Edmonton Oilers Rumors: “…his deal is extremely attractive to other teams.”

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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Sportsnet

As Oilers enter season with shaky tandem, rookie goalies draw intrigue

What do the Edmonton Oilers have in their goaltending cupboard?

Stuart Skinner – The six-foot-four, 22-year-old is perhaps their most advanced netminding prospect, tagged as the starter in Bakersfield again this season, his third AHL campaign. If goalies need to be big, and they need two or three years of minor league seasoning at least, then Skinner is on schedule to join Smith in Edmonton’s crease for the 2022-23 campaign.

Ilya Konovalov – At 23, he is the rare smaller goalie, listed at 5-foot-11. But he has seasoning that even Skinner can not claim, having played 111 games in the second-best league in the world. He’s been impressive at Rookie camp, and is likely destined to split duties in Bakersfield with Skinner. May the best man win.

Olivier Rodrigue – A second-round pick in ’18, Rodrigue was a high pedigree amateur who rep’ed Team Canada at the U-16, U-18 and U-20 tournaments. Now he’s a second-year pro and likely destined for the No. 1 job at ECHL Wichita. If Rodrigue, whose father Sylvain is the goaltending coach at Bakersfield, is the answer to our question, we won’t know for a couple of years yet.

Among these three goalies could be the next Oilers starter, but clearly the trajectory of the team is well ahead of the trajectory of these prospects.
In signing to a two-year deal this summer, Holland has effectively given one spot away. He’ll likely fill the other in the trade market — a goalie that we will peg to walk in as the No. 1 ahead of Smith.

BLH’s Thoughts: I’ve not a lot to say at this point on this. It’s hard to comment on these three netminders when we’ve only seen one so far this year. After the preseason games are done, it’ll be much easier to give an opinion.

But if you’re begging for something, here’s a brief word,

Skinner – Is trending right. Hard to judge last season when he only played the teams in Bakersfield’s division, mind you. This season will be key.

Konovalov – Who knows? The resume looks good and he’s a bit older, so he should be a bit farther along in his development. Let’s revist after his game against the Flames Rookies coming up.

Rodrigue – Probably should be in Bakersfield this year and yet might end up there, but of the three, he’s the youngest and has the least pro experience. I liked his athleticism in yesterday’s rookie game.

The Hockey Writers

Kailer Yamamoto Deal Opens Up Interesting Options for the Oilers

While the contract gives Yamamoto a chance to bounce back and prove himself, it also opens up the option for general manager Ken Holland to get creative with the salary cap, create some internal competition and get a better sense of what Yamamoto is without any real sense of commitment.
He’ll have better production totals to use as leverage and the Oilers will be one season more comfortable in evaluating what this player actually is.
A one-year pact doesn’t hurt Edmonton. It’s one year the Oilers didn’t have to spend much to keep the player in the lineup.
If Yamomoto is not part of that equation, the Oilers aren’t committed and his deal is extremely attractive to other teams.

BLH’s Thoughts: Fack me! Am I glad that this soap opera is done. That said, another one is about to begin, who will be an Edmonton Oilers in 2022-23, Jesse Puljujarvi or Kailer Yamamoto or might it possibly be both?

Killer has a lot to prove this year. I hope he’s all healed up from whatever was ailing him last season because from a selfish point of view, I want to see him a super 3rd line with Warren Foegele and Ryan McLeod.

Just to be frank for a second, after watching Xavier Bourgault and Rafa Lavoie during yesterday’s rookie game with the Flames, Yamamoto has some really talented RWers right on his ass and I’m not sure he’s going to survive the chase. As skilled and as adept as he is defensively, those other two fellas might be better long-term options for the Oilers in the top-six.

Could Yamo be a long-term option for the 3rd line? I think that’d be a perfect place for him to be honest, but we’ll see.

The Hockey Writers (Rumors)

Marc-Andre Fleury has one year remaining on his current contract, one he’ll play with the Chicago Blackhawks after being traded there this offseason. After that, it’s unclear where Fleury will play or what he’ll do. Retirement is certainly an option based on his recent comments.
It appears Chara has made a decision about where he’ll play this season and it sounds like he’s going right back to where it all began. Reports are that he’s signed a one-year deal with the New York Islanders.
Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet writes that Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning still has a good relationship with both Pettersson and Hughes, even if no deals have been finalized as training camp is close to getting underway. The GM and the agent for both players continue to talk.
Matthew Tkachuk shed some insight into Brady’s negotiations with the Senators during a sitdown interview with Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman of the 31 Thoughts Podcast and noted that “There’s a lot fake stuff out there regarding this, they’re not too close, so hopefully it gets figured out.”