This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!
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Lowetide
ONCE IN A LIFETIME
How LT got there:
- Traded Cody Ceci, Warren Foegele and the 2024 first-round selection to the Carolina Hurricanes for Brett Pesce, Ronan Seely and the Hurricanes second-round pick in 2023.
- Traded Kailer Yamamoto to the Washington Capitals for 2023 third-round pick.
- Signed RFA’s Evan Bouchard, Ryan McLeod and Raphael Lavoie. Not signing Klim Kostin is disappointing, and Noah Philp’s not returning is a blow to the organization.
- Signed UFA’s Garnet Hathaway, Nick Bjugstad, Mattias Janmark and Connor Brown.
BLH’s Thoughts: This is a dream roster for me. Everything is addressed as best it could. Hathaway, Brown, Janmark, and Bjugstad can take care of the PK with McLeod and Ryan. That top-4 on defense is bloody outstanding and would be very hard to compete against. The bottom-9 is interchangeable aside from Leon. It’s just a very gritty versatile group that’s full of experience championship pedigree. It’s a roster built for the post-season and I love it.
Do I think it’s a realistic proposition? I don’t really. The painful and most simple fact is that I think there’ll be better teams with better offers for guys like Pesce and Hathaway. I’m not yet convinced Connor Brown will come either. Bjugstad will definitely get more money if he wants it and there’s a tiny bit of concern when it comes to Bouchard and McLeod’s new deals.
I hope Holland can build a roster that looks somewhat similar to this though. It’s quite strong in my opinion.
The Cult of Hockey
“We’re quite a ways apart”: Ken Holland on tough contract negotiations with Klim Kostin
- “We’re quite a ways apart,” Holland told Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now. “So we’ll see.”
- “Holland said he’s had multiple talks with Kostin’s agent, Paul Theofanous. “I do know that he’s got options outside the National Hockey League. It’s obviously going to be a challenge. There’s no way I’m going to be able to bring our entire bottom part of our roster back for cap reasons. We’ve got to make decisions on which ones we want to keep.”
- “As for Mattias Janmark and Nick Bjugstad, Holland said he was going to meet both of their agents. “I do believe we’re close (with Janmark). He does want to stay. He loves being an Oiler, believes we have a chance to win, like his role. He’s a conscientious guy, plays good defence.”
BLH’s Thoughts: It’d be a shame for Kostin to have that one good year and then bail but it happens when you’ve got options. It has to be Klim that really wants to return and if he’s more concerned with making a few 100k more than is being offered, I think that would be a mistake on a number of levels.
That said, somebody will step up in his absence. Holloway could score 10 goals in 50+ games I’m pretty certain. Lavoie could tally up 60+ PIMs in half-a-season if given the chance. At the end of the day, what would the team miss out on that they don’t already have in-house? And look, I love the player, don’t get me wrong, but he seduced the entire fanbase last season and became the new Zack Kassian/Ryan Jones/Matt Hendricks and that’s why folks would rather have him than somebody cheaper and possibly a better fit for the team’s goals.
Now, with all of that in mind, if he does leave he’ll do it under the best of circumstances. Meaning, he’s not yet worn his welcome out and everybody is still in love with him. He could come back in 24/25 or later and be welcomed back with open arms. So there’s that to consider.
Trade Rumors
Spector’s Hockey
- Kypreos claims (Clayton) Keller has been linked to the St. Louis Blues. However, the cap-strapped Blues would have to first ship out a player with an expensive contract like forward Jordan Kyrou.
- Ken Wiebe believes the Los Angeles Kings are pursuing a trade for Pierre-Luc Dubois. He wonders if the two clubs can find a deal that includes a long-term contract extension for the 25-year-old Winnipeg Jets center.
- It’s believed the Jets are focused on a return that would likely have forward Gabriel Vilardi or center Quinton Byfield as the centerpiece.
- Mike McIntyre reports the proposed return for the Jets is Vilardi and Iafallo.
Can confirm Blues are acquiring Kevin Hayes from Philadelphia, as first reported by @KevinWeekes. Expectation is Flyers are retaining as much as 50% salary on remaining three years of contract. #stlblues
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) June 27, 2023
- Paul Skrbina reports incoming Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz is “trying like hell to get a, say, top four or top-five pick.
- Sammi Silber reports the Washington Capitals might hold off on trading Evgeny Kuznetsov and Anthony Mantha.
- … the Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers appear to be the prime suitors for Noah Hanifin.
- Jimmy Murphy cites an NHL source claiming the Bruins aren’t done shedding salary… He also claims the trade rumors surrounding goaltender Linus Ullmark are true. Murphy speculates Matt Grzelcyk could be the defenseman on the move.
- Garrioch also noted that DeBrincat has been linked to the Nashville Predators. That’s prompted speculation whether Nashville goalie Juuse Saros would head the other way…There was a rumor claiming the Washington Capitals would like to make a deal to send Tom Wilson to the Senators.
BLH’s Thoughts: Has there every been an NHL superstar that’s been traded for as many bags of pucks as Taylor Hall? The best trade return he brought in was the first one, Adam Larsson. Since then it’s been a lot of unfulfilled hope and promise. He’ll be fun to watch with Bedard next year though. As long as his leg holds up.
Nashville trying to get into the top-5 of the draft would be something. I think they could get to no.5 which is owned by Montreal but it would take two trades, one to get to Arizona’s 6th overall selection and then the flip with the Habs. The Preds have the 15th and 24th picks in the first round as well as #46 and #47, I think a combination of those four picks and a good roster player or two could get them up to 5th OV but man, that is a massive price to pay to get whoever they’ve got their eye on. I’m guessing it’s Michkov or Will Smith if they rumor is that specific. Ryan Leonard is getting some Tkachuk-like comps mind you…
Hanifin is a lefty, is Buffalo planning on playing him on the bottom pairing with Dahlin and Samuelsson currently occupying the LHD1 and LHD2 spots? I have to be missing something there.
How much on LA trading for Ullmark?
Why is Juuse Saros in the rumor mill? Didn’t he just have a pretty decent season for the Preds? I wouldn’t trade him if I were Trotz. Not even for a scoring winger like Debrincat because I think it’s a lot easier to find a goal scorer than a good starting netminder. Hell, if he needs a winger, go out and reacquire Viktor Arvidsson. Isn’t he on the block?
Imagine playing against Ottawa with Brady Tkachuk and Tom Wilson on the ice every 3rd shift… Those Sens/Leafs games would get awfully spicy!
