July 28, 2021 /

Edmonton Oilers Rumors: Holland to Sign Barrie, Ceci, Hyman, and More Today?

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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Edmonton Sun (Terry Jones)

JONES: Oilers heading into most important days in team history
  • Word was that about-to-be-free-agent Barrie and the Oilers were still talking Tuesday and that the money was close, but Barrie wanted longer than the three-year term Holland didn’t want to budge on.
  • The thing is that Holland is Mr. Draft & Develop and the Oilers and Evan Bouchard, Philip Broberg and Dmitri Samorukov are expected to move in to major roles and Holland want to clear the path for their future.
  • I wonder how much temptation there might be when it comes to the defence, to save some of that cap space until trade deadline day.
  • Whatever, the bottom line of what happens Wednesday, or in the next few days of free agency, is to be able to announce to the hockey world and the Oilers players themselves that they are unquestionably and undeniably an improved hockey team to forge forward into the McDavid-Draisaitl Window Open go-for-it years.

BLH’s Thoughts: By the time this has been published, there should be lots of free agent news leaking out. So I apologize for some redundant reading you may have to do today. 

Barrie looks to be signed to a wonderful deal (3yrs $4M-$5M/yr). It’ll be good to have another highly skilled hockey player who WANTS to be in Edmonton and is willing to sign for less than market value. Those are very hard to come by. 

My personal feeling is that Holland will indeed leave some cap room for down the road be that for internal transactions (around $1M or just above) or external moves at the deadline. It’s just a good plan not to blow your entire wad at one time, right?

Cult of Hockey (David Staples)

Darnell Nurse and Edmonton Oilers working on new deal to cover his McDavid Era years
  • This in from Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman, news that the Edmonton Oilers and Darnell Nurse, 26, are at work on a new deal, but for four years, not the maximum eight-year term.
    • “Hearing EDM and Darnell Nurse working on what is believed to be a four-year deal. The defenceman — who had a terrific season — has one year remaining before UFA eligibility.”
  • Given his splendid play for the team, why would the Oilers not want to lock him in through all of his prime years? But it’s easy to see how a four-year term works for Nurse.
  • If he signs for four more years that will mean he’s with the Oilers five more seasons, exactly the same length of remaining term on the Connor McDavid contract, with Leon Draisaitl signed for four more years. We’ve long heard that these three players are good friends and form the leadership core of the team.
  • If Draisaitl and McDavid were to choose to move on — which is completely within their rights — then Nurse would be free to move on as well
  • It’s also the case that Nurse will be 31 when a four-year deal ends and in line to sign one more big contract, but that will come at a time when the NHL cap might finally be shooting up again. 

BLH’s Thoughts: I don’t have a whole lot to say on Nurse other than he deserves every penny he gets. Early in his career he failed to impress me, but this past season he was nothing short of unbelievable for the Oilers. He’s developed into the new Kevin Lowe and it wouldn’t surprise me if he plays well into his late-30s at a high level. Surely, with his work ethic and some trade secrets passed on to him from Duncan Keith, being a top-four defender when he decides to retire isn’t an otherworldly notion.

Sportsnet (Elliotte Friedman)

Free-agency predictions: Will Brayden Point and Darnell Nurse be extended?

EXTENSIONS

  • Darnell Nurse: Reported Tuesday Edmonton was discussing a four-year extension for him. Both sides want to extend, but there is a debate about the term. We’ll see where it goes.

FREE AGENTS

  • Zach Hyman: Edmonton
  • Cody Ceci: Edmonton

TRADE

  • Ethan Bear: Not sure, but with Tyson Barrie, Evan Bouchard and Ceci in Edmonton, there could be something here. I like Bear, and so do a few teams.

BLH’s Thoughts: I’m under the impression that the Boston Bruins, Columbus Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators, and Arizona Coyotes have interest in Bear.

I implore you not to get mesmerized by all the player charts that are going to be tossed around today. There’s going to be a lot of people out there who will try to convince you that a player is bad because his metrics show him in a bad light, Cody Ceci being one of them.

(According to Natural Stat Trick, his high-danger against metrics at even strength relative are sub zero… That’s a real positive!)

I’m under the impression that Ceci was very solid in Pittsburgh last year after being slotted in a better spot with the Pens. Sounds to me like he was played too much in Ottawa and Toronto and that’s the reason his fancies look as poor as they do. 

Is Ceci my first choice for Edmonton, probably not (I kind of like Jason Demers on a short-term deal to replace Larsson), the options look bleak though. He seems painfully average, but maybe that’s just what the team needs, defenders who go about their jobs whilst staying out of the limelight. Now, maybe the thought is that he’ll slide in beside Duncan Keith and be the veteran’s perfect partner. 

Daily Goal Horn

NHL Rumors: Stars want Ryan Suter; Predators in on Dougie Hamilton; and Bruins trying to get Christian Dvorak
  • According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, Suter has several 4 year deals on the table and the Dallas Stars are one of the top teams in the mix. Dallas recently lost Jamie Oleksiak in the Seattle Expansion draft and would love to take the money they allocated for him and use it on Suter.
  • Yesterday, The Fourth Period’s Dennis Bernstein was on NHL Radio and said a stealth team for Hamilton would be the Nashville Predators. His reasoning for it is because the Preds have cleared cap space and are looking for a partner for Roman Josi after trading Ryan Ellis.
  • Dvorak has generated plenty of interest and multiple sources have confirmed the Coyotes and Boston Bruins have discussed a trade involving the 25-year-old centre. It is believed Arizona is looking for a package of draft picks and prospects for Dvorak, who has four-years left on his contract. – The Fourth Period

BLH’s Thoughts: The Oilers do like Christian Dvorak… Could that be somebody Edmonton would target by using Ethan Bear as trade bait? The only thing with trading him to Arizona is that they’ve already got three RHD in the lineup, I don’t know if they’d be open to adding another.

Actually, Dallas seems like a better destination for Bear as the Stars need a 3rd pairing right shot defender as Andrej Sekera transitions to 7th defenseman.

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CategoriesArmchair GM Beer League Hero Edmonton Oilers NHL Rumors

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Beer League Hero Written by:

I'm the Beer League Hero! I am from Camrose, Alberta but I make my home in Taipei City, Taiwan. I've been through the ups and downs and the highs and the Lowes, the Bonsignores and the McDavids, the Sathers and the Eakins but I'll never leave my Oilers, no matter what! They're with me until the end and then some. GO OILERS GO!