I want to touch on three things in this post and hope not to keep you long whilst I do it. So, we’re going to talk about the Edmonton Oilers (obviously) who participated at the 2020 NHL All-Star game in St. Louis, what’s going on in Bakersfield with the Condors and the latest Oilers trade rumors.
The All-Star Game
I don’t know about you, but there were a trio of things that were good about this weekend,
- The ladies 3-on-3 game!
Man, that was some great entertainment between the Americans and the Canadians. Back and forth and very tightly contested! I’d like to see some more of that, please! WAY better than what the men were offering in their games to say the least.
- Leon Draisaitl telling Matthew Tkachuk to “F*ck off!” after they connected for a goal and then proceeding to laugh his ass off with McDavid.
https://twitter.com/oliviaylin/status/1221259458866831360
- The Pacific winning the whole shebang!
So, Draisaitl gets four goals and two assists and David Pastrnak is the MVP? C’mon… Just the Oilers getting the shaft again. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.
As I watched this game I thought back to the 1990 All-Star game where hockey grabbed me and never let me go. The two greatest players in the game would faceoff and it would be Mario Lemieux scoring four goals for the Wales Conference at home in Pittsburgh. One season later, his Penguins would be raising the first of two Stanley Cups after years and years of futility…
The Boys Down in Bakersfield
Edmonton’s AHL affiliate swept their weekend series with the Pacific division-leading Tuscon Roadrunners. First by a score of 3-2 and then 4-1. Evan Bouchard was ridiculous in both games. He’s only 20 years old and a no.1 defender in the AHL already. I didn’t get a chance to watch a ton of him in London, so I’m not sure if it was in his game or not, but Bouchard’s puck-rushing is on point. It’s not pretty like Quinn Hughes’ or as powerful as Darnell Nurse’s, but it’s effective as hell and it’s telling me that his personal confidence is sky-high right now. It’s no wonder why the Condors coaching staff has him running the powerplay now.
Another player on the minds of Oilers fans is Tyler Benson. He was alright over the weekend. Two assists and six penalty minutes is what he accrued in those games vs. Tucson. The thing you can’t say about Benson is that he lacks drive and grit. He’s got that in spades. He’s clever and has excellent situational awareness. What I’m concerned with is that his 5v5 game isn’t exactly game-breaking. Yup, he’s got skill on the walls and he can make good plays, but I wonder if he’s better than Sam Gagner at this point.
Stuart Skinner has been on fire over the last month (10gp and only two games with a SV% under .906) and this is a really good sign as he did not have an amazing first half. It’s nice to see him settling in. We might have a quality goalie on our hands here if he can continue these sorts of performances.
Next season Bakersfield’s roster is going to get quite the overhaul, especially the defense. Right now they’ve got the following players whose contracts are expiring,
- Joel Person (RFA), Keegan Lowe, Brandon Manning, Logan Day (RFA), William Lagesson (RFA)
That leaves Evan Bouchard and Dmitri Samorukov and I’d be willing to bet that Bouchard will be an Oiler from game one next year.
Word has it that Edmonton is looking at finally signing European blueliners Markus Niemelainen and Filip Berglund, both Oilers draft picks from 2016 in the 3rd round who are plying their trades in the SM-Liiga and SHL respectively.
Other Notes:
- Rookie defenseman Dmitri Samorukov was wearing a full cage after sustaining a facial fracture the week prior. Word is, he’ll have it on well into February.
- Matt Benning is playing Matt Benning hockey. In his conditioning stint, he’s taken a few whacks to the face and a high hit or two. He’s also been fully engaged with anybody looking to cause trouble for Bakersfield’s goalies or skilled players… Not the gameplan I would’ve given him, but he’s old school like that.
- Have the Oilers ever had as many as three relatives of their alumni in the lineup at one time? Keegan Lowe (Son of Kevin), Benning (Son of Brian), and Luke Esposito (Nephew of Mark Messier) are lacing them up for the Condors.
Latest Trade Rumors
- Carolina’s disgruntled Finnish forward Erik Haula is said to be on the block. He’s gone through a difficult personal tragedy recently, so I’m not sure what his availability is like at the moment, but prior to that, he was having a very difficult time under Rod Brind’Amour.
- Kyle Palmieri, Jason Zucker, and Chris Kreider are on Edmonton’s radar. I wonder if the plan is to acquire a winger and move Ryan Nugent-Hopkins down a line?
- Some rumblings that the Oilers have interest in Kings defender Derek Forbort. He’s a big, smooth-skating, left-handed shooting defender who is coming off of back surgery. I don’t see it unless it’s a cap dump. Todd McLellan does like him some Kris Russell though…
- The Maple Leafs are looking for some gritty help on their back-end and most people are talking about Adam Larsson, but what about Matt Benning. He was almost sent to TO for Connor Brown last year, remember?
- Jujhar Khaira’s days are numbered. Look for him to be moved shortly.
- Oilers PxP colorman Bob Stauffer was saying last week on his radio show that it wouldn’t surprise him if the Oilers traded down at the draft (if they’re selecting in the 18-23 range) to bring in a 3rd rounder to replace the one they’ll end up losing in the Lucic/Neal trade.
