Later this week, the Edmonton Oilers are going to march into Nassau Coliseum and go head-to-head with Mathew Barzal and the New York Islanders. It should be a fantastic game of hockey to watch but there’s something else on my mind related to this game.
What I’m wondering about is this Josh Ho-Sang trade demand because I was passed along a message that the Oilers were looking at him. Now, what I’m about to discuss, I see very little chance of it happening for a few reasons but I still believe it’s worth talking about.
- Lou Lamoriello’s ships are tighter than the lid on that jar of pickles at the back of your fridge. Nothing gets out of his office unless he wants it to.
- If the Oilers did make a deal to bring JHS to the team, where would he play? Sure, he’s said he’d be happy starting in the AHL, but even then, where does he slot into the Condor’s lineup with Kailer Yamamoto, Josh Currie, and Kirill Maksimov occupying the top three RW spots? Unless they’re trading him for Cameron Hebig or Nolan Vesey…
- Is this the kind of player that the Oilers should be bringing into their organization and would he fit into the new ethos that Ken Holland is trying to build?
On the other hand, there are some players that have done nothing more than sat on their hands since training camp started. Riley Sheahan will be coming back this week and somebody has to go to make room for him. A one-for-one trade makes sense here because Ho-Sang wouldn’t have to join the NHL club and he could stay in the AHL, meaning, he wouldn’t take up a roster space on the Oilers. I’d argue his value is as low as it could possibly be as well, so the price to acquire him wouldn’t be dear. Thoughts?
For me, Ho-Sang doesn’t do anything for me. I get that he played minor hockey with Connor and they were unstoppable, but that was then and the now tells me that he can’t score goals at even the AHL level let alone the NHL one. Eight goals last year? He’s never topped 45 points in a season playing in the Islanders farm system. For a player who might consider himself a top-6 forward? It doesn’t jive, baby.
One more thing, on Oilers Now last week Mark Spector and Bob Stauffer were discussing one of the Oilers who’d had a good game. I think it was Draisaitl but I’m not 100% on that. Spec just happened to slip into the conversation that he was talking to a Rangers scout at the Oilers season opener…
Fun Fact: Edmonton plays the Rangers on this road trip as well.
So if the Rags are watching the Oilers and the Oilers are watching the Rangers (pretty safe assumption I feel), you’ve got to wonder if there’s something brewing. Remember those Lemieux/Puljujarvi rumors that were popping up over the summer? A deal like that could be a bit more problematic because Lemieux would take up a roster spot and New York would have to sign Puljujarvi if they wanted him to play for them this season. Not that hard, but a bit more paperwork involved. Add to that the fact that along with the Oilers, New York has started their year very well. Does either team really want to tinker with the rosters so early in the season?
Look, if it were me, I’d rather move a Colby Cave, Markus Granlund (I know…), or a Jujhar Khaira than lose someone to waiver for nothing. It’s unfortunate that Adam Larsson fractured his leg because I’d add Matt Benning to that list too, but it is what it is. Those three forwards are not playing with any hunger in their games and there’s no fear of being sent down either. However, I could see Tippett wanting more of a look at that Khaira/Sheahan/Archibald line before agreeing to move JJ and Colby Cave can win faceoffs, a skill that cannot be overlooked in any situation.
The other teams that Edmonton will be facing on this roadie are the New Jersey Devils and the Chicago Blackhawks. I see Sami Vatanen playing 3rd pair minutes for the Devils, would he fit on the Oilers blueline? Maybe for Benning and another body?
I don’t know folks. As I said, most likely nothing is going to happen, but I wanted to bring up the topic anyhow. The timing seemed right.
What do you think? Are you a bit more optimistic that a trade could get done on this road trip than me? If so, let us know in the comments what you’re thinking.
