s eligible to sign only a one-year, entry-level deal, so fit will be paramount.
- The right-shot left winger is worth a flyer. He could also help fill a void if Kane, another high-profile left winger, departs via free agency.
Set Reasonable Parameters for Kane and Kulak Contracts
- Kane scored 35 goals in 58 regular season and playoff games. That type of goal scoring is wonderful and tough to replace. Holland had better watch not being mesmerized by a few outstanding months, though.
- It would be best for Kulak to not block Philip Broberg’s path in the coming years, too. That’s why a shorter-term contract is advisable.
Convince Keith to Retire
- …no one in the organization is expected to be pushing Keith out. But someone should twist his arm — if only for the financial benefit.
- …why would Keith even consider hanging up the blades? Well, his salary next season is $1.5 million. The deal was for $72 million, so his 2022-23 compensation is chump change.
Figure Out Smith’s Status
- There’s something about a bird in the hand, especially since goalie options are limited in free agency.
Search for a Taker for Klefbom’s Contract
- Holland is earmarking Klefbom’s contract for LTIR for a third straight season. He’s already on record saying he’s likely not willing to pay much of a price sell off the final year of the deal.
Trade or Buyout Kassian
- Colleague Aaron Portzline mentioned in his Sunday column that the Blue Jackets could use some toughness and that there might be a fit.
Value and Sign Puljujarvi, Yamamoto, and McLeod
- The Oilers need as much talent, especially cost-controlled talent, as they can find. They have three homegrown forwards sitting right there.
Be Ready to Take a Run at Kuemper and/or Husso
- Another option is Jack Campbell. All three had excellent stretches as starters this season. Sans Smith, these are the types of goalies that have the potential to play 50-plus games.
Sign at least one NHL Forward
- Those who would suit the Oilers include Valeri Nichushkin, Andrew Copp, Reilly Smith, Ondrej Palat, Ilya Mikheyev, Mason Marchment and Evan Rodrigues. Nicolas Deslauriers could be a cheap fourth-line option, too.

BLH’s Thoughts: Man, these reporters sure talk tough now that they aren’t allowed in the dressing room. Offering advice to a Cup-winning Hockey Hall of Famer and suggesting somebody strongarm Duncan Keith into retiring… Yikes…

I’m of two minds with Kuzmenko. Is he the next Kirill Kaprizov or the next Alexander Barabanov? Either way, a one year entry level deal doesn’t break the bank and I reckon he’s worth the gamble because we know that if he didn’t fulfill expectations, there are other GMs who like him.

As for Evander Kane, the price has to be right, but then again, how’s that saying go? Get good players, keep good players? And who knows? Maybe playing on a good team will keep him from getting bored…

MA Godin was on Oilers Now recently and he was asked about Brett Kulak returning to Montreal. Godin figured with young dmen Kaiden Guhle, Justin Barron, and Jordan Harris looking to graduate, there might not be a fit with the Habs.

I’ve seen 4x$3.5M tossed around with regards to Kulak and that seems a tad rich to me. Personally, I would prefer the AAV down around $2.75M-$2.95M/yr as he just finished a season where he was paid $2.2M. I suppose that depends on where Jay Woodcroft would have him slotted in 2022/23 though, right? I would be okay with him on the 2nd pair and in that scenario, he probably deserves a little higher salary considering he’ll be seeing some higher quality opposition. But if he’s next year’s #7, then there’s no way he should be getting that kind of salary.

I’m guessing Smith gets put on LTIR. Why walk away from that kind of money if you don’t have to?

With Kassian, I’ve said for years now that there’s a market for Kassian, it just depends on what kind of trade the Oilers are willing to make to move him. If Columbus wants him (I believe the guys at The Athletic proposed a Kass/Eric Robinson swap), I don’t see them taking him at his full ticket. If there was a way to get Gavrikov (one year remaining at $2.8M) out of Columbus in a package that includes Kassian, that might alleviate the pressure to re-sign Kulak and I remember that Russian defenseman was quite good at denying zone entries. Wishin’… I know.

I’m all for re-signing all of the RFAs to bridge deals. I mean, unless one of them has told the GM that they wouldn’t be against starting anew with a different club that might use them more frequently.

If Edmonton can get their hands on one of Campbell, Husso, or Kuemper at reasonable price, that’s a huge win for Holland. Will it be at the cost of losing Kane or another high profile free agent though?

All of those free agents DNB lists are going to be $5M+ aside from Evan Rodrigues, but even still, he’s going to price himself out of Edmonton. Nic Deslaurier might too. In fact, I think I heard Stauffer say that he thinks the enforcer might go back to Anaheim.

Trade Rumors

Spector’s Hockey

Kaapo Kakko’s surprising scratch from Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals raises questions about his future with the Rangers… Should the 21-year-old winger entertain offer sheets between $4.2 million and $6.1 million, however, the Rangers wouldn’t be able to match.
Dan Kingerski recently reported some teams have contacted the Penguins to express interest in Pierre-Olivier Joseph. Sources said the New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens were among the clubs that looked into the promising 22-year-old defenseman before the trade deadline.

NHLRumors.com

Johnny Gaudreau has been talked about over and over from the Calgary Flames. No one knows yet if he will test the market. One thing is certain, he is likely to get a deal north of $10 million AAV. The only question is seven or eight years.
Both Forsberg and David Poile have said they want to come to an agreement. Forsberg does have a few nagging issues and maybe one with the coaching staff.
“We wonder about Seattle, we can also maybe wonder about Montreal there with that player if they decide to move away from Tyson Barrie.” – Jeff Marek on Oilers Dman Tyson Barrie.

NHLTradeRumors.me

The Vancouver Canucks are heading into this offseason with the goal of freeing up cap space. According to Frank Seravalli, the Arizona Coyotes may come to their rescue, as they have offered to take on some of Vancouver’s expensive contracts for the right price.
- Some players who Arizona would likely be willing to take on are Tanner Pearson ($3.25 million cap hit) and Jason Dickinson ($2.65 million cap hit). Tyler Myers could also be a potential candidate in theory, but he has a 10-team no-trade list.
According to Allan Mitchell of The Athletic, Dmitri Samorukov could be traded this offseason.
According to Elliotte Friedman, the Chicago Blackhawks will be listening to trade offers for Kirby Dach this summer.

BLH’s Thoughts: I wonder if Holland tucks Samorukov into a package that will allow him to move a bloated contract. Would he use the Russian to entice a team to take on Klefbom’s contract?

Tyson Barrie to Montreal makes more sense than Seattle. The Kraken have Vince Dunn already, why add another player that’s nearly a clone of the one they already have plus the Habs have all those extra draft picks and Holland doesn’t have any in rounds 2, 3, and 4. He’ll be looking to recoup some selections in this year’s draft for sure.

Is there a deal to be made around Puljujarvi and Kirby Dach?