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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The Hockey Writers
4 Trade Destinations For Mikko Koskinen
- Buffalo – The Sabres have all the room in the world to take on Koskinen’s $4.5 million salary. He also has a shot to be the starter there if the Sabres don’t land a bigger name in free agency this summer. The opportunity at a starting role could be important for Koskinen and he might elect to include the Sabres on his list of teams he’d accept a trade to.
- Anaheim – If the Ducks fall farther and farther out of playoff contention, there could be insiders speculating at the future of Ducks’ goaltender John Gibson. A player locked into a long-term deal at a cost of $6.4 million, he’d be a solid get for the Oilers who wouldn’t need to worry about their goaltending moving forward.
- New York – If the Rangers move Igor Shesterkin, the Rangers might be in the market for a backup. Shesterkin isn’t likely part of the Rangers’ future and Koskinen would essentially be a rental for New York who is being painted as one of the teams to watch heading into the NHL Trade Deadline.
- Arizona – The Coyotes get a partner that provides a bit of insurance for a very young Vejmelka and they should be able to save money over Koskinen’s current salary if they sign him to a multi-year deal.
BLH’s Thoughts: Sweet Jesus! What was Parsons on when he wrote this? Did he lose a bet or something? Anaheim’s not trading John Gibson when they’re this close to exiting their current rebuild and there’s no way in Hell the Rangers are trading Shesterkin considering he’s the team’s no.1 goalie right now.
However, Buffalo and Arizona are probably two of the more realistic trade destinations for Mikko IF the Oilers decide to move on from him. I think there’s a chance that Columbus could be added to that list and maybe Dallas if the Stars drop out of the playoff race.
For a rental, Braden Holtby (DAL) checks off a lot of boxes for me as a potential trade target for the Oilers. His experienced, he’s won in the past, he’s been a starter and can hand large workloads, and he’s affordable. Lots to like there with this goalie.
Lowetide
Who should the Oilers trade for?
- Frank Seravalli’s latest list has LHD Ben Chiarot as the top option among blue, I think the price is too dear.
- Jakob Chychrun is also on the list, plus Jeff Petry, Mark Giordano and Nick Leddy. I don’t see Edmonton affording any of them.
- Maybe Luke Schenn or Libor Hajek would be considerations.
- Would Nurse-Keith-Niemelainen-Russell be enough to go to war with in the postseason?
- Last time Edmonton went deep, Matt Greene had 27 games NHL experience when that playoff spring began. Niemelainen has 11, with 33 to go.
- I think we’ll see a pickup of some sort, but with Woodcroft being a different style of coach, speed and two-way ability will be requirements for the new blue.
BLH’s Thoughts: I don’t know if speed and two-way ability will be requirements for Woodcroft. He’s been around long enough to know what kind of defenses succeed in the playoffs and down in Bakersfield his best defenseman has possibly been the slowest and least skilled two-way in Vincent Desharnais, who happens to be nearly as big as Zdeno Chara by the way.
I do agree that Ben Chiarot is going to cost too much and I don’t really want Edmonton anywhere near that bidding competition. Chychrun will be cost too much of the future, Petry isn’t coming back as long as MacT is nearby, Giordano would be an awesome troll job if the Oilers and Flames met in the first round, and Leddy might be too small for what the club is looking for.
Tellin’ ya. Scott Mayfield’s the guy and if you need the fancies to back that up, check out this post from Sid over at Oilers Nation. He goes over the top-10 RHD that Edmonton could go after at the trade deadline with numbers galore for you to digest!
That said, Ken Holland’s been the architect of an absurd amount of playoff competing teams. If anybody’s to know what this club needs to compete in the post-season, it’s him.
Spector’s Hockey
- MONTREAL GAZETTE: Earlier this week, Pat Hickey reported the Canadiens defense corps is in line for a major overhaul.
- NHL insider Pierre LeBrun told TSN690 (stick tap to NHL Watcher) the Canadiens have a list of players they wish to move and a list of those they want to keep.
- Mike Hoffman, Jonathan Drouin, Christian Dvorak and Artturi Lehkonen are on the “would like to move” list but that doesn’t automatically mean they’ll be traded.
- WASHINGTON HOCKEY NOW: Sammi Silber cites a report by RDS claiming the Canadiens reached out to the Capitals regarding goaltender Ilya Samsonov.
- VEGAS HOCKEY NOW: Owen Krepps cited Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reporting Georgiev could be an option for the Golden Knights if starter Robin Lehner remains sidelined by a suspected shoulder injury.
BLH’s Thoughts: The Oilers were very close to acquiring Georgiev back in early-December. I wonder if there’s a chance those negotiations have picked up again?
