Edmonton Oilers Talk: BLH Compares Hyman to Former Dutch Football Great

Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with excerpts from the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation from all of the internet’s best sites including Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, The Athletic, TSN and more!

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Oil on Whyte (Courville-Lynch)

Oilers: Is Zach Hyman the Winger Connor McDavid needed?

Hyman is beneficial to Edmonton in a lot of ways right now, I believe he will help lead the team to a playoff spot next season, but the team around him isn’t strong enough to compete for a Stanley Cup.
By the time the Oilers have built their strongest roster in years, and have the squad to be a favorite for the championship, Hyman will likely be running bottom 6 minutes, and it will be another contract that Edmonton fans begin to regret being excited about.
The contract just scares me, the fact we’re taking a seven-year risk on a guy who’s already 29, is something I’m not entirely comfortable with.

BLH’s Thoughts: Not often we get the pessimists POV with the Hyman signing, but the fear over that contract is a valid one. Anytime you’ve got a guy getting paid over $5M/yr into his mid 30s there’s going to be an element of risk, however, with the way that athletes are training and where sports medicine is at right now, hockey players are playing later and later into their careers. If Hyman can take care of himself, he should age like a fine wine.

Somewhat related, from 2006-2012, my favorite soccer/football team, Liverpool, had a Dutch winger by the name of Dirk Kuyt and I loved watching that guy play. He was as industrious and hard-working as they come and he’d score goals just from busting his ass to get into the right positions on the field. Rarely did he get anything done by skill like Lionel Messi, but more so with his high work rate. The really interesting thing about Kuyt was that in the off-seasons he’d go to a guy who’d use a mallet to realign his bones and ligaments. The therapist’s name… ” Jan-Jan The Hammer Man”

Zach Hyman reminds is hockey’s version of Dirk Kuyt.

Cult of Hockey (McCurdy)

“Draft and follow” the watchword for Edmonton Oilers’ depth prospects

It’s that time of year again for the Cult of Hockey‘s annual p/review of Edmonton Oilers’ prospects… Here’s the countdown from #35 to #21:

#35 LD Matthew Cairns (last year #33), age 23, 6’2, 203 lbs., drafted #84 in 2016.
#34 RC Filip Engaras (last year #26), age 22, 6’0, 198 lbs., drafted #169 in 2020.
#33 LW Tim Soderlund (not previously ranked), age 23, 5’9, 163 lbs., acquired by trade in 2021.
#32 LW Jeremias Lindewall (last year #24), age 19, 6’2, 183 lbs., drafted #200 in 2020.

Keep an eye on Jeremias Lindewall. @coreypronman has some good things to say #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/A7jSiSSvKr

— TJ (@tjbahra) May 13, 2021

#31 LW Patrik Siikanen (last year #30), age 21, 6’2, 198 lbs., drafted #195 in 2018.
#30 LC Skyler Brind’Amour (last year #25), age 22, 6’2, 174 lbs., drafted #177 in 2017.
#29 LC Tomas Mazura (last year #34), age 20, 6’4, 190 lbs., drafted #162 in 2019.
#28 LW Shane Lachance (not previously ranked) 17, 6’4, 190 lbs., drafted #186 overall in 2021.
#27 RD Maximus Wanner (not previously ranked), 18, 6’3, 185 lbs., drafted #212 in 2021.
#26 RC Aapeli Rasanen (last year #27), 6’0, 207 lbs., drafted #153 overall in 2016.
#25 LW Ostap Safin (last year #29), age 22, 6’5, 205 lbs., drafted #115 in 2017.
#24 LC Maxim Denezhkin (last year #21), age 20, 5’10, 168 lbs., #193 overall in 2019.
#23 RC/RW Jake Chiasson (not previously ranked), age 18, 6’1, 165 lbs., drafted #116 in 2021.
#22 RW Matvei Petrov (not previously ranked), age 18, 6’2, 181 lbs., drafted #180 overall in 2021.
#21 LD Luca Munzenberger (not previously ranked), age 18, 6’2, 190 lbs., drafted #90 in 2021.

BLH’s Thoughts: The fellas at The Cult of Hockey have a little write up for each prospect that I would recommend you check out here.

One guy on that list that has me curious is Jeremias Lindewall. He was recently included on the u20 Swedish National Team for the 2021 World Junior Summer Showcase and he was on the 2nd line ahead of notable Swedish prospects Oksar Olausson (COL), Simon Robertsson (STL), and Zion Nybeck (CAR). How many guys who were drafted 200th overall find their way to their nation’s national hockey team?

Spector’s Hockey

NHL Rumor Mill – August 9, 2021

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: In a recent mailbag segment, George Richards was asked about how things stand with new contracts for Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart. He anticipates new deals for both could be announced later this summer.

He also acknowledged the trade rumors about winger Frank Vatrano before the expansion draft. While nothing came of them, he didn’t rule out the possibility of a training camp deal.
Richards also predicted Sergei Bobrovsky could be moved out in 2023 “one way or another” but it won’t be a contract buyout.

TORONTO SUN: Steve Simmons took note of young defensemen such as Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse, Colorado’s Cale Makar, Chicago’s Seth Jones and Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen landing long-term deals worth over $8 million. He believes the going rate for a 27-year-old blueliner like the Leafs’ Morgan Rielly is around $8 million per season, which is a big raise over his current $5 million annual cap hit.

NHLRumors.com

Luke Fox of Sportsnet: Looking at the remaining top restricted free agents and some notes on each.

1. Quinn Hughes – Vancouver Canucks – Preliminary talks are underway and he’s not offer sheet eligible. They could be looking at deals that are five years and more.
2. Elias Pettersson – Vancouver Canucks – He has the same agent as Hughes. He’s eligible to sign an offer sheet and the Canucks have cap concerns. They may be looking at five years or less.
3. Kirill Kaprizov – Minnesota Wild – Not offer sheet eligible but has the KHL threat. A six-year plus deal could be over $9 million per.
4. Brady Tkachuk – Ottawa Senators – They don’t have any cap issues to deal with. Elliotte Friedman said last month they could do a three-year bridge deal.
5. Igor Shesterkin – New York Rangers – A two-year bridge deal could be around $4 million. Thatcher Demko‘s five-year, $5 million per could be comparable.
6. Andrei Svechnikov – Carolina Hurricanes – The Hurricanes had to take care of a bunch of things before they planned on turning to Svechnikov. GM Don Waddel said last month that the sides had been talking, there wasn’t any urgency yet, and that it would get done.
7. Filip Hronek – Detroit Red Wings – The Wings have plenty of cap space and he should get some term.
8. Sam Reinhart – Florida Panthers – He’s a year away from being a UFA and will be looking for a multi-year deal. David Dwork tweeted they are working on a three or four-year deal in the $6-$7 million range.
9. Juuse Saros – Nashville Predators – He filed for salary arbitration. Will the Preds want to go long-term or a bridge deal?
10. Andrew Copp – Winnipeg Jets – He could be looking at $4 million a season on either a short- or long-term deal. Ken Wiebe thinks he could look at a four-year deal at around $4.4 million.
11. Rasmus Dahlin – Buffalo Sabres – A bridge deal may be the safest for both sides.