Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with excerpts from the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation from all of the internet’s best sites including Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, The Athletic, TSN and more!
From the Edmonton Sun (Terry Jones)
JONES: Ken Holland all-in trying to make Oilers a contender
- In handcuffs in his first two years on the job because of the salary cap, Holland finally has salary cap room to make the Oilers better and he confessed that, because of the McDavid-Draisaitl Window, he is going forward with a strategy of using term as the hook to land a few big fish.
- “The last couple of years we didn’t have a lot of cap space. We obviously filled a lot of holes with players making a million dollars a year. We have some more cap space now so I am going to maximize that cap space. If players that I think are going to be important to this team, would I consider giving term to get more cap space, that’s something I would consider.”
- If Holland lands Hyman, as expected, he’ll likely have $12 million to work with to replace Larsson, find a third line centre and a back up goalie.
BLH’s Thoughts: One of the good things about having the majority of your top-six signed up long-term is that you know what you’ve got to work with for the foreseeable future plus if any of those players fall out of favor in the first few years, there might be another GM willing to take on that player security.
Holland is going to have to keep some of that powder dry for in-season transactions and potential trades, so if I had to guess, I’d say he spends a bit on a goalie and a defenseman and fills the 3C internally.
Elliotte Friedman on SN960: thinks EDM offered a 6th for Hyman's sign and trade. Doesn't think Toronto thinks that's enough. Another GM told him a 6th wouldn't be enough for him to do it in the same situation either with how valuable cap space is.
— #1 A'ja Wilson Fan (@Account4hockey) July 23, 2021
What I’m hearing about the Oilers offseason 3.0: Is Zach Hyman coming to Edmonton? Top Oilers draft targets?
- Where there’s smoke, there’s often fire — and there’s a ton of smoke surrounding Zach Hyman and the Oilers right now.
- Edmonton appears to be the clear frontrunner to land the pending free agent winger. Until a trade comes down and/or a contract is signed, never assume anything.
- The Oilers are trying to be the best team they can be during that time frame. Rightly or wrongly, it doesn’t appear as though they’re nearly as concerned if that’s followed by a dip.
- Here are a couple of names to watch for the Oilers: centres Cole Sillinger and Chaz Lucius.
- The industry scuttlebutt suggests both Sillinger and Lucius are likely to be off the board by the time the Oilers are picking.
- Barring a last-minute change, my understanding is the Oilers’ preference is Sweden’s Jesper Wallstedt over Sebastian Cossa of WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings if they had their druthers.
- Again, it’s unlikely either goalie gets to the Oilers.
- it’s entirely possible they move down in the first round of the draft to acquire another selection or two. The Oilers have just four picks in the draft and aren’t scheduled to select again until the fourth round (116th) after their first-round choice.
BLH’s Thoughts: I don’t really understand why DNB wrote about those four draft prospects if the Oilers aren’t going to have a shot at drafting them… Here’s a couple of guys, they won’t be around when Edmonton is picking, but if they are, there’ll be interest from the club.
Lucius should be a top-12 pick, he’s one of the better big-bodies snipers in the draft. Sillinger is a pepper pot that can skate like the wing and hits like a freight train plus he’s got a helluva shot.
I’d say Edmonton has a better chance at drafting a winger out of Sweden. Names like Oskar Olausson, Isak Rosen, and Simon Robertsson come to mind. But as I said earlier this week, there are a couple of Russian goal scorers that’ll be available in Nikita Chibrikov and Kirill Kirsanov, so the Oilers draft could have a real European flavor to it.
From NHLRumors.com
- Daniel Nugent-Hopkins: Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland said that it’s unlikely that they trade for the negotiating rights of an unrestricted free agent. It’s unclear if Zach Hyman is part of that.
- Allan Mitchell of The Athletic: If Edmonton is forced to solve the No. 3 centre problem internally, the best solution is to use Khaira and McLeod as third- and fourth-line centres until the younger man takes over the more important position.
- John Gambadoro: The Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Vegas Golden Knights, and Pittsburgh Penguins are among the teams interested in Arizona Coyotes center Christian Dvorak.
- John Vogl: Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams: “We’re willing to listen to every possible thing that’s going to get our franchise pointed in the right direction.”
- Frank Seravalli of Daily FaceOff: Just a feeling that the Seattle Kraken could trade defenseman Vince Dunn. If the Kraken see a top four of Mark Giordano, Jamie Oleksiak, Adam Larsson and Carson Soucy, then there isn’t a lot of room for Dunn.
- Wonder if Dougie Hamilton could be a dark horse signing for the Edmonton Oilers.
- Buying out James Neal and/or Mikko Koskinen would give the Oilers more cap room. Zack Kassian is getting some interest. Ethan Bear may not be in Edmonton for the long-haul.
- Mollie Walker of the NY Post: The New York Rangers have some decisions to make with their pending RFAs, headed by forward Pavel Buchnevich. Buchnevich’s agent Todd Diamond said they’ve been in touch with Rangers all offseason.
- Chytil could be used as a trade piece as well. He made under $900,000 and will be looking for a raise. Is center the long-term position for him?
- Andy Strickland: Though it could be a costly acquisition, the St. Louis Blues are among the teams interested in New York Rangers forward Pavel Buchnevich.
- Murray Pam: GM Francis talked about having salary cap space available to them after the expansion draft. Sounds like they could be willing to take on ‘bad contracts’ to acquire draft assets.
- Joe Haggerty of Boston Hockey Now: (mailbag) The Boston Bruins have $20 million in salary cap space, with some of their own free agents to re-sign, and some free agent and trade options.
- Vladimir Tarasenko, Conor Garland and Ryan Suter could be options for the Bruins.
- NHL Watcher: Darren Dreger said on TSN 1050 on Monday that the Toronto Maple Leafs are looking at Blake Coleman as a “replacement” for Zach Hyman. Coleman will be looking to at least double his salary to $3.6 million and that will be on the low side.
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