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!
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Oilersnation
Monday Mailbag – Off-season Grades for Ken Holland
Of the free agency moves Ken Holland has done this summer, which is your personal favourite, and which one has you scratching your head?
- The Duncan Keith trade still baffles me a little bit, especially after we saw all of these cap-type trades happening where teams gave up deals they no longer wanted for less than Holland gave up – Baggedmilk
BLH’s Thoughts: Securing RNH until his mid-30s for under market value was a pretty sweet piece of business. Getting the league’s top-scoring defenseman at a discount rate was another. I’m not huge on the Ceci signing right now and I wonder if the Foegele contract is just a tad rich.
Can the Oilers really take another step forward with the same goaltending tandem of Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen?
- I’m worried about Smith going back to the full, 82-game calendar, but I also think Koskinen will be better next year than he was last. It’s been good enough to get them into the playoffs in back-to-back years, so it should be again, especially in a mediocre division. After that, it’s all about getting hot at the right time. – Cam Lewis
BLH’s Thoughts: Well, the fact of the matter is, as Mr. Lewis said, this tandem has been good enough to get them to the post-season since they became a duo. What’s left to be seen is if they can save some of that magic for the playoffs or not.
Tyson Barrie led the NHL in scoring by a defenceman last season and yet a big part of the fanbase seems to be unhappy with him re-signing. How does everyone rate the three-year extension?
- It’s a bargain. You get the NHL’s leading scorer for defencemen for an AAV that’s not in the top-60. Every time I see people trotting out the most unflattering numbers they can find for Barrie, I think of those who searched high and low for numbers that convinced them Martin Marincin could be a first-pairing guy. Remember that? Flaws and all, it’s a great deal. – Robin Brownlee
BLH’s Thoughts: That line about Marincin couldn’t have hit the nail on the head any more. If analytics were around in the dynasty days, I can only imagine how many of the anti-Barrie crew would’ve been trying to run Paul Coffey or Mark Messier out of town…
This was supposed to be the Summer of Ken but I don’t know that the team is much better outside of having deeper depth up front. How would you rate Holland’s third offseason with the Edmonton Oilers so far?
- All depends on the results. Losing Larsson forced them to change direction somewhat, although had they signed him I could still see them signing Barrie and moving Bear for Foegele. Can’t blame the GM when a player simply wants a change. As I wrote I think Edmonton has greatly improved their forwards, the D has some questions, while goaltending is the same. I don’t think Smith’s age is that much of a factor, more than expecting a .923sv% is unrealistic. If Smith can slide in around .915 they should be fine. I think the trade deadline will be a factor. Edmonton must win at least one round in the playoffs this year. – Jason Gregor
BLH’s Thoughts: Holland didn’t exactly have his summer start out to plan, did he? I’d say he’s done an okay job at filling the holes the team needed to fill and hopefully that deeper forward group will impact the rest of the club in a positive manner.
I, like Gregor, don’t think the netminders have to be Vezina finalists in order for this team to compete for a playoff spot. They just have to avoid having horrible seasons.
I don’t know what to think about the defense right now. I know what Barrie and Nurse are going to bring and I have a pretty clear idea about Evan Bouchard, too. Duncan Keith and Cody Ceci, I’m simply unsure about right now. That said, I have the utmost confidence in both veterans and I look forward to seeing this differently shaped defense do their thing.
A lot has been made about Holland and his “it’s got to be a fair deal” line. When I look at more recent former players like Sakic, Guerin, and Yzerman, who have spent their whole lives competing hard against their friends and trying to win, do you think the league will finally move to a situation where you get GMs who are competing with each other the way they expect their players to do?
- Trades often take years to play themselves out. GM’s who make sucker offers to their peers — trying to come out way ahead — often find that their phones stop ringing and calls stop getting answered. – Robin Brownlee
BLH’s Thoughts: As a GM, you’ve got to go along before you get along. That’s just how it is. Sometimes you’ll see a trade made that appears wildly in favour of one club, but I’ll bet you there’s a good reason for that and you may never learn that reason. GMs that go around trying to win every trade by screwing over his brethren don’t tend to stay GMs long…
Lowetide.ca
HIDDEN FIGURES
Every summer I spend time with the outsiders, minor leaguers and college men who aren’t expected to make the big club in the fall, and in most cases won’t play in the NHL at all. NHL equivalencies are a major help, as forwards need to score at a certain level and defenseman have to bring some potential offensively in order to be considered viable NHLers.
