Today’s news and speculation from the NHL includes notes on Oscar Klefbom, Alex Pietrangelo, Tyson Barrie, Taylor Hall, Bobby Ryan, Andrei Svechnikov, and much more!
https://twitter.com/SammyT_51/status/1311629362672947201
The News and Rumors
- Sabres GM Kevyn Adams: “People make calls and ask about players every day. My job is to listen. We’re not looking to do anything with Jack Eichel.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Adams doesn’t want to be the GM who traded Jack Eichel… It never works out for a manager when he deals his franchise player. Although the Sabres have a history of doing it.
In my opinion, Buffalo needs to bring in a #1 goalie. They always seem to do good when they’ve got one, even when the rest of the club looks questionable. Adding Eric Staal was an elite move in the right direction I believe.
- Bobby Ryan on the Flyers: “It would be very, very high on my list and hard to top… A lot of elements about playing there are very attractive.
BLH’s Thoughts: I think this would be a fantastic story and a fairy tale ending to an epic career for Ryan. That said, I don’t know how much interest the Flyers would have in him. I would think that he would want to go to a club where he could play in the top-9 and be in a position to win a Stanley Cup. Maybe if Tampa could get their finances in gear, that could be a destination.
- Blackhawks VP of Am. Scouting Mark Kelley says they’re having discussions about trading up from 17th but it’s more hypotheticals right now.
BLH’s Thoughts: There’s chatter out there that the Oilers will consider trading down. I don’t know how much of a return you’re going to get to drop three spots, mind you.
- Elliotte Friedman (Sportsnet): Among the teams suspected of eyeing goaltender Yaroslav Askarov in the top-15 of the draft; Ottawa, New Jersey, Carolina, and Edmonton.
BLH’s Thoughts: I don’t know if he’s going to be around when Edmonton is selecting. Ottawa is drafting 5th, New Jersey is 7th, and Carolina is at 13th overall. It’s more likely that a player like Anton Lundell drops and I hope Edmonton jumps all over that! He may not be a great skater (Draisaitl wasn’t either), but his IQ is off the charts. I see a lot of Sean Couturier/Mikko Koivu in this player.
- Friedman Cont: Word is Carolina was willing to look at 8x$7.5M on a Svechnikov deal but he wants to bet on himself to do even better. It might end up being a bridge deal.
BLH’s Thoughts: I dig this from the Russian kid. What 20yr old spurns $60M to say, “I can get more!”? AWESOME! I hope it works out for him.
- More Friedman: Patric Hornqvist didn’t want to accept the trade to Florida but Pittsburgh said they might have to waive him and realized Florida wanted him, so he went.
- Michael Russo (The Athletic): Teams that may have interest in Mikko Koivu? Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, and Boston Bruins.
BLH’s Thoughts: Add the Oilers to the list of clubs who might have interest in Mikko Koivu. Especially if Puljujarvi is coming back.
- Kevin Kurz (The Athletic): There are some real legs to the Sharks interest in Ryan Donato and Devan Dubnyk. It feels like we “could” be looking at some sort of package deal for both.
BLH’s Thoughts: I read that the Panthers could have interest in Donato as well. Maybe a Henrik Borgstrom/Donato swap could take place since Paul Fenton (former Wild GM) is now employed by Florida.
- Craig Custance (The Athletic): Multiple teams have called Florida about the potential availability of goaltending prospect Spencer Knight. Multiple teams have been completely shut down.
- The Oil Stream Podcast: Oscar Klefbom is considering his hockey future after suffering a chronic shoulder injury that could keep him out all year.
BLH’s Thoughts: I’ve been told by multiple sources there is NO truth to this at all. Who do you believe? The guys who’ve been in the locker room with Klefbom or the ones on the outside with connections to management/coaching?
The fact of the matter is, Klefbom has a few years left on his contract. There’s no way he’s going to forfeit that at his age. He might be down because his shoulder is a mess and the pandemic doesn’t have him clamoring to return to North America, but he’ll stay in Sweden, get the surgery, be out for the 2020-21 season and return as healthy as an ox for 2021-22.
- Mike Morreale (NHL.com): The NJ Devils may pursue Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo if he hits free agency this off-season.
BLH’s Thoughts: It’s a good plan but they’ve got $9.5M PK Subban on the books. Are they really going to have $18M in salary locked up in two right-shot d-men? Now, if they can find a way to move Subban and his bulbous contract, Pietrangelo to New Jersey makes much more sense.
- Frank Seravalli (TSN): The Boston Bruins could be a good fit for Taylor Hall when he hits free agency this off-season.
- Kurt Leavins (The Cult of Hockey): Taylor Hall is willing to sign a 1yr “show me” deal worth $6M or $7M. He’s willing to go somewhere and say, “See. I’m an MVP-quality player.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Leavins added that the Oilers would’ve been in on Hall had the pandemic not hit…
If Boston is going after Hall, that surely means Jake DeBrusk is out? OR because we’re living in uncertain times, is Brad Marchand possibly on the outs?
- Darren Dreger (TSN): Jack Eichel has told the team he doesn’t want to rebuild. Trade rumors could heat up if they aren’t in playoff contention by the trade deadline.
BLH’s Thoughts: Have you got your popcorn ready? The Sabres have a quarter of their roster signed passed this season… Could they really throw together a team via trades and free agency and be expected to be playoff contenders?
- Pierre LeBrun (TSN): The Lightning are already taking calls. They need to clear $10M in three weeks. Tyler Johnson and Yanni Gourde are trade candidates.
BLH’s Thoughts: How good would either Johnson or Gourde look in an Oilers jersey? A couple of high-character buzzsaws would really inject some energy into the club’s middle-six.
The Oilers Speculation
Last night I had a ton of stuff thrown at me and if you follow me on Twitter (@beerleagueheroe), you probably have read it by now. But for those of you who haven’t, here ya go:
- IF the Oilers can get the money together, they’ll be in on Alex Pietrangelo.
- Despite Oscar Klefbom’s injury, there’s still a chance that the Oilers could move a top-4 defenseman for a package that includes a first-round pick at the draft next week.
- The Oilers have NOT made an offer on Oliver Ekman-Larsson but they have great interest in the player. However, they are VERY reluctant to move either Philip Broberg or Evan Bouchard in a trade to bring the Coyotes defenseman to Edmonton.
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is NOT being shopped but the Oilers are listening to offers. There’s no urge to move him and in fact, they’d like to get him signed to a long-term deal so he can retire a lifelong Edmonton Oiler.
- Jesse Puljujarvi’s KHL rights were traded to SKA yesterday… That’s a team that could pay him as much as the Oilers are looking to…
- Bob Stauffer continues to throw Tyson Barrie’s name out there but I’m getting mixed messages as to what the defenseman is looking for in a contract. Some say he wants a 1yr “show me” deal and others say he wants a 4yr deal.
- If you’re Barrie, are you going to Edmonton on a 1yr deal or to Anaheim or Vegas on a multi-year one?
- Speaking of Stauffer, when a texter sent him a message regarding Jake DeBrusk, he said, “We’ll see…” Keep an eye on that one.
