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!
The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!
If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!
Give us a follow on the socials!
- Youtube: Beer League Heroes Channel
- Twitter: @beerleagueheroe
- Instagram: @beerleagueheroes
- Facebook: Beer League Heroes
The Hockey Writers
Oilers Can Look to Devils to Acquire Winger Help
Andreas Johnsson
- Johnsson can play both wings, so it wouldn’t be too hard to fit him into the Oilers’ lineup. But another key is that he has produced well offensively and has been a very effective middle-six option.
- Johnsson makes a little bit more per season than Kassian, so it could make real sense for both parties to swap those two players with a sweetener in the deal on Edmonton’s side, possibly a higher draft pick. That would make the most sense since in the coming two seasons, even this season, Kassian is going to become nothing more than a third liner at best with the young forward depth arriving.
Miles Wood
- He is a restricted free agent in the last year of his contract at $2.75 million. This is even more workable into the Oilers cap, as they would be able to consider sending Turris back to the Devils and make the money work.
- Wood would bring with him a true makeup of a power forward that has the potential to be a 20-goal scorer deeper in the lineup. He hits and re-established his scoring touch last season, giving him another prime opportunity to do so upon returning.
BLH’s Thoughts: Wood just had hip surgery in November and the Devils made him an assistant captain, so that doesn’t sound like a guy they’re looking to rid themselves of. The Oilers would probably have better luck with Johnsson, but I wonder if Pavel Zacha wouldn’t be the best target considering his size and emerging scoring.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ3pFNZE04Y
Sportsnet
3 bold Oilers predictions for 2022: Nugent-Hopkins, Hyman move to depth roles
- It’s time to deploy Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as a third-line centre, and make Zach Hyman his left winger to give the Oilers “third line” some oomph.
- One of two things will happen by the March 21 trade deadline: If Smith is back and playing well, Skinner’s emergence will allow Holland to trade Mikko Koskinen, and free up what remains of the final year of his $4.5 million price tag. That will help to acquire the help Holland needs up front.
- Or, if Smith’s injury lags, we predict the Oilers will end his season and place him on LTIR. Then they go to war with Koskinen and Skinner, cross their fingers, and use Smith’s $2.2 million to help with acquisition space.
- If Yamamoto’s production improves, he stays. If it remains down, he’ll finish the season in Seattle, perhaps in a deal involving Mason Appleton or Carson Soucy.
BLH’s Thoughts: Man! That Yamamoto trade idea Bob Stauffer tossed out there a couple of weeks ago on his show is gaining a bit of steam, eh? Reckon the team could aim a bit higher than Soucy or Appleton though? I suppose the financials don’t really support that though…
I hear Spector’s size concerns with throwing Killer in the bottom-six, but I also recognize the fact that Yamo’s toolbox might see him having some more success as he’d be seeing more third pair defenders than top pairing ones.
Personally, I’d rather see what he can do with Hyman and RNH on the third line than to swap him for Appleton or Soucy. Is there a way Brandon Tanev could be pried out of Seattle? The Oilers have missed Josh Archibald’s physicality and tenacity this year and Tanev brings just that. He makes $3.5M/yr until 24/25 and has a modified NTC, but if you’re going to trade a young player like Yamo, I would prefer it be done for somebody who will make an immediate impact; and I just don’t know about Appleton and Soucy.
The Hockey Writers Rumors
- Jim Rutherford was hired as the new Executive Vice President and is expected to hire a new GM in short order, even though he says he’s capable of making moves and doing GM work if he needs to… As per Rick Dhaliwal Rutherford might run into some hurdles as not every candidate he’s interviewing has a lot of interest in the job if Rutherford plans to be a voice in every decision that is made moving forward.
- The moment Jakob Chychrun’s name was mentioned as a possible trade candidate out of Arizona, names like Jake DeBrusk and Tomas Hertl became background noise… The Edmonton Oilers were considered to be an early favorite until a couple of reports suggested Ken Holland wasn’t keenly interested or willing to move a high-end prospect to get the deal done. The Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, Canucks, and New York Islanders have all been linked to these rumors.
