Edmonton Oilers Rumors: Athletic Pundit Ponders Kessel and Bonino to the Oilers

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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Cult of Hockey

Player grades: Young defenders play well, not enough teammates follow suit as Oilers fall to Kraken

#6 Kris Russell, 3. He’s done a lot of heavy lifting this last while, and on Friday it looked like those minutes may have caught up to him.
#22 Tyson Barrie, 3. Very little going on offensively or defensively, with 0 contributions to Grade A shots by the Oilers while being beaten on 4 in his own end of the ice.
#42 Brendan Perlini, 3. Got back into the line-up but did nothing with the opportunity, brief as it was (just 6:29 ice time).
#44 Zack Kassian, 2. Started the game on the third line and ended it on the fourth, and deservedly so after making critical mistakes on 2 Seattle goals… he got 2 shifts in the third period.
#56 Kailer Yamamoto, 3. Had a large contingent of family and friends for his first official NHL game in his home state, but was clearly pressing and had an ineffectual night.
#75 Evan Bouchard, 7. A second consecutive 1-goal, 1-assist night for the young rearguard who has passed Barrie for the team lead in blueline scoring (4-11-15) despite getting less than 20% as much time on the powerplay.
#80 Markus Niemelainen, 6. Looked right at home in his second NHL game, providing a commanding physical presence on the back end. Indeed, he was credited with almost as many hits (7) as the rest of his team combined (9).
#86 Philip Broberg, 6. Became more prominent as the game progressed and really emerged in the final frame when he was paired with Bouchard, primarily in a group that included McDavid, Draisaitl, and Puljujarvi.
#13 Jesse Puljujarvi, 6. Played a solid game with 2 dangerous shots on goal. Earned a secondary assist on Bouchard’s goal.
#29 Leon Draisaitl, 7. Playing in his 500th career game, he was involved in all 3 Edmonton goals.
#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 7. Led the Oilers with 5 shots on net including a dangerous shot in the final minute which tested, but couldn’t solve, Grubauer.
#97 Connor McDavid, 7. Played a massive 25:53 to lead the Oilers, with 6 shot attempts, 2 hits, and 5/14=36% on the dot. Struggled to break through the defensive net that Seattle cast on him, though he did draw 2 penalties in the process.

BLH’s Thoughts: Paging Darnell Nurse! Paging Darnell Nurse! The Edmonton Oilers require your services at the front desk!

Russell and Barrie did what they could for as long as they could after playing well above their level for the week prior. I won’t be casting too much of a negative shadow on them for having an off night.

However, I was really impressed with Markus Niemelainen. I love the physical presence he brings to Edmonton’s blue line. I think he’s even more of a wrecking ball than Adam Larsson was as the Swede tended to pick his spots a bit more and I also remember Larsson being a bit dirtier (Leon knows all about that now). With the Finn, opposing wingers now have to worry about carrying that puck across the Oilers’ blue line on his side because there’s a good chance he’s going to hammer whoever tries as he did with multiple Kraken last night. Dave Tippett’s squad doesn’t have enough assertiveness and Markus brings that in droves.

Broberg and Bouchard are going to be an awesome pair someday and we got a glimpse of some that potential. They’re not ready yet but give it a couple of seasons and the Oilers will have a very special partnership patrolling their end. I wonder if Tippett will give this pair a go against LA in Edmonton’s next game?

Pulju… He’s getting the chances and that means he’s going to the right areas. The ketchup will flow again, mark my words.

Now for the not-so-happy part…

I think it’s time for a change of scenery for Zack Kassian. Nothing is working for him under this coach’s guidance. He’s a ghost of his former self and in terms of positive production anywhere on the ice, he’s wading into Perlini waters. Reckon Tippett sits him for a game, promotes Sceviour, and throws Kyle Turris in? That has to be on the table at this point.

So, in front of his home crowd, Kailer Yamamoto failed to make any sort of impression. This funk of his is going into its second season now and it no longer seems to be an outlier, but a trend. How long can Holland afford to wait on Killer to find his hands before saying enough is enough?

The Athletic

Jake DeBrusk trade scenarios, Evander Kane landing spots and Patrick Roy’s Montreal fit

Even though there’d be some symmetry in DeBrusk landing in Edmonton, that doesn’t seem like a natural fit. The Oilers’ greater needs are for a top-six right winger plus a No. 3 center. DeBrusk seems as if he’s only suited to play left wing, and that’s an area that’s well covered with Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Now, if the Oilers go shopping at all, closer to the deadline, what fun it would be to pluck Phil Kessel out of Arizona (to play the left side) and Nick Bonino out of San Jose (to play center). Those two were key members of the Penguins’ championship clubs back in 2016 and 2017, and could either play together or play apart.
Question: if the Sharks were to pick up half the contract, then who among the league’s usual bargain hunters might be willing to take on Kane?… Carolina is forever swimming against the conventional NHL tide, and was willing to take a chance on Tony DeAngelo this summer when no one else would.
(Patrick) Roy would be a bold choice (for Habs GM), though he might be a better down-the-road option as a coach. Some NHL commentators I know believe Roy would be a fabulous coaching hire, and it would solve the problem of who is actually speaking for the team on any given day. It would be Patrick.

BLH’s Thoughts: Even the pundits out of the major news outlets don’t see DeBrusk going to Edmonton, but Duhatschek’s suggestion of Kessel and Bonino would fit Ken Holland’s past trading profile.

Kessel could go up with Leon and RNH, Yamo to the 3rd line with Bonino and Foegele, and McLeod to the 4th line with Sceviour and Shore or Dylan Holloway when those two are healthy.

The Hockey Writers Rumors

According to Darren Dreger, who made an appearance on TSN 690, when asked if any teams might have interest in Brendan Gallagher out of Montreal, he responded that he would think so. He noted, “I do because of the character of the individual.” He adds, “It’s not an easy move to make though. If you’re a contending team chances are you’re a cap team, so what are the Canadiens taking back?”
…defenseman Ben Chiarot knows it’s likely he’ll get moved by Jeff Gorton ahead of the trade deadline. He said, “You see it every year, guys on expiring contracts get moved.” One NHL executive said, “There’s been chatter in the market about Chiarot for weeks already.”
The newest member of the Vegas Golden Knights, Jack Eichel, is making progress towards a return to the NHL. The center was seen back on the ice just three weeks after disc fusion surgery.