Edmonton Oilers Talk: Oilers Could be Battling Avs, Leafs, and Caps for the Services of this No.1 Goalie in the Offseason

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

Monday Mailbag – Who is the ideal playoff opponent?

As the club hits this exciting stretch drive, who would you like to see in the Oilers’ Bottom 6?

“I would move McLeod to the top six and then run Brassard/RNH/Puljujarvi and then Foegele/Ryan/Kassian as the bottom six.” – Yaremchuk

What is your take on Zack Kassian?

“I think many see his cap hit and can’t get past it… It is difficult for any player to make a huge impact playing 8-10 minutes.” – Gregor

We’ve got less than 10 games to play on the schedule… Does Connor McDavid hit 50 goals?

“No. I expect he’ll come in at 45-47 goals and 118-120 points.” – Brownlee

If the Oilers make the playoffs, who would be your ideal first round opponent?

“The LA Kings! They’ve proven that they can beat them, the Oilers have a deeper forward group, the blueliners are somewhat comparable (I’d give the edge to LA when healthy) and like the Oilers, the Kings have gotten very inconsistent goaltending this season.” – Yaremchuk

Assuming Leon Draisaitl can remain relatively healthy for the remainder of his career, do you see him as a Top 20 all-time European NHL player?

“No doubt he will be top-20, and I think top-10 seems very likely. He’s already had three 100-point seasons, two 50-goal seasons and two 50-goal and 100-point seasons. The only other European players to match all three categories are Jaromir Jagr, Alex Ovechkin, Jari Kurri and Teemu Selanne.” – Gregor

BLH’s Thoughts: I don’t think I’d move Brassard off of the 4th line to be honest because he’s done f*ck all for a while now. I like the idea of Foegele, Nuge, and Jesse though. Could that be a scenario here Jesse gets off the schneid? I mean, you’d think playing with Leon or Connor would be a way better way of doing that, mind you.

LA is definitely the team I’d like to see the Oilers face in the first round now that Doughty is gone for the year. Plus, some of my earliest memories of going to playoff games in Edmonton were in games where the Oilers were playing the Kings.

Cult of Hockey

Player Grades: One big Sequence of Pain for Edmonton Oilers in 5-1 loss to Minnesota Wild

Jesse Puljujarvi, 3. His worst game of the year? Likely. Perhaps he wasn’t feeling well, having missed a recent practice because he was ill. A major culprit on two goals against and had little going on the attack.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 3. Not his best game and certainly not his best moment on the Wild’s second goal.
Ryan McLeod, 3. Did he play? Way too quiet this game, like a lot of the Oil forwards.
Duncan Keith, 2. Oh my, this was not his night, not even close. Normally sure-handed, he moved the puck like it was a stick of lit dynamite.
Darnell Nurse, 6. He was the one Oilers d-man who truly held his own at even strength, keeping a clean sheet in that game situation, without one major mistake on a Grade A shot against.
Evander Kane, 5. Quiet game other than a wicked board hit on Joel Eriksson Ek in garbage time late in the third… A moment later, Kane came to Yamamoto’s defence, bashing Kaprizov and setting off a bitter spat, highlighted by Ryan Hartman trying to fight Kane, then giving him the finger.

BLH’s Thoughts: I can’t say enough how much the Oilers lack what Evander Kane brings to the ice. He’s tenacious, aggravating, touch as nails, and won’t back down from anybody. I get that the team wants players who can get the puck up and out of their own zone quickly, but when you’re getting your ass handed to you and the other team’s star starts pulling off shots from the between the legs, your team needs skaters who’ll get in the other team’s faces to send a message. Right now, the Oilers have a roster full of players who look like they’re worried about getting hurt before that playoffs start and that’s valid, but c’mon… There’s a reason Hartman brought up the fact that nobody came to bat for Kane… The three other guys on the ice were more concerned with getting off the ice than rushing in to help their teammates… Is that the kind of comradery this organization is fostering? If so, they’re not going anywhere in the post-season and you can kiss any chances of a Stanley Cup goodbye until everybody on this team will lay their bodies on the line for the guy standing next to them.

Trade Rumors

Spector’s Hockey: Ian Kennedy believes Toronto Maple Leafs’ Jack Campbell and Ilya Mikheyev, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evan Rodrigues, Colorado Avalanche winger Andre Burakovsky and New York Rangers forward Andrew Copp could cash in big this summer if they have strong performances in the upcoming 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Daily Goal Horn: According to a team source, the Flyers will look at “all teams and the UFA market” in the club’s search for a top nine pivot… In terms of free agents, Colorado’s Nazem Kadri and Carolina’s Vincent Trotchek are the two most attractive/realistic names the Flyers could pursue.
- Aging veteran Ryan Getzlaf will also retire at the end of this season, which makes you wonder about the future of John Gibson… There are three or four teams that I could see being in on him in the summer. Keep your eyes on the Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, Colorado Avalanche, and Toronto Maple Leafs.
NLHRumors.com: The cost to acquire Patrick Kane from the Blackhawks would be too high for the Sabres to pay right now. Florida’s first-round pick, Victor Olofsson and prospect isn’t nearly enough to land Kane. It would likely start with two first-round picks – plus.

BLH’s Thoughts: If you’re Ken Holland, would you move Skinner, Puljujarvi, Broberg, and a pick for John Gibson? I don’t think I would, I’d take my chances with Skinner, Jesse, and Philly. But you never know, a no.1 like Gibson doesn’t come around often and I’m curious about how coaching and management feels about Pulju’s finishing going forward…