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 Steven Stamkos, Patrik Laine, Kyle Palmieri, Mike Hoffman, and many more!
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Has anyone ever dropped their gloves harder than Kassian did here? (via @SpokedZ)
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) October 16, 2020
The News and Rumors
- Elliotte Friedman (Sportsnet): Colorado Avalanche forward Tyson Jost and Jets forward Jack Roslovic have been included in trade talks for Panthers d-man MacKenzie Weegar.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets may have made a pitch to Golden Knights defender Alex Pietrangelo earlier in the off-season.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning may have “secretly” asked Steven Stamkos to waive his no-movement clause.
BLH’s Thoughts: Geez. Wasn’t it only a couple of days ago that I posted the Avs were poised to offer Jost a 2yr extension? Now he’s going to Florida for Weegar? Now, if the Jets can get the Panthers defenceman for Roslovic, that would be a steal.
Could you imagine a trident of Seth Jones, Zach Werenski, and Alex Pietrangelo? Good Christ…
Of course Tampa asked Stamkos if he’d waive… Brutal.
- Bruce Garrioch (Ottawa Sun): The Edmonton Oilers and Nashville Predators are some potential suitors for UFA forward Mike Hoffman.
BLH’s Thoughts: Ken Holland will win the off-season if he can get Mike Hoffman to sign in Edmonton on a 1yr deal for bread crumbs. I think eventually Nashville will come around though and that’s where Hoffman may go. Florida isn’t out of the question either.
- David Pagnotta (The Fourth Period): The New York Islanders still have interest in forwards; Kyle Palmieri, Patrik Laine, and Zach Parise.
BLH’s Thoughts: I’m very curious to see who is going to bail the Isles out here so that they can bring in a forward like those mentioned above. They might have interest in those players but they’ve got some serious RFAs to sign (Barzal/Pulock) yet and not a whole lot of cap space to do it with.
- Lyle Richardson (Spector’s Hockey): The Winnipeg Jets likely want a defenceman of Seth Jones’ caliber for Patrik Laine.
- Ken Wiebe (Sportsnet): Here is a list of players that the Jets would be target in a Patrik Laine trade, Aaron Ekblad and Jonathan Huberdeau (FLA), Sam Reinhart and Rasmus Ristolainen (BUF), Brett Pesce, Teuvo Teravainen, Martin Necas (CAR), Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim (PHI), Hampus Lindholm, Josh Manson, and Rickard Rakell (ANH), Brock Nelson, Josh Bailey, and Ryan Pulock (NYI), Zach Werenski, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Cam Atkinson (CBJ).
BLH’s Thoughts: Mr. Richardson, I would say, is right on the button with his prognostication. That’s what I would want if I were trading a Patrik Laine-type. I would go right to Anaheim and try and hit a homerun. If I could get Rickard Rakell and one of Hampus Lindholm or Josh Manson, I’d feel pretty good about that trade. Reinhart and Ristolainen would’ve been another option had Buffalo not gone ahead and signed Hall.
- Eric Stephens (The Athletic): Suggests Craig Anderson, Jimmy Howard, Michael Hutchinson, Garret Sparks, Adin Hill, and Pheonix Copley might be replacement candidates for Ryan Miller as the Anaheim Ducks back-up goalie if he doesn’t re-sign with the team.
BLH’s Thoughts: No disrespect intended to these fellas, but damned if you do, damned if you don’t is how I see that list of names. Anaheim may as well grab a couple if the price is right as their organization depth in the net isn’t amazing. That said, they’ve got former Oiler Anthony Stolarz, why not give him a run? He’s paid his dues.
The Oilers Speculation
If there’s one thing that should worry me going into 2020-21, it should probably be the goaltending, right? It’s not. The defence worries me greatly.
Due to Oscar Klefbom’s impending absence, there are going to be defencemen who won’t be slotted properly in the lineup and this has burnt the Oilers so so much in the past.
There is one player who can be trusted against the best in the league and that is Adam Larsson. That’s it. Now, you might say that Darnell Nurse could be counted on, and to that, I would say; maybe. The reason being, just because he has played a lot against the top forwards in the league doesn’t mean he’s done it well. We need both of these players to at least keep their heads above water consistently.
I think it’s way too early to say that Caleb Jones and Ethan Bear are ready for the jump up in quality of competition and Tyson Barrie is our new Justin Schultz, so if you think you want him out on the ice against the league’s best forwards, you might be in for a rude awakening.
For these two sophomores, it’s of the utmost importance that there’s no regression. No slump!
As for Barrie, he’s got to shine! It’ll take the spotlight off of any defensive shortcomings.
That leaves us with Kris Russell and William Lagesson. Rusty is the better option here but the club’s d-core is in a world of hurt if he’s their best option.
With Klefbom out, we can only expect this group to equal last year’s performance or worse and that is a real kick in the gonads. He’s unreplaceable internally.
But with that said, there’s a way that the TEAM can come out and surprise and that’s by defending as a group of five each and every time they’re on the ice. Just as they did earlier in the season last year. They’re going to have to overcome this challenge as a group and when I look at the roster, I can’t think of any reason why they couldn’t.
Just as in the play-ins vs. Chicago, they only had themselves to beat then, and going into 20/21, they’ll only have themselves to overcome then too. I hope they learned their lesson.
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