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!
The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, and The Daily Goal Horn just to name a few!
If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!
Give us a follow on the socials!
- Youtube: Beer League Heroes Channel
- Twitter: @beerleagueheroe
- Instagram: @beerleagueheroes
- Facebook: Beer League Heroes
The Athletic
Edmonton Oilers targets early and late in NHL free agency
- “Connor Brown is looking to make a comeback after a lost season. Edmonton may look to sign Brown on a one-year deal…”
- “Patrick Kane’s recovery time is likely to scare off many teams, including the Oilers.”
- “Pierre Engvall is an intriguing name, he has size, speed and great utility. His price tag may go too high but he would be a fine target for a team that wants to be heavy on the forecheck and work well along the wall.”
- “The best available for Edmonton is Jesper Fast. His price tag should come in around or below Yamamoto’s $3.1 million. The organization is looking for a responsible winger and that is the strength of Fast.”
- “Other RH defencemen who will be available include Matt Dumba and Radko Gudas. Dumba will command a much larger cap hit than the Oilers can afford and Gudas is playing less each season versus elites, via Puck IQ.”
- “Best bet: Oilers sign Mayfield in the same range as the Ceci deal, and then flip Ceci for a scoring right winger who can replace Yamamoto.”
- “Among wingers, it’s difficult to argue against re-signing Ryan and Janmark. The two men were impressive at five-on-five and on the penalty kill.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Will Patrick Kane need to pass through waivers or anything if he signs in the new year? I have a feeling the answer is yes and if that is true, who’s going to take that risk? Conversely, is there a team out there that will sign him to a player-friendly contract in the summer not knowing how he’s going to react to his offseason hip surgery? Maybe Vegas will do it but Oilers fans will be wondering if there’s a way Ken Holland might bring him in? Maybe a third team could sign him and then come deadline time a prearranged deal would be completed? Similar to what Edmonton wanted to do with Klingberg and the Habs last summer.
For what it’s worth, I like Mayfield better than Ceci and as much as I enjoy Dumba’s and Gudas’ brand of hockey, they’ll be too expensive to sign. Ken Holland has to find the next version of those players and bring them along.
Don’t get fooled by Jesper Fast’s numbers, he’s a 3rd liner and has been for some time now. LT wans to slot him in the top-six but that’s not his place. The offense will die if he’s slotted above his ability. If the Oilers want offense with Leon, then put high-skill players with him. In all honesty, Draisaitl should be the defensive conscience of his line going forward and his wingers should be lapping up the points.
Edmonton needs an elite 3rd line to truly compete. I mean, look at what Vegas’ 4th line is doing in these playoffs. Carrier, Roy, and Kolesar are wrecking their opponents’ skill lines at the most important time of the year. Roy is a $3M 4th line center and nobody is kicking up a fuss about that. In Edmonton the media is arguing that $1.4M for Nick Bjugstad is too much for their 3C position!!! Brutal!
Oilersnation
Seravalli: Don’t expect Carter Hart
- “I do not have any sense or indication that the (Edmonton) Oilers are in on the goalie market at all. I think they are contractually stuck with what they have in Jack Campbell and to a lesser extent Stuart Skinner.”
- “Carter Hart is available but the price I think is going to be pretty significant. The Flyers are listening but to my understanding nothing is imminent. Everyone on the Flyers is up for grabs, with the exception of Cutter Gauthier.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Hart might drum up some interesting chatter around the draft but if he’s not dealt then, I think they’ll hang on to him until the deadline and then move him because his contract is expiring and he’ll definitely be looking for a raise on his $3.9M annual deal he’s on now.
Do the Oilers really NEED Hart right now? I don’t think they do. They NEED to figure out how to transform into one of the league’s elite defensive teams, then their goaltending will take off, not the other way around.
Trade Rumors
Spector’s Hockey
- Josh Wegman listed the Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens as potential landing spots for Pierre-Luc Dubois.
- Wegman speculates Jesperi Kotkaniemi might interest the Jets.
- Elliotte Friedman reported hearing different feedback regarding the trade status of Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart.
- Friedman cited sources linking Hart to the Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators.
BLH’s Thoughts: I watched a lot of Carolina games after the Puljujarvi trade and while Kotkaniemi might not score a ton, he’s a high-end mucker and grinder. He plays a really old school game. He’s a 40pt player right now, so maybe I should slag on his scoring. Who knows where it might end up with the right linemates. Good player though. Lots of heart and aggression in his game.
How good is Buffalo going to be with a proper no.1 goalie? Sheesh!
