Edmonton Oilers Talk: Could Mike Babcock be the Oilers Next Coach?

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Cult of Hockey

The best trade Edmonton Oilers G.M. Ken Holland never made: 9 Things

It would be impossible not to be happy for Brendan Perlini… He’ll start as the opening night 4LW.
It has been since Devan Dubnyk in Edmonton that the Oilers have developed a home-grown goaltender. He’s headed to Bakersfield for now, but Stuart Skinner is on the precipice of breaking that 7-year drought.
Oilers General Manager Ken Holland attended the Golden Bears hockey game in Edmonton Friday night against Mike Babcock’s Saskatchewan Huskies.
…if the Oilers are a Top-8 team at the deadline, I can see the G.M. exploring moving that pick (probably in the 20’s somewhere) for help down the stretch…
I believe that the Oilers have offered Colton Sceviour a 2-way contract to become a member of organization. But I don’t think the veteran has made the big club yet and is probably weighing the offer against whatever might be available for him elsewhere.
I am confident in saying that both Ryan McLeod and Tyler Benson have made the club and will start the season in Edmonton. I expect the club thinks it would lose Benson on waivers and that they are not prepared to lose an asset they have spent this long developing on waivers for nothing.
In assessing Ken Holland’s success in taking this club forward to date, can we agree that Jesse Puljujarvi was the best trade he never made?

BLH’s Thoughts: It makes me chuckle that Peter Chiarelli (one Stanley Cup to his name), Ken Hitchcock (Future Hall-of-Fame Coach), and Todd McLellan (nearly 500 wins) couldn’t unlock Puljujarvi’s potential. All of that experience combined couldn’t come to an agreement as to what steps the team needed to take to get the best out of Pulju…

Ah well… Ken Holland and Dave Tippett deserve all the credit for getting Jesse back into the fold with the Oilers.

Speaking of Holland, do you think he was paying an old friend a visit as he watched his old coach behind the bench of a university team or are some seeds being sown? This is the last year of Tippett’s contract and Babcock is sure to be an NHL coach next season… Could it be in Edmonton? Don’t forget, it was down to him and McLellan in 2015.

Oilersnation

Off the Top of My Head

At 23, it’s no longer a question of whether Puljujarvi will be an NHL player. The question now, as Puljujarvi goes into a season where he’ll play first line with Leon Draisaitl or Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid, is how good he might become.

“His attitude has allowed him to make it work,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “He stayed positive. As tough as it is on a young player coming in, maybe even more so on a European player, it’s not easy to crack the NHL right away. There were frustrations. We weren’t a great team when he came in. He had to learn to take strides.”

After wrapping up pre-season with a 3-2 win in Vancouver last night, there’s decisions to be made about the final couple of spots if the Oilers keep 14 forwards, but it looks to me like Foegele, Ryan and Kassian have the inside track as far as the third line goes.
Foegele continues to impress. Ryan has looked at home playing between them and he’s caught Tippett’s eye.
Seeing Kassian motionless after he hit his head on the ice in his scrap with MacEwen was brutal, but it’s a scene we’ve witnessed (and one I was involved in as a lacrosse player) too many times. Short of banning fighting, I’m not sure there’s a reasonable way to avoid the potential for what we saw Thursday.
Tough news for Caleb Jones, who went to Chicago in the Keith trade. The Blackhawks announced Friday at Jones is expected to miss six weeks because of a strained left wrist.

BLH’s Thoughts: I suppose we’ll have to do the math on the Keith/Jones trade another year, eh?

As for Kassian’s injury, the refs are supposed to jump in as soon as a helmet has fallen off, no? So isn’t it on them if somebody gets hurt like Kass did?

I’ve got a pretty good idea as to how this Edmonton Oilers team is going to look within the Pacific Division, but I want to know how it will perform against Tampa, Colorado, Boston, or Florida. How will Edmonton’s depth stack up against proper Stanley Cup contenders?

As for Jesse, he’s had that work ethic since he was 14. Nothing has changed there. He’s had that and a massive heart and he’s just wanted to play the game and be part of a winning equation. You can’t fault the guy for sticking to his guns, but with that said, sometimes it takes an extra minute or two for things to fall into place and maybe everybody involved prior to Pulju coming back to Edmonton needed to take a step back and realize that.

Spector’s Hockey

THE ATHLETIC: Pierre LeBrun recently looked at which of this season’s high-profile unrestricted free agents could sign contract extensions within the next month or two.
- He wouldn’t be surprised Dallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg is signed by midseason though there’s work to be done.
- The Boston Bruins signing Patrice Bergeron is a no-brainer if the 36-year-old center wants to return for another season.
- There haven’t been any real contract discussions between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Evgeni Malkin as he focuses on recovering from offseason knee surgery.
- LeBrun believes the San Jose Sharks haven’t given up hope of signing Tomas Hertl but thinks the 27-year-old center is unlikely to do so.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have had preliminary talks with Morgan Rielly and lines of communication remain open.