Edmonton Oilers Talk: Waivers, Replacing Larsson, 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

Can Edmonton’s two big $$$ newcomers on defence shut it down like Adam Larsson did?

When it came to making major mistakes on defence at even strength last year, Larsson was by far the stingiest Oilers d-man. Through his combination of outstanding positional play and exceptional ferocity, he was able to limit the number of gaffes he made that resulted in Grade A scoring chances for the opposition, and Larsson did so even as he faced a steady diet of elite attackers.
Larsson made a team low 0.93 major mistakes on Grade A chances against, just 0.93 per 15 minutes of even strength play (essentially the time a d-man will get in one game).
Larsson’s excellence on defence can also be seen in his low number of mental mistakes… Larsson had the lowest number on the team in 2019-20, just 0.12 per game (15 min. even strength ice time)…
He was almost certainly the most effective Oilers defender against tough comp since Chris Pronger.
Not having seen Ceci play much over his career, I was more focused on his overall skillset — and I came away with a favourable first impression. His skating was faster than I had expected. He had more bite in puck battles than I expected…
As for Keith, we shall see. I can’t wait to see him in some games… The Oilers don’t need brilliant o-zone attacking from either Keith or Ceci. They need them to pair up and shut it down against tough comp.

BLH’s Thoughts: From a metrics POV, I don’t think Keith and Ceci combined will be able to equal what Larsson accomplished for the Oilers defensively, but I’m okay with that because their games don’t resemble Larsson’s and I’m not sure how many fans of the club will be able to wrap their minds around that simple fact.

We can’t look at Duncan Keith and Cody Ceci and demand they replicate the players they’re replacing (Larsson, Bear, Jones). It’s not fair to them, but what we can do is do our own research, determine what kind of defensemen they are, and then construct some personal expectations for them.

I would like to see both veteran defenders play a simple game. I don’t need to either of them to put on a stickhandling clinic or do their best impressions of Paul Coffey. All I want is for them to put the vast amounts of experience both have accrued over the years and make sure the zone exits are clean, Edmonton’s goalies have the clearest view of as many shots as possible, and that no opposing forward comes to the conclusion that the Oilers’ crease is a safe place to go.

The Athletic

How could waivers impact Oilers’ roster decisions?

NHL equivalencies suggest Benson could deliver something close to 0.5 points per game if given a role on a skill line in the NHL. He won’t get that opportunity in Edmonton…
Teams will be monitoring the waiver wire in search of young talent, and Benson, who has another gear this year, might be a player of interest.
Cooper Marody is also waiver eligible for the first time this fall, and based on early returns in preseason would appear to be on the outside looking in with the Oilers.
William Lagesson is the No. 8 defenceman on the depth chart. That puts him in a difficult spot. He is unlikely to make the team at the start of the year (traditionally teams carry seven blue) and that makes him eligible for waivers.
There are some interesting wingers and left-handed centres who could shake loose (Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk from Tampa Bay; Logan Brown if the St. Louis Blues try to sneak him through)…
Lagesson could slide through waivers; it sounds like Libor Hajek of the New York Rangers might land in a similar spot…
The competition for roster spots is strong this year. It’s a good sign for the organization, but a struggle for three waiver eligible prospects trying to find traction.

BLH’s Thoughts: How many NHL teams have a spot open on a skill line for Tyler Benson? Or another way put, how many top-six forwards would Benson beat out for a spot on their roster? I’m going to say none. Buffalo and Arizona have wingers who are much better than Benson, so I’m going to say that his NHL equivalencies are lacking some context.

That said, Benson has shown that he belongs in the NHL with some newfound foot speed and tenaciousness. Another NHL team might want to take a gamble on him being able to provide some offense from the bottom-six, but in my opinion, I can’t see another GM looking at him and saying he’d be a good fit for that team’s top-six.

If you listen to Oilers Now every weekday, you might be aware that Bob Stauffer doesn’t think that there’s a market for Lagesson anymore and reckons he’d clear waivers. I do find it interesting that Lowetide brings up Libor Hajek and that leaves me to wonder if a trade would work between the Rangers and the Oilers involving the two.

As for claiming a winger or left-shot center, unless someone gets hurt or the team really loses faith in Ryan McLeod, I don’t see the Oilers making a claim.

NHLRumors.com

NHL Watcher: Frank Seravalli on Sportsnet 960 on Calgary Flames pending UFA Johnny Gaudreau: “Not suggesting that he doesn’t want to be in Calgary, but my understanding is Johnny Gaudreau wants to be paid and wants to be paid quite well for his services”.
Robby Stanley: Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg when asked if one of his goals is to finish his career as a Predators or if he’s taking a wait-and-see approach:

“I have no rush to sign. I mean I still have a full year. I don’t know, I feel like you have to play your contract out.”

Paul Skrbina: Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm said that he would have signed a contract extension “yesterday.”
Aaron Portzline of The Athletic: Blue Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo is entering the final year of his contract. Korpisalo on Merzlikins’ extension,