FORWARDS
DYLAN HOLLOWAY (41.6) – Holloway is currently blocked at center and (after the addition of Zach Hyman and Warren Foegele) at left wing. That’s fine, he could be an impact recall from Bakersfield during the season. That’s a feature and a benefit of good NHL teams.
RYAN MCLEOD (39.9) – I watched him quite a bit in Bakersfield this season and he was a more confident player with the puck on his stick. The speed and puck retrieval have always been there (he gobbles up loose pucks so quickly it’ll make your head spin) but his ability to exit and enter with the puck on his stick was a key for the Condors in 2020-21.
TYLER BENSON (39.9) – He delivered another strong season and is waiver eligible, but Benson will have to earn a spot over names like Devin Shore, Cooper Marody and Kyle Turris (fourth line and extra forwards).
COOPER MARODY (36.8) – Marody is well above the 30-point cutline and moved to right wing for much of the AHL season… Foot speed is a problem and he really isn’t a prospect (25 in November) anymore.
KIRILL MAKSIMOV (33.6) – Maksimov is a talented player and showed some range in his AHL season (including penalty kill). I don’t know if he’s a future NHL player but his skill set is intriguing.
XAVIER BOURGAULT (32.1) – Scott Wheeler from The Athletic said he has a “deceptive release” and remarked on his creative play inside the offensive zone. He projects him as a top-six NHL forward down the line…
CARTER SAVOIE (30.0) – Savoie’s goal-scoring for the Denver Pioneers equates to 19.5 per 82 games in the NHL and makes him one of best scoring prospects in the system.
DEFENSEMEN
WILLIAM LAGESSON (25.3) – He’s more of a shutdown defenseman than a two-way man, but his AHL even strength totals rivaled both Caleb Jones and Ethan Bear as they were coming up.
EVAN BOUCHARD (21.9) – The top prospect in the system, the team is making way for Bouchard to play every night in the NHL in 2021-22… Will make some mistakes this season, but it’s important to play him every night.
PHILIP BROBERG (14.4) – Big, fast two-way defenseman had an uneven season in Sweden and some injury issues. A full Condors season would be best, but I don’t know if he’ll get it. Broberg can play either side and can defend, his career trajectory looking very similar to Oscar Klefbom’s so far.
DMITRI SAMORUKOV (10.8) – Big, strong bull of a defender with miles of future. Among the men who might be able to have an Adam Larsson-style career, he’s closest to NHL ready.
BLH’s Thoughts: I can’t see Marody, Benson, or Maksimov breaking through anytime soon. Maybe Benson gets his shot, but boy, he’s really in a tough spot unless he brings some new boots to camp… Ken Holland’s got a ton of vets already in tow and no doubt, there will be PTOs to prove his point even further.
That blocking of Holloway looks very strategic, but they may have eyes on Zach Hyman moving over to the right side at some point and that would open up a spot for the former AJHL MVP. He might be ready to go right now, but I reckon Holland’s going to ask him to spend some time in the AHL learning how to be a pro before he gets his shot in Edmonton. Now, that said, if he blows the doors off at training camp, it’ll be awfully hard to leave him off Edmonton’s opening night roster.
The competition for the remaining spot on the left side of the third pairing on defense is going to be very intriguing to watch next season. If the Oilers don’t sign anybody, training camp is going to be intense as William Lagesson and Dmitri Samorukov don’t take any prisoners, but then you’ve got Philip Broberg, who’s already one of the best skaters on the club, right there too. Maybe none of them make it though and aside from Wild Bill, they all head to Bakersfield to compete for ice time under Dave Manson…
Spector’s Hockey
NHL Rumor Mill – August 2, 2021
STLTODAY.COM: Jim Thomas reports all’s quiet on the Vladimir Tarasenko trade front. He believes it became “painfully apparent” there was no market for the unhappy 29-year-old winger when the Seattle Kraken passed on him in favor of Vince Dunn in last month’s expansion draft… It’s become known around the league that Tarasenko has relaxed his no-trade clause completely.
Thomas wonders if there’s a Cup contender in need of more offense willing to take a chance on Tarasenko. He pointed out the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes have the cap space to absorb the winger’s $7.5 million annual cap hit through 2022-23.
TVA SPORTS: The Montreal Canadiens still have some areas to address this offseason. They could use a puck-moving defenseman and an experienced center.
The Canadiens should also look into acquiring Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel. The Canadiens have salary-cap space, good prospects and promising young players such as Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Alexander Romanov to offer up as trade bait.
