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!
From Copper ‘N Blue
What Will Darnell Nurse’s Next Deal Look Like?
Darnell Nurse will play the last of a two year deal in 2021-22, a deal worth 5.6MM. What will a new deal look like?
The deal that pops at me is Thomas Chabot.
Chabot signed the big one in 2019 after a 55 point season. Chabot’s deal was 8×8, and I really think there’s a good chance that’s what Nurse’s deal ends up at or around. Chabot’s back half of the deal is equipped with a NMC beginning in 2024-25. Chabot is the heart and soul of the Senators defence, and nearly half his time on ice is played against elite comp.
I think the Oilers are eager to sign Nurse to a long term deal and get into free agency this year knowing where they stand in the cap space game, and if we’re to believe anything said by the club recently, I think they’d like to do this within the next couple of weeks.
I’ve got Nurse at 8 years at somewhere between 7.5MM and 8MM AAV for eight years.
BLH’s Thoughts: Nurse’s camp is going to come to the negotiations with a shit ton of ammo this time around and the Oilers are going to have to pay a dear price to keep their no.1 dman. I think $8M/yr is the minimum as to what the Oilers might be able to get him on UNLESS he decides to do the same route all of his peers in the Oilers leadership group have already gone. Meaning, will he take a discount like RNH, McDavid, and Draisaitl have?
Personally, I think Nurse loves being an Oiler and he’s happy to play out his career in Edmonton. My belief is that he takes a ton of pride being part of the club and I reckon he’d be open to taking less and going along with Ken Holland’s plan to build a winner by asking his big boys to accept lower annual pay in return for more term.
From NHLRumors.com
Coyotes could have a much different look next year
James O’Brien of NBC Sports: Could the Arizona Coyotes use their salary cap space to go after some pending UFAs instead of another rebuild? They have over $30 million in projected cap space.
BLH’s Thoughts: I dunno. They seem pretty hell bent on clearing cap space and to be honest, it wouldn’t shock me if the club went through another ownership change. The latest group couldn’t have gotten in at a worse time.
The question with these owners is, are they going to be willing to rebuild this organization the right way or will they try to rush it? If they played the market right, they could take a stab at getting Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, and Matthew Tkachuk over the next number of years and add them to a stable of fantastic prospects accumulated through the draft in that time…
The Maple Leafs will make changes, but how significant will they be?
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman last week on how significant changes could be for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
- “I do think there’s going to be changes. How many more shots do you have with this group on ice and around the organization? Does this not seem like the point where the Raptors traded DeRozan for Leonard? I think we’re there. I don’t know if they’ll do something like that this year, but I think they’re running out of chances to go out with this group.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Is it just me or is it kind of early to be retooling the roster in Toronto. They’ve got the majority of what they need already in Matthews, Tavares, Marner, Nylander, Reilly, Muzzin, Brodie, etc.
Why does that group need to be broken up? Why can’t a management team as smart as Toronto’s apparently is figure out a way to make it work?
In my opinion, the team is lacking the kinds of players who’ll run through a wall to score or stop a goal. Some might call it “heart”, I just don’t see a Wendel Clark or Doug Gilmour on that roster and it can’t just be Wayne Simmonds going out there giving the opposition the stank eye and saying some mean words. The Maple Leafs need someone who can play AND provide some energy. A Ryan Getzlaf-type, if you will.
From Oilers Now ft. Elliotte Friedman
Latest on Duncan Keith
- “I do think that it’s kinda getting to the point where the Oilers want the Blackhawks to make a decision. I think the Blackhawks have asked for some pieces that Edmonton’s not willing to do. I think we’re in a situation here where if Chicago does want to do this, it might be down to one team they can do it with. I could be wrong, but I think Edmonton is the team right now and I think the Oilers are saying ‘OK, do we wanna get a deal done or not?’.”
- “I don’t think Edmonton is willing to discuss Ethan Bear. I don’t think they’re willing to discuss (Ryan) McLeod.”
- “They’ve probably been working at this for ten days, at least, now, maybe even a little bit longer. I think Edmonton just wants to know if this is going to get done.”
On Zach Hyman
- “He won’t be back in Toronto. It doesn’t seem like things are going to fit.”
- “We’ve long speculated that Edmonton could be a team (interested in Hyman)”
On Taylor Hall
- “Put it this way, I think Hall is looking for a little bit of term, maybe not eight years, but a few, maybe three or four years. I thought he would stay in Boston, I’ve heard that’s not a guarantee and I think he might test the market to see what’s out there.”
— K-JAM (@KevinJamieson86) July 10, 2021
BLH’s Thoughts: Things have become very quiet on the Duncan Keith front and I wonder if that means the two teams are truly trying to get something done. I think the media was used to put some pressure on the Blackhawks and now the two teams are burning the midnight oil before their expansion draft protection lists need to be in later this week.
Hyman and Hall are absolutely on Edmonton’s list and if I had to make an educated guess as to which one is most likely to sign in Edmonton, I’d say it’s the one who’ll sign for the cheapest, term be damned, and if that’s Hall for seven years, cool. That’s probably a better bet than Hyman as both players head into their mid-30s.
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