Last night during the Coyotes/Oilers game, a tweet from @PunjabiOil came across my timeline that quoted Elliotte Friedman saying on a local podcast if he were GM of the Oilers and he knew that Taylor Hall was going to free agency, his plan would be to bring him back to Edmonton.
This was funny because Bob Stauffer and Mark Spector sort of brought Hall up during yesterday’s edition of Oilers Now and it’s not the first time we’ve heard Bob talk about Taylor Hall coming back to Edmonton, right?
Hall and Stauffer text… Friedman talking about the Oilers reuniting with Hall… Same day…
I think we know who Elliotte's "insider" is in Edmonton 🙂
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) February 20, 2019
I’ve talked to my sources about the possibility of Hall coming back and some of them have told me that “it’s doable” and some of them believe there’s no chance. Edmonton would have to do major surgery to the roster to fit him in long term.
Now, that does leave the possibility of him coming back for the final year of his current deal though. Which would be next season. Edmonton could definitely deal in that a lot easier than competing for his services on the open market if he were to go UFA status.
Combine that with murmurs of Jordan Eberle possibly being willing to go back to Edmonton on a deal that could pay him $4M/yr for three years…
How ridiculous would that be if both Hall and Eberle returned?
Re: Hall going back to the #Oilers
"It's doable. Hall loves Edm. He knows the fans love him. Hall and Chiarelli never seen eye to eye at all. Hall and Mclellan never got along."
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) February 20, 2019
All they’d have to do is find some way to get Hall out of NJ via trade, deal Lucic and one of Russell or Sekera without retaining salary, and then sign Ebs… It’s THAT easy! Wing depth restored!
Personally, I can’t see it happening but every GM, agent, and player are watching Toronto to see what they do and if it is deemed successful, every other team will try to copy it, including the Oilers.
NEWS ON PULJUJARVI
On the latest “Insider Trading”, Bob McKenzie wonders aloud if the relationship between the player and team is “fractured beyond repair”. He says there’s lots of speculation that Pulju would not look kindly on being sent down to the AHL and even goes as far as to question if Jesse would even go to the AHL.
It’s all bullshit.
From what I’ve gathered, Puljujarvi IS pissed. He’s angry because he’s watching teammates of his who are of lesser talent getting the push up the lineup instead of him. Players like Alex Chiasson and oddly enough, Ty Rattie.
Now we could all argue about how he hasn’t earned it, right? If “earning it” means not scoring, then wouldn’t Jesse be fitting right in with Rieder, Rattie, and Chiasson?
I feel for him. Two coaches in a row refuse to even give him a chance on the PP.
I mean if you want a direct example of how old-school Ken Hitchcock is, look no further than how Josh Currie was used last night. I don’t even want to go into how much of a bullshitter Hitch is based on how he said he was going to use the player in the pre-game media avail…
https://twitter.com/AdamsOnHockey/status/1098089308567687169
Even in the OT, a perfect time to use a player who has speed and a shot, as Ty Rattie does, Hitchcock throws Chiasson out?!
3v3 OT is the PERFECT scenario for a player like Rattie or Puljujarvi (if he’d been on the roster and not out with some “mystery” LBI) or Currie for that matter. Sam Gagner comes straight into the roster and he’s GIFTED with 2nd line TOI and 1st unit PP time…
Think about it for a second. This young man is one of the hardest working players on the team. He stays after practice to work on little things. A quote I got from a former teammate of his said, “He’s the hardest worker and so unselfish.”
How does it make any sense for the media to be portraying Puljujarvi in a selfish light when he’s literally the polar opposite? Well, it gets the eyes and ears directed to their websites and TV channels is what it does.
I’ve said this on Twitter before, but the media is going to try and paint Jesse into the same corner that Nail Yakupov once occupied. We might even start to hear things about how he’s not liked in the dressing room or he’s hard to get along with. Maybe more on the language barrier…
Had some extra input on the setlist tonight. pic.twitter.com/ebHSBSVT4j
— ARKELLS (@arkellsmusic) February 1, 2019
It’s already started with McKenzie saying things like, “the Oilers would LIKE to send him (Pulju) down to the American Hockey League…”
“Like” as in they’re being held hostage here?
Don’t believe it…
He is NOT going to refuse an assignment to the AHL. His camp might feel that Bakersfield isn’t the right move for him right now but he’d report.
As far as I’ve been told, Jesse loves Edmonton, he wants to stay and play. He’s young, he’s got certain expectations of himself and also the team I imagine. It’s just that he’s been told one thing and the opposite is happening. That’d enrage anybody.
I think it’s possible that there’s someone in the organization that is leaking things that simply aren’t true (that he wants out) and the media is running with it because if it bleeds it leads.
If the Oilers truly want to repair this, find the leak and plug it!
My Solution: Get Hitchcock off that bench and have Manny Viveiros run the show. He had a young Finn in Swift Current that ran the show there for some time. I think his name was Heponiemi.
My Solution 2: Let Jay Woodcroft work his magic with him. Winning is the cure to a lot of ailments.
THE NEXT MOVE: BENNING/PETROVIC OUT?
I’m still hearing that Pittsburgh has interest in Alex Petrovic, but teams like Toronto and Tampa Bay are also looking for depth right-hand shots. Matt Benning also fits the description there and in all honesty is probably who the Oilers would prefer to move given he’s got an extra year left on his deal.
Keep an eye on Alex Chiasson. He’s getting a ton of media attention right now. I think Boston is looking at him AND Kassian.
https://twitter.com/NHLbyMatty/status/1098251428445876229
The name of the game is clearing cap space folks. If Edmonton can rid themselves of all those players AND possibly one of Sekera or Russell, I think they do it with a smile on their faces and I think they’d even retain salary to do it.
Whatever it takes to get Hallsy and Ebs back into the fold, right? :p
