Speculating from an Oilers fan’s perspective, BLH comments on the latest Edmonton Oilers news as well as the freshest NHL speculation featuring players such as Mikael Granlund, Evgeni Dadonov, Calvin DeHaan, Braydon Coburn, and many more!
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— Vintage Oilers (@VintageOilers) October 12, 2020
The Oilers Speculation
Did the Oilers miss out on a massive opportunity by not dealing for defenseman Nate Schmidt? All it cost was a 3rd round draft pick for the Canucks to upgrade their blueline.
Personally, I think that the 29yr old Minnesota native is a much better player than Kris Russell and we know for a fact that he’s someone you can trust on your second pairing. He’s one of the league’s best skaters and he has a very underrated shot.
Could the Oilers have swung a 3-team trade that involved the Arizona Coyotes and Vegas where Edmonton would’ve ended up with Schmidt, the Golden Knights with a draft pick, and the Coyotes with Russell? I guess we’ll never know.
Schmidt does have a modified no-trade clause and he makes just under $6M/yr. I would imagine that perhaps he was a bit too pricey for the Oilers and may have them as one of the teams on his 8-team no-trade list.
I suppose another thing that’s looking likelier by the day is that Ken Holland is preparing to go into the next NHL season with Darnell Nurse, Caleb Jones, and Kris Russell as his full-time defenders on the left side.
That’s scary but exciting. I’m looking forward to discovering who takes the next step in their development but as I’ve said over and over in the past, the defense is too young and needs at least one more old vet to guide the kids.
I swear I don’t have a fetish with defensemen from Minnesota. That said, if Nick Leddy is available, he’d be a solid option for the 2nd pair over Jones and Russell. He’s the same age as Schmidt, makes $5.5M, and only has two more seasons remaining on his contract. No NTCs or NMCs either…
Not only would bringing in a player like Leddy push Jones down for at least one season allowing the club to place Philip Broberg in Bakersfield for a time when he comes over, but it would also give the team some serious depth on the back-end. Then they just leave him exposed for the expansion draft or even entice the Kraken to select him…
Maybe I’m completely out to lunch though. Either way, big money would need to be moved in order to make these kinds of upgrades on defense happen and I’m not so sure there’s a market for the club to do that right now. Holland has his terms and he’s been very firm with them this off-season.
If you’re interested in reading more in-depth about what kind of financials would need to be involved for the Oilers to bring in players like Leddy or Schmidt, take a look at this article from Edmonton Oil Drops. It’s a very informative piece.
The News and Rumors
- Brian Hedger (Columbus Dispatch): There are multiple teams having discussions with UFA forward Mikael Granlund. I’m hearing that he’s making progress narrowing the list of teams down. He’s looking for a team where he can make the biggest impact.
BLH’s Thoughts: Granlund hasn’t been an impactful hockey player since he was dealth away from Minnesota. Whatever they did with him in Nashville stunted his point production. No wonder he’s electing to move on. I wonder if a team like LA would be an option seeing as Gabe Vilardi is slated in as their 2C next year according to Capfriendly’s depth charts.
- Dan Kingerski (Pittsburgh Hockey NOW): Defenseman Trevor Daley is not yet a priority for Penguins GM Jim Rutherford, but the door isn’t closed. There has been brief contract between the two parties. A league source says that Rutherford “has other things on his agenda”.
BLH’s Thoughts: I feel confident in saying that I believe the Penguins could wait until training camp to make a decision on Trevor Daley. No disrespect to Daley, but there are a lot of good defenders on the market this year who are probably better and younger than him.
- Frank Seravalli (TSN): Many teams are still on the prowl for inexpensive depth defensemen including Mirco Mueller, Madison Bowey, Michael Del Zotto, Ben Hutton, Jan Rutta, Ron Hainsey, Andy Greene, Karl Alzner, and Dmitri Kulikov.
BLH’s Thoughts: Geez, that whole rant above… I’m regretting it a bit now. Hutton, Rutta, and maybe Hainsey are some really decent depth options that would be available on the cheap. Then again, I thought Eric Gustafsson would be too and he went to Philly for $3M/yr…
- More Seravalli: The Tampa Bay Lightning are trying to move defender Braydon Coburn in an attempt to clear cap space.
BLH’s Thoughts: Nobody wants to do the champs a favor but they’re all over helping Vegas get out of their predicament… I don’t get it. Kelly McCrimmon must be a helluva guy to hang out with at those GM meetings.
- David Pagnotta (The Fourth Period): The NY Islanders are working on moving veteran defenseman Johnny Boychuck to clear cap space.
BLH’s Thoughts: This guy nearly gave the Islanders organization his eye and now they’re trying to get rid of him? Lou Lamoriello must have a heart that’s as cold as ice.
- Nick Goss (NBC Sports): Evgeni Dadonov is a UFA option for the Boston Bruins.
BLH’s Thoughts: Why? The team has Jake DeBrusk as it is. They must really want to rid themselves of this player if they’re still entertaining free-agent left-wingers because I can’t see a top-6 forward like Dadonov signing in Boston if their pitch is that he’ll run the 3rd line…
- Ben Pope (Chicago Sun Times): Calvin DeHaan and Connor Murphy would be traded this off-season due to the logjam on the Blackhawks defense.
BLH’s Thoughts: Toews, Kane, Seabrook, and Keith are going to blow an o-ring by the time they see the roster Stan Bowman has put together at training camp. I mean, if they’re still part of the organization that is.
- Jimmy Murphy (Boston Hockey NOW): The Boston Bruins are interested in acquiring defender MacKenzie Weegar from the Florida Panthers.
BLH’s Thoughts: DeBrusk for Weegar?
- Murat Ates (The Athletic): Multiple sources tell The Athletic that Jack Rosolvic and Sami Niku are being shopped.
BLH’s Thoughts: Sami Niku?!!! I thought this team was looking for good defensemen? Niku is a beauty and they’ve been developing him for years. Why give up on him now?! I guess the writing was on the wall after they signed Forbort, Beaulieu, and Sbsia.
Maybe they can package the two prospects and find a good center or top-four defender.
