Edmonton Oilers Talk: Holland chose the latter…

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

Oilers & Hurricanes Both Benefiting From Bear/Foegele Trade

Unfortunately, the last play Ethan Bear made as an Edmonton Oiler led to the tying goal in Game 4 against the Winnipeg Jets in the 2021 Playoffs.
On July 28, 2021, the Oilers traded the 124th overall pick from the 2015 NHL Draft to the Carolina Hurricanes for forward Warren Foegele.
Holland opted for more experience on the right side. He re-signed Tyson Barrie and added Cody Ceci, leaving only one spot for Bear or Evan Bouchard. Maybe because of his 10^th-overall draft pedigree, Holland chose the latter.
Foegele has solidified the third line. With Zack Kassian and Derek Ryan, the three of them have created an identity.
This season, Foegele, Ryan and Kassian have combined for five goals and four assists in five games.
…they’ve combined for 34 hits in five games with center Ryan, boasting a 59.1% faceoff percentage (FO%).
Through five games, Bear has two assists, is a plus-4, and averaging18:56 of ice time. He’s also filled in on the top pairing with defenseman Jaccob Slavin.

BLH’s Thoughts: This is great news. I’m very happy for Ethan that things are working out for him in Raleigh.

My personal belief is that there were a few reasons as to why Bear was moved including,

Evan Bouchard being chosen over Bear as the team’s top RHD of the future.

Bear himself being comfortable with a move considering the racist abuse he took after the playoffs.

Internal pressure to move the player after coming into camp late, his slow start to the year, and some unfortunate poor performances in key moments.

I reckon there were some financial considerations in play but at the end of the day, the team simply chose between Evan Bouchard and Ethan Bear, a choice I believe was the right one and will continue to be the right one until both defenders are done and retired.

The two questions that will always linger is, what if Adam Larsson had chosen to stay and how would’ve that changed Ken Holland’s off-season?

The Athletic

How hot streaks, shuffles and slumps will determine the fate of the Oilers’ second line in 2021-22

Four players have occupied the three forward slots on the Oilers’ second line so far this season: Leon Draisaitl (4-7-11), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (0-7-7), Zach Hyman (5-1-6) and Kailer Yamamoto (0-0-0), in order of point total (all through five games).
The gap in scoring totals for the four men is shocking at first blush, and potentially devastating for Yamamoto’s place in the lineup.
Added to his scoring slump in the second half of last season (one goal in his final 25 games), the five scoreless games this season place him under the microscope.
A five-game sample is very small and wouldn’t be of much concern if not for the final 25 games of 2020-21. This is now an unusually long slump.
Yamamoto is in some danger, because he isn’t an established NHL player yet.
The Oilers play 15 more games before the end of November. Odds are that Yamamoto will score two or three goals before December.

BLH’s Thoughts: What do the odds say about a winger going that length of time without scoring whilst at the same time playing with two off the NHL’s elite playmakers?

See, I think there’s a lot of pressure to get this roster right immediately. For example, do you remember that grade A chance Yamo missed off of a feed from Leon behind Philly’s net last night? What if Phil Kessel was on the end of that pass or Rickard Rakell of Filip Forsberg? We might be talking about the Oilers starting the year 6-0-0 instead of a shaky performance where their sloppy play caught up to them…

The Daily Goal Horn

Will the Hawks eventually trade Toews or Kane?

Considering the state of the Hawks, Toews could be open to moving to a contender at the trade deadline for a chance to win another Cup. It will be interesting to see where he could land but Vegas and New York could be possible depending on how much salary is retained.

Latest Jack Eichel speculation

Elliotte Friedman was a guest on Sportnet’s The Jeff Marek Show and started to discuss possible trade destinations again for Jack Eichel. Here’s a list of teams mentioned.

Avalanche: Kicked tires, nothing close
Blue Jackets: Same as Avs
Bruins: Doesn’t think Bruins can offer Sabres what they want
Ducks: Haven’t heard much recently, quiet
Flames: Did due diligence, could be a player
Golden Knights: Need help now, Eichel won’t be ready due to surgery
Hurricanes: May be an interesting team
Kraken: Haven’t heard if they are really interested but possible
Rangers: Extending Zibanejad ends it unless Sabres willing to retain significant salary
Wild: No cap space