Edmonton Oilers Talk: “This player could do some serious damage offensively for the Oilers this season…”

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The Hockey Writers (Parsons)

Projecting the Oilers Best Value Contracts for the 2021-22 NHL Season

Tyson Barrie

Say what you want about Barrie — and a lot of people say a lot of negative things about his game — he’s consistently good at what he’s good at.
- His $4.5 million deal for the next three years is team-friendly.
- If he can raise his defensive game, be a bit more reliable at both ends and get the analytics supporters on his side, his contract could be a massive win for Edmonton…

Kailer Yamamoto

Yamamoto should fall in around the $2 million mark for this coming season. When that happens, expect Yamamoto to get back to being more the player he was in 2019-20 than he was in 2020-21
- There’s going to be a mandate for him to shoot more in 2021-22 and should he listen, he’ll be another dangerous part of the Oilers top six.

Ryan McLeod

McLeod got a cup of coffee in the NHL last season and he didn’t do much outside of prove that he’s ready to be a more regular NHL player.
- If he gets regular minutes, he could be a player that really clicks and starts to create.

Jesse Puljujarvi

If Puljujarvi takes the next logical step that many believe he can and will, this player could do some serious damage offensively for the Oilers this season.
- on a $1.175 million deal, that’s a big win for GM Ken Holland and coach Dave Tippett…

Evan Bouchard

Tippett has already said he expects Bouchard to quickly move up the roster and many insiders who follow the Oilers closely believe Bouchard could be a 40-50 point defenseman if deployed in the right situations next season.

BLH’s Thoughts: If all five of these players can come into next season and NOT regress, they will be value contracts.

My feeling is that Killer is going to get some time on the third line and I really think that would be an excellent place for him to start regaining some of the confidence he lost last year. It’s not easy for a young player to go through the kind of scoring slump he did in the final 30 games of last season.

Puljujarvi, I’m not sure if we’ll see him “pop” next year, as they like to say, because I’m thinking he might get shifted around now that Zach Hyman has signed in Edmonton. Now, that said, he’s in a contract year and players tend to perform well when they’re playing for a new deal.

The only thing stopping Evan Bouchard from starting the year on the Oilers 2nd pair is his lack of experience and he’ll be getting that this upcoming season. There’s a lot of belief in this young man and the club is going to handle him very delicately.

I have pretty low expectations for Ryan McLeod right now. I think if he can hit the 20pt mark, I’ll be pretty happy.

As for Tyson Barrie, he’s going to do what he does, score points. I think the fact that he didn’t receive a single Norris Trophy vote is going to spur him on to be a better all-round defenseman and having a former winner of the trophy on the roster will go a long way in that regard. I doubt he’ll win it, but just to get some votes will go a long way.

Lowetide.ca

HELLO?

…can we identify the best candidates for NHL success from the Bakersfield Condors most recent season?
- Ryan McLeod posts a strong NHLE (39.9) while also having the range of skills we discussed earlier. I’d count him as more of a sure thing for an NHL career
- Tyler Benson and Cooper Marody have the resume of NHL players, but foot speed is more important every year and Ken Holland spent the summer piling left wingers on the roster.
- The Oilers prospects have a story to tell, with Niemelainen likely a third pairing option and we’ll have to wait and see on Kesselring plus Kemp.
- Stuart Skinner had a good year but you’d like to see another, Rodrique is just getting started.

BLH’s Thoughts: My ultimate hope for Ryan McLeod is that he finds his way into loving the muck and he turns into a Roope Hintz-type sans the injury problems.

With the way that the team is bringing Stu Skinner along, I wonder, are we looking at another Jimmy Howard?

Spector’s Hockey

ESPN: Greg Wyshynski reports Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov is entering the final year of his six-year contract. He asked Panthers general manager Bill Zito if there was a date when he’d have to consider trading the 25-year-old center.

NHL.COM: In a recent mailbag segment, Mike Heika was asked how the Dallas Stars will address their logjam in goal if Ben Bishop should return to action at some point this season. He remains sidelined recovering from surgery last fall.

NHL.COM: David Satriano believes the Stars could seek another veteran forward this season rather than relying on young players in their system.