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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The Athletic
Why Edmonton Oilers’ right wing overhaul is about to hit overdrive
- “The Oilers have enough scoring talent but badly need to create a defensive system that is effective, repeatable and works the same for every line.”
- “Edmonton is shopping for a No. 2 right winger, and if another one happened to pop loose it could give the team more position certainty with men like Foegele and Kostin.”
- “Yamamoto is a good player, but the Oilers need to find a less expensive option, and (based on what we’re hearing) the team is looking for a different style and look at the position.”
- “Foegele should be considered for the No. 2 right wing spot but is more likely to be on the third line (LW) or traded.”
- “Kostin can play up and down the lineup on either wing, giving the team some good options.”
- “Kevin Labanc is an interesting option… it could represent an upgrade. The downbeat is he is a similar player to Yamamoto…”
- “Connor Brown is an interesting bet, and getting lots of love from connected media… However, his goal share and expected goals percentage were not above 50 percent in 2021-22… The Senators got outscored 17-3 when Brown was on the ice in 2021-22… The team had a 2 percent shot percentage when he was playing…”
- “Garnet Hathaway is a winger identified recently as a shocking but legitimate option on an offensive line.”
- “Jesper Fast is not dynamic offensively and isn’t a truculent player, but he delivers two-way play in a major way.”
- “Michael Eyssimont makes the list in the same way as Hathaway. Sometimes a player just keeps pushing through the glass ceiling and emerges as something other than what is universally perceived.”
- “Edmonton is in win-now mode, so (Rafa) Lavoie will need to impact the roster immediately if he has any chance to be a part of the 2023-24 team.”
BLH’s Thoughts: I’m not as sold on Connor Brown as the likes of Bob Stauffer are. Edmonton would be better off bringing Puljujarvi back I reckon. At least they’d control the shot share in that scenario. Zach Hyman-lite my ass… Give me a break.
I am a huge proponent of Garnet Hathaway and Jesper Fast would be an excellent addition but neither of these players should be brought in to help with the team’s 5v5 scoring. They’re defensive players and really good depth PK forwards.
Eyssimont is an energy guy and I love them. The Oilers haven’t had enough of them in recent years but at the same time the ones they’ve had haven’t really helped the score line much.
I’ve been thinking about Labanc or Conor Garland recently. They’re tiny forwards but they score. Garland’s a bit of a prick on the ice too whereas Labanc leans more to the skill end of the spectrum. Personally, I’d rather the Oilers add a rat or two in order to spice up their games from a viewer’s perspective and Garland is definitely that. It’s too bad, Killer could’ve been one in Edmonton if injuries didn’t cut him down.
Look, we were talking about the Belarussian kid over in Jersey, Sharangovich. He scored over 20 goals in his first season two years ago and followed it up with 17 (I think) this past year. If he gets cut loose or becomes available to Edmonton, why not acquire him and throw him in the top six while bolstering the shit out of the bottom six? Money would be an issue probably and he’s an RFA… 40pt players usually run around $3.5M-$4M… So maybe I answered my own question. Check out some of his highlights below though, he can snipe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgQX-HTQPE8
Oilersnation
Monday Mailbag – Are we getting the same Oilers team for next year?
- Given the lack of cap space, how likely is it that the Oilers bring back the same team without any adding anything substantial?
- “Unlikely. There will be some changes. I don’t expect Yamamoto back and there will be a few changes in the bottom six. Maybe there is a change on the blueline, but I think it is less likely.” – Gregor
- Are you expecting Ken Holland to acquire more draft picks given that the Oilers have only three heading into what has been described as a deep class? Any candidates you see for a player for pick swap?
- “I could see Holland trading his 2nd round pick for more picks further down in the order. He’s done it before, and I can see it happening again. I’d be stunned if they get back in the first round, though.” – Baggedmilk
- How can our goaltending improve over the summer?
- “In the regular season, it was Campbell that needed to be better. However, in the playoffs, the defence and Skinner needed improvements. I don’t think we will see how good this duo can be until the playoffs.” – Horrobin
- Who has the more difficult job, Dubas or Treliving?
- “Treliving. The Maple Leafs haven’t won squat since 1967. Plus, the analytics guys in TO who worshipped the ground Dubas walked on will be angry now that he’s out and will be looking for a reason to drag Treliving. Dubas has his work cut out with a fast-fading Pittsburgh roster, but TO is a tougher market that chews people up.” – Brownlee
BLH’s Thoughts: See as the Oilers have been shopping Foegele AND Yamamoto since last summer, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say the team finds a way to clear both salaries off the books and adding picks via the trade down technique.
With the netminding, I’m hoping that the coaching staff learned a valuable lesson riding Skinner for so long and they not repeat that mistake next year. There should be more of a split in terms of games played and I’m also expecting more of an emphasis on team defense in 23/24, even to the extent that McDavid or Leon aren’t in the hunt for the Art Ross next year.
Dubas has a seven year contract. He’s got ZERO to worry about. Treliving has much more to navigate with the Leafs in my opinion. I’d also add that Dubas has the support of Pittsburgh’s main men, Treliving does not… Yet.
Trade Rumors
Spector’s Hockey
- Jimmy Murphy recently cited a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicating the Bruins were exploring how to retain Tyler Bertuzzi… Murphy also noted 98.5 The Sports Hub producer James Stewart claiming Bertuzzi was seeking $7 million annually on his next contract.
- Stewart also claimed the Bruins preferred Dmitry Orlov over Hampus Lindholm, who is about to enter the second season of an eight-year, $52 million contract. Stewart said the Bruins had “buyer’s remorse” with Lindholm and he was available in a trade.
BLH’s Thoughts: Well well well… Nuge for Lindholm anybody? Edmonton could play Nurse/Bouchard, Lindholm/Ekholm, Kulak/Ceci on their backend and that would be one of, if not, THE deepest defense in the league. Although, they’d have to go budget wingers in the top six in that case…
