Edmonton Oilers Trade Talk: Klefbom Coming Back? Archibald’s Return, Laine, Fleury, Manson, Klingberg, and More!

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 Athletic

Ken Holland Q&A

On Perlini: He’s played about six games in two months. When you’re a skilled guy, (you should) knock the rust off; go down to Bakersfield.
On the trade deadline: I think the standings dictate your thinking. Then you figure out what you think you might need… Lots of times at the deadline, you’re looking for depth.
On the goaltending: Now that we can get them both (Koskinen and Smith) going, I believe we’re going to get good goaltending.
On acquiring rentals: Well, right now, there’s not a ton going on in the marketplace… I’m not really thinking about the trade deadline right now. We’ve got to put some points on the board… I talked to a few managers in the last couple of days, but it all really heats up in the last week.
On Josh Archibald: We’re paying him. He’s under contract. He’s been a very important guy because he can skate, he kills penalties, (he) can play up and down the roster, he plays bigger than his size, and he can check… He’s not vaccinated…
On Oscar Klefbom: Klef was trying to push it a little bit harder in December and early January and had some setbacks. He backed off significantly… I think that he is doing very good in terms of feeling better about everyday life and he’s not in pain. I think it’s much more pessimistic when it comes to if he’s going to play again.
On Dylan Holloway: I don’t have any timeline for you. I’m going to do what I think is in the best interest of Dylan Holloway. Everybody wants to be in the NHL, but you’ve got to be able to play up here.
On Jay Woodcroft: When the season’s over, we’ll sit down and decide on next year.

BLH’s Thoughts: All pretty standard stuff that you’d expect from Ken Holland. I think hearing that Oscar Klefbom was trying to make a bit of a comeback was the biggest shock. It’s too bad that he couldn’t make a better go of it, can you imagine how much of a boost he’d give the Oilers?

Oilersnation

How Connor McDavid has significantly improved his defensive play

McDavid would often be the last forward coming into his own zone. However, I feel this is much less frequent now. His overall defensive awareness continues to improve, and I feel he backchecks more consistently.
Unlike previously, McDavid is more involved in the corners, and is superb at transforming recoveries deep or broken plays into a zone entry in the opposite direction.
McDavid has been able to enhance his puck protection skills and polish his performance in the offensive zone, and has truly become a dominant possession player.

BLH’s Thoughts: The article goes into an almost fanatical amount of depth including advanced statistics and video clips to illustrate how the Oilers captain has improved the defensive aspect of his game.

The biggest thing is that he’s made a point to come deeper into his own zone to help his defensemen out and to assist in the zone exit and he’s backchecking in a much more noticeable manner. Maybe he’s had his “Yzerman moment”…

In a way, I feel like he’s not just being used as a nuclear deterrent on the offensive side of the puck. Now he’s taking the whole of his responsibilities to heart every shift and he’s a threat in every zone, not just the other team’s.

The Daily Goal Horn

I believe Fleury is going too ok a trade and make a Cup run with a contender. Keep an eye on the Oilers and Capitals. That being said, don’t sleep on the Maple Leafs or Avalanche.
The most talked about landing spot for Giroux are the Colorado Avalanche but there appears to be two more teams to keep an eye out on in the St. Louis Blues and Florida Panthers. However, LeBrun said the price is very high and along the lines of a “first, a young player, and a prospect.”
The Ducks will be coming to a crossroads soon regarding their big unrestricted free agents. They include forward Rickard Rakell, defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Josh Manson. All three can walk via free agency this summer and it’s something new GM Pat Verbeek won’t let happen.
The New York Rangers are so hot for J.T. Miller it makes you wonder why he was a throw-in when they moved Ryan McDonagh to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018… Vancouver isn’t going to trade him unless they get the king’s ransom they are looking for, which is said to be more than what the Sabres were asking for Jack Eichel these days.
Interestingly enough and as you’d expect, teams have contacted Columbus about Laine’s availability. It’s extremely unlikely that he would be traded at the deadline, but if no progess is made on a new contact around the NHL Draft the rumors will start to fly.
The Toronto Maple Leafs lost defenseman Jake Muzzin to a concussion and that seems to have shifted their priorities in using their LTIR cap relief on a defenseman… One defenseman they reportedly have their eyes on is Dallas Stars’ John Klingberg.