Edmonton Oilers Talk: “He’s got one more year of AHL eligibility before the Oilers must make a decision on him.”

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 Hockey Writers (Couch)

5 Oilers Players Contending for League Awards in 2021-22

Connor McDavid – This season’s prediction is that McDavid will be contending for four league awards in 2021-22, the Art Ross Trophy, Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Trophy, and Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy. The Hart Trophy usually depends on whether the player’s team makes the playoffs, and in a weak Pacific Division, it shouldn’t be too difficult of a task for the Oilers. 

Leon Draisaitl – It all depends on how the field around him shapes up, but being at the top of the lists in goals and points should get Draisaitl recognition for the Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Trophy once again.

Darnell Nurse –  It is exciting to think about what Nurse can do with a full season in this role he has carved out for himself, with Oscar Klefbom out of the picture again for another full season. He finished seventh in Norris Trophy voting last season and received three second-place votes after finishing second in goals among defencemen.

Ryan McLeod – He is expected to center the third line once again in 2021-22, and with an upgrade at the wing lower in the lineup, it should help him progress nicely and compete for the Calder Trophy in his first full season.

Evan Bouchard – He will have to impress in his role with the Oilers in 2021-22, but he should be put in a position to succeed and challenge for the Calder Trophy.

BLH’s Thoughts: I don’t believe Bouchard is eligible for the Calder and that’s unfortunate because he definitely would’ve been in the mix. 

As for McLeod, he doesn’t have the scoring chops quite yet and we know that the ROY award more often that not gets handed out to the highest scoring rookie. What if Dylan Holloway makes the club and sticks on one of McDavid’s or Draisaitl’s wing though?… That’s food for thought. 

Nurse was one of the best producing defensemen 5v5 this past year and all he could get was enough votes to place him 7th in Norris Trophy voting. He’ll need to take another massive step in his progression to get close to the top-three. 

Leon and Connor will always be competing for the same trophies and to some extent it hurts both of their chances because they take votes from one another which helps the third finalist for whatever award they’re nominated for. 

What I’d like to see is Draisaitl getting some Selke consideration for his work on the defensive side of the game. 

The Cult of Hockey

Stuart Skinner’s saga in Edmonton Oilers organization: They love him, they love him not

• Skinner’s up-and-down minor pro career has been mirrored by the Oilers’ up-and-down commitment to the young goalie, at least if you go by the endless number of competitors who have been brought in over the years to challenge Skinner
• Perhaps if Skinner can put together two super solid seasons in a row the Oilers organization will lock in more firmly on him as an heir apparent for starting goalie Mike Smith, but that kind of consistency has generally eluded Skinner, both in-season and between seasons.
• Skinner has also held off challenges from college free agents Hayden Hawkey and Shane Starrett at the AHL level, with the Oilers also bringing in Troy Grosenick, Anton Forsberg and Alex Stalock last year as goalie depth…
• He’s got one more year of AHL eligibility before the Oilers must make a decision on him. If the big goalie shines, he could be Smith’s back-up in Edmonton in 2021-22. Edmonton will be desperate for value contracts by then, and with Skinner’s $750,000 salary that year, he would certainly hit that mark.
• Expectation for 2020-21: He hold on to the top job in Bakersfield, play the majority of the games and play at the same high level as he attained last year, if not higher.

BLH’s Thoughts: To me, Skinner’s development is on par with that of a netminder who’s bound to make the NHL. However, he needs to show in 2021-22 that last season wasn’t a mirage and that he can withstand the heat that’ll be in Bakersfield’s kitchen this season as a result of icing some very young defensemen. 

He’ll have some competition from Ilya Konovalov though… 

The Daily Goal Horn

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