Edmonton Oilers Talk: Keith “Takes One for the Team”, SKINNER!!!, 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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Cult of Hockey

Player grades: Edmonton Oilers rookie goalie comes up big, but Seattle Kraken come up bigger

Zach Hyman, 7. Edmonton’s best forward. Played with strength and skill.
Tyler Benson, 6. More lively in this one, made a number of good passes. But still not much sizzle…
Colton Sceviour, 4. Another quiet game.
Brendan Perlini, 6. He went hard to the net to tip in an outside Koekkoek shot from the high slot for the game’s first goal. But we also saw some of his limitations in the first. He’s not a great passer of the puck.
Cooper Marody, 6. Pounced on a slot rebound and almost scored in the second.
Slater Koekkoek, 7. Edmonton’s best d-man. He played a smart, aggressive and effective game.
Philip Broberg, 6. A high event game. He showed quick feet walking the line in the first to put a puck on net. A moment later he had a good shift on the power play, winning a puck battle and making some good passes.
Filip Berglund, 6. Smart, efficient, another game where he made all the right moves.
Stuart Skinner, 8. Edmonton’s best player. He was perfect until he got screened on Giordano’s point shot late in the third, which was tipped in front by Jaden Schwartz. Another big save in OT, this one on a Giordano slapper. Had little chance on the winning goal.

BLH’s Thoughts: So, if you don’t know, I don’t post all of the CoH’s player grades, just the notable ones and those that pertain to some relevant storylines.

I’d like to be able to give you a word on the game but the online stream of the game never became available and NBC doesn’t supply a feed to Taipei. From the sounds of it though, it was a good match for Edmonton’s top players and Stu Skinner really had himself a performance against a more veteran-laden Seattle roster, that’s fantastic news considering, for me at least, Skinner has to show that last year’s results were a result of him growing as a goaltender and not so much about only playing teams in his own division.

Edmonton Sun

Edmonton Oilers tip scales in Keith’s vaccination decision

…the Edmonton Oilers are the one and only reason Duncan Keith rolled up his sleeve. The prospect of being forced into a 14-day quarantine every time he returned to Edmonton from a road trip in the United States just wasn’t realistic, so he got it done.

“I wanted to continue my career, basically,” said 38-year-old defenceman. “I came here wanting to be part of this team. I think there’s something special here.”

He’s not a conspiracy minded “anti-vaxxer,” but believes that, as an elite athlete who trains hard and takes specific steps to strengthen his immune system, there’s almost zero risk of having a severe outcome and clogging the province’s ICUs.

“So, for me, the frustrating part was that I’ve done so much to try and keep my immune system strong and healthy and firing on all cylinders. To have to basically take the vaccine to play hockey, for me, was frustrating in a lot of ways.”

“…as the summer went along, there was pressure from the Players Association to get it. It would have been nice to have a little more pushback from the Players Association to support the guys who felt strong in their belief, for different reasons, whether to get it or not.”

The plan is that Keith comes to Edmonton and helps stabilize the defence, provide invaluable leadership and experience in the room and lifts the Oilers to new levels by being a very close facsimile of the player who helped Chicago to three championships.

BLH’s Thoughts: Now, that’s what a leader does. Keith didn’t want to get the vaccine but he put the well-being of everyone else around him ahead of his own wishes and got the jab. Now, in the unlikely event that he contracts the virus, he’ll be that much more equipped to fight it off.

Of course, his decision is not without a sliver of selfishness in that all he wanted to do was keep playing hockey and to do that, he had to get vaccinated.

Now, for some, the fact that he didn’t want to get the Fauci Ouchie earlier combined with who he was traded for will be enough to never like the guy and to question his leadership. Well, I’ll say this, it’s going to make for a long 82-game season plus what ends up getting played in the playoffs for the anti-Keithers. Good Luck with that.

Personally, I can’t wait to see him ply his trade for the Oilers. I can’t wait to see the mental progression as the team progresses from playoff contender to Stanley Cup contender.

Spector’s Hockey

TSN: …discussions are grinding on between the Senators and Tkachuk’s representatives. While the relationship remains amicable, Dreger indicates the structure of the deal remains the sticking point.

Turning to the standoff between the Buffalo Sabres and Jack Eichel, Dreger reports the NHL and NHLPA have been speaking to all parties involved and have been for some time. An interesting twist is that teams with trade interest in Eichel are being given medical information as it comes in.

VANCOUVER HOCKEY NOW: Rob Simpson the Canucks have been shopping defenseman Travis Hamonic ahead of today’s opt-out deadline. It hasn’t been confirmed by Hamonic’s agent if his client would show up to play for an American team if traded or opt-out of this season regardless.