Edmonton Oilers Talk: How Kris Russell is Keeping the Hall/Larsson Trade Alive and the Latest NHL Rumors!

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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Oilersnation

The Oilers pound the Flames in pre-season opener

The Oilers limited Calgary to just three high-danger chances all told at even-strength.
The Flames obviously looked totally listless in this game but they were completely outclassed whenever Bouchard was on the ice.
Neither of Edmonton’s goalies were tested much but prospects Ilya Konovalov and Stuart Skinner combined to shut out the Flames, making seven and eight saves respectively.
Edmonton’s best forward line in the game was the Kyle Turris, Devin Shore, and Brendan Perlini trio, three players who are on the bubble looking for gigs. The Oilers outshot the Flames 8-1 at even-strength…
Playing on the left of Derek Ryan and rookie Xavier Bourgault, Sceviour picked up a pair of assists and had two shots on goal.
2021 first-round pick Bourgault scored his first goal as a pro on Sunday with a snipe from the face-off circle.

BLH’s Thoughts: I started about 5 minutes too late. I was waiting for the game to come up on NHL.com until I found the link to Edmonton’s own site showing it… Apparently, I missed Calgary’s entire bit of offensive momentum because Edmonton controlled that match for the next 55 minutes.

That goal from “Go-Go” Bourgault was a real snipe, wasn’t it? Right off the cycle he ripped it past Adam Werner to put the game right out of hand. The 2021 first rounder did not look too out of place competing against Calgary’s bouncers.

I’ll maintain that I think Bourgault will replace Kailer Yamamoto at some point.

For a guy who really needs to show well to make the team, William Lagesson was barely noticeable. Phil Kemp had a quiet game too.

At the end of the day, Edmonton’s speed and skill rekt Calgary’s plan to use brute force to command and conquer.

Lastly, can somebody send a memo to Darryl Sutter with instructions on how to properly wear a mask? F*ck me! Every time the camera panned over to him, his bloody mask was down by his neck… IT’S NOT THAT HARD!!!

Cult of Hockey

The Edmonton Oilers’ Josh Archibald Conundrum: 9 Things

I thought Yamamoto had a better 2021 than his statistics indicated. He just had trouble finishing. And while I buy “snake bit” to an extent, you also make a lot of your own luck.

BLH’s Thoughts: Tell me I’m wrong, but is Leavins suggesting that Killer didn’t give it his all last year? Woof! He must know something I don’t if that’s the case…

It was announced this past week that Kevin Lowe’s #4 would be hoisted to the rafters at Rogers Place… Also, a stick tap to veteran Kris Russell for doing the honorable thing and swapping his #4 to a #6.

BLH’s Thoughts: Sometimes the littlest things peck at my nuts. Did Kris Russell do the “honorable thing” by swapping his number? Get off it! The Oilers are retiring it! Was he going to wear the number until the ceremony and then swap it out Ray Bourque style?

I know. It’s dumb, but like I said, sometimes the verbiage I read online bugs me.

What’s being glossed over here is that Russell found a way to keep his name attached to the Hall/Larsson trade and THAT my friends is very funny.

Hamblin was a valuable asset in Bakersfield last season. And has impressed so far in camp this fall. Don’t be surprised that his AHL deal turns into an NHL one.

BLH’s Thoughts: Well, that pretty much seals the deal. Expect an announcement at some point that Hamblin has signed an NHL deal with the club and seeing as they have lots of room under the 50-man list, it makes sense.

I don’t know if I’d sign him to a pro deal considering the logjam in front of him from what I’ve seen of the young man so far, but I’m on the boss. I’d probably find a AHL/NHL tweener and give him the deal.

If Josh Archibald stays with the Oilers but continues to refuse vaccination, COVID protocols will force him to will miss roughly 3/8ths of the season. In this scenario, the club would benefit from the cap savings from that circumstance and save that in real money (salary) as well.
They could bury him in the AHL as some are suggesting. If they do they also save cap space. But Archibald would also get paid in full. And the parent club loses the benefit of having the asset on the ice.
Archibald has never been a highly compensated player. It’s the same reason why he’s unlikely to opt out. He hasn’t made enough dough in his career to do that. So, framed by that context, leaving him on the NHL roster would seem to be a substantial incentive for him to get the jab and solve all this.
At some point if Archibald still refuses to comply (he’s currently un-trade-able), does the organization just waive him and try to move on? Perhaps. I somehow doubt the patience of this organization will be unlimited.

BLH’s Thoughts: See… I was saying just this weekend that I wondered when a team would find a way to do some cap circumventing with the unvaccinated players…

The Daily Goal Horn

RFA holdout updates

Brady Tkachuk: Reports indicate that the hold up has more to do with contract structure and no-trade protection. It also appears that Brady has firmly planted his feet and will not compromise any further.
Elias Pettersson: Talks continue, with early reports indicating a bridge deal. Unfortunately for the cap-crunched Canucks, Kirill Kaprizov’s 5 year-deal worth $9M AAV, likely makes things real tough for Vancouver.
Quinn Hughes: He may not get Cale Makar money, but Rasmus Dahlin’s recent 3 year-deal worth $6M AAV per season is a good starting point. I would expect Hughes to be the next RFA signed.

A Jack Eichel trade with conditions?

“Eichel has made it clear he’s willing to go anywhere to facilitate a trade,” he wrote. “One of 1/2 doz teams involved tell me a trade is doable as long as the Sabres are willing to add “conditional” clauses around how he performs after surgery. ie .. games played, scoring etc.” – Nick Kypreos

Tomas Hertl willing to take a discount?

Recently, Hertl wanted to let the Sharks know that he’s more concerned about winning than money. He even referenced how his old teammate, Joe Thornton took less to play for a winner.

“I like that idea. You can go somewhere else, sign the maximum, even maybe too much, but you’re losing for the next eight years,” Hertl explained. “I don’t want to be in this position. I just don’t want to say I will take less and just take it for the team, but I think I’m a little bit for that idea.”