Edmonton Oilers Rumors: Puljujarvi, Necas, Chytil, and More!!!

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!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, and The Daily Goal Horn just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

Oilersnation

Jesse Puljujarvi is signed but now what?

Once the season was over and the local media started speculating about our precious Finn moving on, I assumed the next contract Puljujarvi would sign would happen somewhere else…
That’s not to say that a trade couldn’t still happen…
…but I wonder if Ken Holland’s patience may keep the kid around again just like it did post-Finland.
According to PuckPedia’s tweet shown above, the Oilers have about $2.67 million in cap space to get both Kailer Yamamoto and Ryan McLeod signed, which doesn’t seem like a whole lot of wiggle room…
Seeing as Yamo just put up 20 goals and 21 assists, I think it’s probably safe to say that’s not going to happen for much or anything less than Puljujarvi got, right? Then again, Puljujarvi has more goals and a better PPG than Yamo does over the last two years so maybe we’ll have to wait and see?
…having Puljujarvi locked in on a one-year contract that leaves him as an RFA when the season ends could mean other teams come circling back again. Maybe now other clubs will look at Jesse as a risk worth taking, inflating the potential return from a lowly draft pick to a player that can help now?

BLH’s Thoughts: There are still a few shoes to drop with other teams, but I’m still expecting Puljujarvi to moved on from and my guess is that it’ll happen at the end of training camp possibly IF it’s going to happen before the season starts. I mean, it might make some sense to see how he’s skating throughout preseason (showcase time!) and then deal him just as teams are putting players on LTIR.

Something has to give with the Hurricanes. Did you see Ethan Bear’s new deal? Man, does that ever make Brett Kulak’s contract look amazing and Carolina still has to get Martin Necas under contract with only a shade over $1M in cap space…

You gotta wonder if there’s a potential Puljujarvi trade to be had there. The Canes would have pretty good depth on the wing with Svechnikov, Pacioretty, Teravainen, and Pulju, no? Then they’ve got Seth Jarvis coming too.

https://twitter.com/Bob_Stauffer/status/1552301646419333120

The Athletic

Can Oilers’ Darnell Nurse live up to new contract?

Among qualifying defencemen over the past three seasons combined, Nurse ranks No. 22 in the NHL in goals per 60 at five-on-five (0.34) and No. 34 in points per 60 (1.05) in the discipline.
McDavid floats all boats as is indicated here, but it is Nurse who delivers over 50 percent expected goals while playing with teammates other than the captain.
If the Oilers had signed Nurse to an eight-year deal four years ago, fully half of the purchased years would have been restricted seasons.
The contract is going to get some getting used to, with increased cap ceilings and a Stanley Cup the only real relief from criticism. One is likely, the other increasingly possible.
There may come a time when Nurse is passed by another left defenceman on the depth chart. That day will not come soon, as there is no one on the roster, or on the horizon, who could be expected to successfully replace him.

BLH’s Thoughts: Nurse’s AAV is going to be over $9M next season but the real dollars he’ll make is $12M and I think that’s a tie for second in the whole league. So, if you’re in the business of professional hockey, you might want to become a client of Nurse’s agent because that’s a helluva deal for a guy that probably shouldn’t be making over $7M/yr. That said, blame the game not the player.

In order for Nurse to live up to that contract in the short term, he’s going to need to produce offensively as well as be an upper tier defensive defenseman and in my mind that’s not an unrealistic ask. Darnell might be one of the most physically gifted blueliners in the entire league in my opinion. He might not skate and handle the puck like Cale Makar or Miro Heiskanen but those two can’t dominate the muck like Nurse either.

There’s one player that has the potential to surpass Nurse and that’s Philip Broberg. The Swede is a better puck mover, he’s a better skater, he’s more offensively skilled, and he can play physical when required. The only issue I see is him staying healthy because I’m not sure his body has the durability Nurse’s has even though the two are of similar stature. Broberg won’t wow you with his growl, but as he grows in this league, he won’t be a liability when the going gets tough.

Now, while I would prefer Nurse’s AAV to be lower, an eventual top-four of him, Ceci, Bouchard, and Broberg is very intriguing and it’s something I can get behind. Size? Check! Skill? Check! Skating? Check! Passing? Check! Shooting? Check! Shutdown ability? Check! Hockey IQ? Check!

It’s all there (potentially).

Trade Rumors

Spector’s Hockey

Ben Kuzma mused over whether the New York Islanders might offer up defenseman Noah Dobson to the Vancouver Canucks as part of a package for J.T. Miller.

The Daily Goal Horn

Going forward, the Blackhawks are unlikely to re-sign both Kane and Toews next season. Each are in the last year of their deals that come with a $10.5 million cap hit.
- All signs point to them being moved at the deadline with 50% salary retention to teams in contention.

NHLRumors.me

Believe that Rangers GM Chris Drury would have some interest in trading Artemi Panarin wanted a trade and would waive his no-movement clause.
… the Rangers will eventually trade Filip Chytil.
Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now: Would say (as of Sunday) that it’s about a 20 percent chance that Nazem Kadri returns to the Colorado Avalanche.
- …the Avalanche are only offering Kadri a short-term deal.
- …the New York Islanders are the leading contenders for Kadri. Have heard that Calgary Flames, Ottawa Senators and Dallas Stars have had some interest. The Winnipeg Jets would be a real dark horse.
Marco D’Amico of Montreal Hockey Now: The Montreal Canadiens are still hoping to shed some contracts before the season starts. They need to re-sign some RFAs and don’t have a lot of salary cap space to work with.

BLH’s Thoughts: Whoever decides to become the 3rd team involved in the Toews and Kane trades will get a King’s ransom to eat that salary.

Montreal is still in a world of hurt with Carey Price’s contract. Why don’t they move Brendan Gallagher seeing as he doesn’t want to be there for a rebuild. Dadonov is making $5M this year, Hoffman has another two yrs left at $4.5M per… They’ve got a shit ton draft picks and prospects to use as sweeteners AND they’ve got three NHL dmen on their roster at the moment. They need to make some deals to get out of this mire ASAP unless the plan is to get in on Bedard/Michkov…

Panarin is an absolute wrecking ball but $11M+ per year as he heads into the final stretch of his career and with Lafreniere, Miller, Kakko, and Schneider closing out their RFA years… I don’t think the relationship with Drury is strong enough to think that there’s no way the Bread Man gets moved. Maybe send him back to Chicago after they deal Kane and Toews. Ha!