Edmonton Oilers Talk: 10 Training Camp Wildcard Questions and the Impact of a Three-Line Team

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!

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The Athletic

What will three outscoring lines do for the Oilers and Connor McDavid?

Holland’s additions up front over the summer address three major areas with the added feature of great utility. Nugent-Hopkins can play centre, Zack Kassian at one time could slide up and score goals on a feature line, and there are several penalty killers available among this group of nine forwards.
There is also likely to be more attention to detail defensively required for the forwards, as the Oilers will have a different feel on the second and third pairings.
Edmonton’s centres will be especially busy as puck retrieval may be more of a challenge without a thick, rugged player like Adam Larsson who can apply lumber to send a message.
Holland’s plan for the summer should work in theory, a skilled trio of lines will keep the puck outside the defensive zone more often even if Edmonton isn’t scoring goals.
His addition of Hyman, Foegele, Ryan and possibly Perlini allows coach Tippett to deploy better players deeper into the line rotation.

BLH’s Thoughts: Like I’ve said in the past, the build-up of the roster this season is one that the blue collar fans of the club are going to LOVE! It’s very reminiscent of the 2006 team and the 1990 one. So as long as the key bodies stay healthy, the most important thing is that each line outworks its opposition. If they do, there’s a good chance the Oilers will win the battle on the scoreboard.

It doesn’t always work out that way but when skill fails to show up, hard work takes over and Ken Holland has brought in a handful of players with incredible work rates.

The Cult of Hockey

The single biggest wildcard on the Edmonton Oilers this coming season is…

Can Darnell Nurse keep scoring at the same high rate?

BLH’s Thoughts: Sweet! Another game of rapid fire!

You know what, I’m going to say Nurse CAN keep up this scoring rate. He has to in order to justify that bloated deal he just signed.

Can Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kailer Yamamoto rebound from their abysmal level of even strength scoring?

BLH’s Thoughts: Yes and Yes. Nuge will go back to being a 60pt forward and Yamo will rekindle his goal scoring but not to the extent we saw two years ago. Just more than last year. He said in a recent radio interview that he spent a lot of time working on his shot this summer.

Can Jesse Puljujarvi get 20 goals and 40 points?

BLH’s Thoughts: Easily. Playing on McDavid’s wing with Zach Hyman, Pulju is going to shine.

Can Tyler Benson and Ryan McLeod make their mark as an NHL players?

BLH’s Thoughts: They won’t make “their mark” but there’s a good chance they could be come NHL regulars this year.

Can Zack Kassian do enough to justify his contract?

BLH’s Thoughts: Maybe. It depends on what you consider enough to justify it. Does he have to fight more, hit more, score more, put up better fancies? He sounds up to the task, so I’ll take him for his word and say that we’ll be seeing some of the old Kass this year.

Can Evan Bouchard step up into a Top 4 role?

BLH’s Thoughts: Sooner than you think.

Can Mike Smith have another good year?

BLH’s Thoughts: He won’t have a bad one.

Can Duncan Keith hold his own on the second-pairing?

BLH’s Thoughts: Without question.

Can Mikko Koskinen rebound?

BLH’s Thoughts: It’s a contract year, so bet on it.

…the biggest question for me has to do with Cody Ceci.
My question about Ceci, one crucial to the future of the Oilers, is whether or not he can step up as a Top 4 d-man.

BLH’s Thoughts: All Cody Ceci has to do is replace what Adam Larsson brought to the team. As long as he doesn’t leak more goals/shots against than Adam did when he was in Edmonton, Ceci will be a success.

The Hockey Writers (Rumors)

According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, the Coyotes have signed Alex Galchenyuk to a PTO. Social media has been flooded with reactions since the announcement with people wondering why he didn’t get a contract with a team this offseason or was able to choose from a number of PTO invitations.
During an exclusive interview with RDS and TVA Sports 26-year-old forward, Jonathan Drouin opened up about anxiety and insomnia that has been a part of his life for years and finally forced him to step away from the NHL this past season. He noted he’s prepared to return and wants to enjoy the game.
Things have not gotten off to a good start for the Philadelphia Flyers in terms of injuries. Camp isn’t even under way and Kevin Hayes is out six to eight weeks following abdominal surgery, Samuel Morin is out six to eight weeks after knee surgery, plus Wade Allison, Zayde Wisdom and Cooper Zech are also hurt and will miss time.
Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is noting that a source close to Zac Rinaldo tells The Athletic that the Columbus Blue Jackets made it clear to Rinaldo he wasn’t welcome at training camp… It’s not clear if this is at all related to Ronaldo’s appearance in Canada at a PPC rally where he was making comments about vaccinations. He said: “I’m not anti-vax, I’m not anti-mask. I’m pro-choice.”
The Red Wings will give Bobby Ryan another look this season as the veteran forward has signed PTO. Part of the reason the Red Wings might not have signed him this offseason was that Ryan was limited to 33 games because of an injury.
There is certainly pressure on the Maple Leafs’ roster this season as Friedman writes, ”A few Maple Leafs have said the organization’s made it clear there’s a sense of urgency, that unless there’s some post-season success there will be changes. Matthews said the playoff defeat weighed on him for a few weeks.” In other words, this roster could be significantly different next season than it is this season if things don’t improve.
Kane is now facing a new set of allegations by ex-wife Anna Kane of sexual assault and multiple instances of domestic battery. After alleging he bet on NHL games, she is now saying there were “numerous other instances of Evander yelling and screaming at me or being physically aggressive toward me during our relationship.”