Edmonton Oilers Trade Talk: “This move would require the Blackhawks to hold back some salary on the deal…”

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Oil on Whyte

Top 5 bold Edmonton Oilers bold predictions for 2022

1. The Oilers trade away their first-round draft pick.

Edmonton is going to have to give up some assets to acquire some talent for this postseason run ahead. I think this team is good enough to really bank on a playoff run, even if it hurts them down the line with a rental walking away at the end of the season.

2. Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid continue to compete for the top of the league.

McDavid and Draisaitl both have 49 points on the year, and that number is going to continue to increase as the year goes on. McDavid was talked about as a player on another planet before the season began, but Draisaitl has shown he can compete.

3. The Edmonton Oilers trade for Marc-Andre Fleury from the Chicago Blackhawks.

This move would require the Blackhawks to hold back some salary on the deal, and it would also probably require the team to eat a contract like Mikko Koskinen for a season, but I do not think those are too hard of asks for the right return – a first-round draft pick or a top prospect.

4. The Edmonton Oilers make it to at least the conference final.

Edmonton has star talent and they have size and speed. If they make some moves ahead of the deadline and fill in all the gaps of their lineup they are going to have a pretty good roster for a potential playoff run…

5. Kailer Yamamoto hits his stride in January.

I also think Edmonton is going to do everything in their power to make sure Yamamoto has a good January because he is one of the top players they can use as trade bait for a team looking to add a young forward with a lot of potential.

BLH’s Thoughts: By my count, there’s ONE bold prediction there and that’s #5.

Man, could the Oilers use a flipping of the script from Killer. His slumping production has them looking for top-six wingers instead of sorting out other positions of need.

There’s been a bit of talk connecting him to Seattle recently…

The Athletic

Inside Oilers’ roster decisions and looming cap crunch ahead of return to play

If no other players enter COVID protocol from the time testing recommences Sunday afternoon to the start of the Calgary game — far from a guarantee — the Oilers will likely have 14 forwards and four defencemen available. Tyson Barrie, Evan Bouchard, Cody Ceci and Slater Koekkoek are the blueliners.
The Oilers have $2.37 million in cap space, so they could add Smith’s $2.2 million cap hit off LTIR and send Skinner to the minors, alleviating his $750,000 NHL salary from the books. But they’d be unable to call up Philip Broberg, logically the next defenceman in line, because they’d be over the cap.
The Oilers would need to promote another blueliner instead of Broberg if Smith were to be activated without another player going on LTIR.
Waiting until getting some of the blueliners back from COVID protocol or the injured list before activating Smith would make life easier for Oilers management. Those sidelined players still count against the cap while they’re out.

BLH’s Thoughts: The League has to do something about this, no? It seems unreasonable for teams to have to go through these kinds of hoops in order to ice a team.

Ken Holland’s idea of a COVID LTIR makes too much sense, but also not testing double vax’d players or sitting players who are asymptomatic out, could be another…

I’m no doctor but from the way this virus is trending, does it not feel like we’re about a year out from being clear of this thing? I’m hoping in that time frame a medical solution is found that will cure/eliminate the virus. If we can grow babies in a petri dish or an ear on the back of a mouse, surely we can find a solution to this virus with the medical technology the world has on hand.

The Hockey Writers Rumors

According to Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek, the Flames have withdrawn from a deal with the city on a new arena deal over a relatively small amount of climate change cost issues.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, there could be changes in Dallas if the Stars don’t improve their record after the break. He uses Tyler Seguin’s relief when he scored in the team’s 7-4 win over the Minnesota Wild on Monday as an example of how stressful things are in Dallas right now. He writes, “Change is coming if the Stars don’t surge over the second half of the season.
The NHL has announced that there will not be an Olympic break as scheduled this season. The NHL Players will not be able to participate in 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to COVID outbreaks. The time originally allotted for the break will be used to reschedule NHL games that were postponed.
There is some talk that maybe Hockey Canada will consider Josh Ho Sang for the Olympic team since he isn’t restricted by an NHL contract. Ho Sang is part of the Maple Leafs AHL Toronto Marlies team but isn’t signed to an NHL deal.