Edmonton Oilers Trade Talk: “The Oilers are in a terrible spot when it comes to trading for a goalie.” Says DFO’s McKenna

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Dailyfaceoff.com

#AskMckenna What would be your solution to the EDM Oilers Goalie issues since Holland’s failure to sign Markstrom as a UFA?

Right now, there isn’t a good solution. Ken Holland should have taken care of the goaltending situation this past offseason, but chose to gamble on an aging Mike Smith being able to replicate last year’s inspired play.
The Oilers are in a terrible spot when it comes to trading for a goalie. Every team in the league knows they need one. So Edmonton will get rinsed in any deal. And then there’s the salary cap. Any game-changing NHL goaltender is going to cost $4 million-plus against the cap.

BLH’s Thoughts: McKenna’s saying what I’ve been saying here for weeks and basically what Ken Holland’s said at the media avail last week. Everybody knows what the Oilers need and therefore the prices have risen. They’ve been rising since the 2nd week of December and now they couldn’t be higher, so if the Oilers are going to make a deal for a goalie, it’s going to have to be with a team who’s just as desperate. There’s one other team, the Philadelphia Flyers, who are in a shit situation like Edmonton but have a goalie who’d be an upgrade on Mikko Koskinen and trading Carter Hart would be a fireable offense in my opinion.

It’s interesting. Mike Smith re-signed with the team on July 24th with free agency just around the corner and the Oilers already had Mikko Koskinen and Stu Skinner on board as well. Yet, they still pursued the likes of Darcy Kuemper and others.

This tells me that the plan wasn’t to go into the 2021-22 season with Mike Smith as the starter, he was to be the team’s backup.

So in a sense, yes, he did choose to gamble on him, but as a backup goalie knowing that the plan was to acquire a starter whilst sending Mikko out of town to boot. Then he got submarined by the Avs on day 1 of free agency…

With all of that in mind, can you get angry at a guy for gambling on the backup goalie? I can’t.

However, I think the question must be asked, can you blame him for not being in on Antti Raanta, Freddy Andersen, Jaro Halak, Braden Holtby, James Reimer, or Petr Mrazek who all signed with new teams on the opening day of free agency?

If you believe those goalies were interested in coming to Edmonton and their asks were fair, there’s an argument one could make there, for sure, but it’s important to know if those goalies were even realistic options for Edmonton before making it.

The Athletic

Three first-shot scorers in Oilers system in a race to make NHL

Bourgault turns 20 in October and there’s no good reason to send him back to junior.
He is both a volume shooter and an accurate one, his quick release and willingness to drive close to the net also aiding his overall scoring success.
Bourgault has played centre, but it’s likely we’ll see him this fall playing for the Bakersfield Condors opening night.
For Bourgault, who has more range to his game, including some two-way acumen, adjusting may come more quickly but the goals take time for new prospects in the AHL.
Savoie may want to stay for two more years, but if he does sign and turn pro, look for him to push for an NHL job from Bakersfield. Edmonton’s left wing depth chart includes Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Warren Foegele and possibly Holloway next season.
He will be 19 in the fall and the best possible outcome for him would be another year in junior hockey. He is still developing as a player and challenged by his current level of play. Turning pro in the fall of 2023 looks like the best path for the young Russian forward at this point.
For Bourgault, Savoie and Petrov, it’s likely the first year of pro hockey will be spent in the AHL. Only Bourgault has any kind of draft pedigree and he’s a later first-round selection, far from the lottery world of Puljujarvi and others.
Oilers general manager Ken Holland slow-plays talent, and that probably means Bourgault in Bakersfield, Savoie in Denver and Petrov dominating the OHL.

BLH’s Thoughts: The LW looks pretty congested (Hyman can move over and RNH can play center though), but as we’ve witnessed this season, injuries and sickness happen, especially when the fellas employed to play on that wing are all physical forward types aside from Nuge.

I’m not going to waver in my prediction that Xavier Bourgault will replace Kailer Yamamoto someday. He seems a smarter player, a bit bigger, more oppoprtunistic, a better shooter and scorer, and overall a better fit for Edmonton’s top-six.

The Daily Goal Horn

Taking everything into account, you can see that the Chicago, Montreal, and Arizona will be three teams moving plenty of assets for futures at the deadline.
“You know (Dylan) Strome’s been on the market, but I think it would take an awful lot for someone like (Alex) DeBrincat,” he continued. “If he does get traded, the only thing you’re going to do is look at the package and say, ‘holy smokes– ok, I understand why it happened.’ Other than that I don’t think he gets traded.”
Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now contemplates if the Montreal Canadiens would be interested in DeBrusk in exchange for rental defenseman Ben Chiarot.
Jeff Gorton was interested in DeBrusk for the Rangers while he was there, so maybe this could be a possibility.

BLH’s Thoughts: I am fully expecting the Oilers to make a trade with one or all three of those teams (ARI, CHI, MTL) as they look to shore up their defense and goaltending.

Dylan Holloway had two assists in his debut for Edmonton’s farm club last night and I don’t see him being down there long, at all.

The reason I mention Holloway is because I’m not sold that the Oilers will do a lot to acquire help up front when it comes to bringing in extra scoring. I think there’s even a chance that Carter Savoie makes an appearance once his season with Denver is finished.