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Oil on Whyte (Courville-Lynch)
Two Kailer Yamamoto Potential Trades For The Team
- Trade rumors and mock trades have been popping up all over social media as fans began to speculate if Yamamoto wants more than the Oilers can afford.
Mock Trade #1
Oilers Acquire: Jake Debrusk (50% Retained)
Bruins Acquire: Kailer Yamamoto
- This particular trade would free up some cap space for the Oilers, as the Bruins take on 50% of Debrusk’s contract to bring in Yamamoto.
- Putting Debrusk alongside a top 5 player in the NHL in the starting lineup and with him likely getting some powerplay time, his offensive impact would change drastically.
BLH’s Thoughts: There’s a part of me that is intrigued by a trade involving these players. Jake going home to Edmonton to play for the Oilers would be a good story and Kailer, being American, heading into a US market to a team that could use an injection of youth along with his tencacious game spells “Bruins Hockey” to me.
Edmonton wouldn’t have to play DeBrusk in Yamamoto’s spot, they could slide Zach Hyman over to his strong side and put Jake up with Connor, right?
One could make the argument that DeBrusk needing to be qualified at over $4M next off-season could be a sticking point but conversely, if Yamamoto signs a one-year bride deal and then proceeds to have a very good season could price himself out of Edmonton.
On the other hand, the Bruins have David Pastrnak, Craig Smith, and Nick Foligno in their top-nine. They’d probably need to shuffle some bodies to shoehorn Killer into their lineup.
Mock Trade #2:
Oilers Receive: Tomas Hertl
Sharks Receive: Kailer Yamamoto, Zack Kassian(25% Retained), 1st Round Pick
- …if I was Ken Holland, I’d be all over the Sharks if the rumors about Hertl being available are true.
- Hertl can play both Center and wing. Having someone you can put almost anywhere in your lineup is crucial.
- The Oilers would have to move around some serious money to make this work as Hertl makes north of $5 Million a season, but if Hertl was an Oiler, they could easily be more than just a first-round and done team.
BLH’s Thoughts: Nope. He’s going to be a $7M or more player in the summer and San Jose will be looking to hit a home run when they trade him. Hell, they might even try to hide Evander Kane in Hertl’s luggage where ever they send him.
So, maybe if there’s a team willing to take Kane with Hertl, the price of acquisition will be lower. If not, Doug Wilson will be looking for a very handsome return on the Prague native. I’m thinking a couple of grade A prospects and a 1st rounder, if not more.
Lowetide.ca
NO TIME TO THINK
BRENDAN PERLINI
- What kind of player is he? A big winger with goal-scoring ability, he’s fast but one dimensional. Based on the numbers, I’d estimate he’s a member of the Zack Kassian family as a checker.
- What kind of season did Perlini have for Tippett? The season was 2016-17. Perlini was shy offensively five on five (1.25 pts-60) but did score goals (.83 goals-60) in that game state. His possession numbers weren’t good, and relative to teammates he was subpar throughout his NHL career to this point.
- Why was he available? Middling results at the end of his NHL time but he only missed 2020-21 so it isn’t like he’s been away forever. His last good scoring season was 2018-19, when he had 14 goals in 68 games.
BLH’s Thoughts: My expectations for Perlini are quite low. If he comes to camp and tries to play the game that gave him a little bit of success in junior, it’ll be a short stint with the club and he’ll be in Bakersfield lickity split.
He should give Sam Gagner a call and get some advice from him because Sam did a fine job of pivoting his style. Nowadays, he’s a fantastic bottom-six forward for the Red Wings for no other reason than he’s decided he’s going to be the hardest working player on the ice at all times and he’ll block a shot buck naked if that’s what the coach wants.
Perlini’s got the wheels, he’s got the size and the shot, but he needs the other intangibles and most importantly, he needs the want. Holland and Tippett are throwing him a bone here, he’s got to take advantage of it or come to the realization that his NHL dream could be over at 25 years old.
NUGE AT CENTER?
- Nuge at center would require a significant step up on the wings by some unproven types, or veterans who have been flagging would need to turn back time.
- I think you’d need to keep Hyman on left-wing to make this work, and would love to see a stronger option for No. 3 right wing. It does open up the idea of bringing in a winger on a PTO, and as always there are more wingers than centers in the free-agent pool.
BLH’s Thoughts: I think we’ll see Nuge playing center more times than we expect in 2021-22. It just makes sense to move him to the middle if Coach Tippett wants to put The Hart Foundation (Draisaitl/McDavid) back together from time to time (aka every night and more so when their behind on the scoreboard).
As for a full-time position, not unless Ryan McLeod is really struggling.
NHLRumors.com
Vince Z. Mercogliano: Have been saying for a year now that if San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl is available for trade, he makes so much sense for the New York Rangers.
Rob Williams: A report out of Russia has a KHL team making a contract offer to former Vancouver Canucks forward Jake Virtanen.
Jimmy Murphy: Have been hearing that there are multiple teams interested in New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban.
Larry Brooks: So if the Carolina Hurricanes really do have a multi-year contract extension agreed upon at around a $4 million AAV for Jesperi Kotkaniemi (report here) – if the offer sheet is not matched by the Montreal Canadiens – isn’t that circumvention?
Kevin Kurz of The Athletic: Another issue facing the Sharks this offseason is Tomas Hertl, who is entering the final year of his deal. Will he want to sign a long-term contract extension?
- Using the Max Pacioretty trade to the Vegas Golden Knights as a comparable, the Montreal Canadiens received Nick Suzuki and a first-round pick.
