Edmonton Oilers Rumors: Could the Sabres Target Leon Draisaitl?

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Oil on Whyte (Lynch)

How long is the Edmonton Oilers championship window?

I think the championship window would be the next three years. If the team does not win a championship during the next three seasons this team will definitely be undergoing some major changes.
Getting out of the first round and into a conference final needs to happen. If the team doesn’t win a championship next season some playoff success needs to occur.

BLH’s Thoughts: Yeah… So it was a short post from Lynch… As long as Connor McDavid is on the Edmonton Oilers, there will be a window open to win a Stanley Cup. Even if he leaves, the club will still have Leon Draisaitl and I’d venture to say that they’d even have a very good chance at winning a championship with Leon leading the team.

Now, should both players leave, after their contract expires, all bets are off.

I don’t think I’m saying anything you, as a seasoned follower of the club, doesn’t already know. I do think it’s humorous that some think there’s only a three year opportunity though. Look out how long it took Tampa and Washington to win their Cups. If the Islanders win one in the coming years under Trotz and Lamoriello, that will have taken much longer than seven years, no? What about Colorado, how long will their build have taken if they win a championship in the next year or three?

If the players see that the team is competing, they’ll stick around unless they’re completely disillusioned.

Oilersnation (baggedmilk)

Let’s talk about ads on jerseys

On Tuesday, Sportico’s Eben Novy-Williams and Scott Soshnick broke the story that the league’s Board of Governors had unanimously approved the idea of teams starting the process of negotiating potential jersey ad deals with interested sponsors. The report states that patches will measure 3 inches by 3.5 inches
For many, NHL jerseys are sacred and should not be tarnished by corporate logos, but for a league that’s likely hurting for cash because of the pandemic and having to play through what was mostly a fanless season, this is an easy way for teams to try and recoup some cash in the easiest way possible.
As much as we may not like the idea of ads on our beloved Oilers jerseys, it’s no secret that money talks and I don’t know that the NHL is really in a spot to be turning down easy revenue.
When I see a number like $4-6 million dollars earned from sewing a small patch on the front of a jersey, I can’t help but imagine rich billionaire owners smiling widely as they picture a dose of corporate cash coming in for doing next to nothing. Slap a patch on for millions of dollars? Giddy up, baby.
Personally, I don’t think adding a small logo to the front of the sweaters is that big of a deal provided that they keep it at one, especially since I’ll be able to buy one without the logos anyway.

BLH’s Thoughts: Look, I could give two shits if the Oilers roster looks like it should belong on the NASCAR circuit. I don’t have to buy that uniform IF I shell out the $300 dollars to get one, I can buy one that is stripped of the ads. My concern is the quality of the team and its results, not the visual quality of their uniforms.

What I would like to see if the ad revenues moon is that the money is reinvested into the local minor hockey associations of each market. I still believe that the sport is quite expensive to get into and that’s not just talking about the equipment, the ice and ice time is ridiculously overpriced and that shouldn’t be the case.

NHL teams should be footing the bill to develop its market’s hockey players. Build rinks and arenas and provide opportunity to those who wouldn’t normally have it once the debts from the COVID seasons have been paid.

Hell, move into untapped markets in Asia where there’s unknown amounts of potential and partner up with the local hockey organizations there and reap the benefits of that massive demographic.

Spector’s Hockey

THE ATHLETIC: Jeremy Rutherford reports New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield has surfaced as a possible trade target for the St. Louis Blues. A St. Louis native, the 28-year-old Mayfield could be a fit on the right side of the Blues’ third defense pairing.

NHL.COM: Mike G. Morreale believes the New Jersey Devils still need forward depth. They recently signed Tomas Tatar. Promising Alexander Holtz could bolster their production but he’ll need time to adjust to the NHL pace. He feels they’ll need another veteran forward to provide support for Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes.

NHLRumors.com

John Vogl of The Athletic: Buffalo Sabres’ UFA targets from one to several years out abound. The prominent players are Auston Matthews in 2024, Patrick Kane in 2023, and even Leon Drasaitl in 2025.
- Kevyn Adams is putting the Buffalo Sabres in a position to spend as soon as the summer of 2022. At least, that is the plan. The problem with that future is in a year, who wants to go to Buffalo?
2024 and 2025 appear to have more value or have more realistic targets. If Patrick Kane were to come home though, that might change things.