Friedman on Oilers/Hawks Deal: “I just wonder if Edmonton and Chicago are gonna say ‘we’re doing this or we’re not.'”

Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with excerpts from the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation from all of the internet’s best sites including Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, The Athletic, TSN and more!

From NHL Trade Talk

What’s Delaying the Inevitable Duncan Keith Trade to Oilers

Sportsnet’s insider Elliotte Friedman was the first to break the story and he’s the first to offer an update on where things might be at with all the parties involved. Friedman had the scoop on Keith asking for the Blackhawks to consider a move so he could be closer to his son, who resides in his offseason home in Penticton, BC. In his latest 31 Thoughts podcast, Friedman tried to explain the hold up on a potential deal.

“I wonder if this Edmonton – Chicago thing is getting to a yes or no situation,” said Friedman. He added, “I just wonder if Edmonton and Chicago are gonna say ‘we’re doing this or we’re not.’”
“They’re kind of staring at each other, they know what’s on the table, are we gonna do it or not? Both these teams have to have certainty on what they’re doing for a) the expansion draft and b) eventually, especially in Edmonton’s case, free agency. Gotta know if this is gonna get done or not.”
“I’m betting Chicago would rather trade (Keith) than buy him out, added Friedman. “And also get the cap hit completely gone.”

BLH’s Thoughts: Yes, I’m sure that Chicago would love to get rid of that entire ticket, but they’re the ones over a barrel here, not who ever is dealing with them. So if they want to do their legacy player a solid, they might want to just take the L on this one and get what they get before things get too messy.

From NHLRumors.com

Boston Bruins and their pending free agents…

Ondrej Kase remains more interesting than one would suspect. He will not get qualified at $2.6 million. If he is healthy, do the Boston Bruins consider taking a short-term shot at far less money? That becomes an increasing possibility.

Then, there are Nick Ritchie and Jake DeBrusk. It seems like Boston has to decide as to one or the other. If DeBrusk is somehow moved, the thought process is that Ritchie could very well be kept. Ritchie would be easier to keep at a reasonable salary compared to DeBrusk.

BLH’s Thoughts: Bob Stauffer said on Oilers Now yesterday that with 100% certainty, the Edmonton Oilers will be adding a 2LW and a 2LHD. Now, I don’t think Nick Ritchie is either of those things, but Jake DeBrusk might be the 2LW…

Keys to the offseason for the Montreal Canadiens

Emily Kaplan and Greg Wyshynski: Taking a look at some of the offseason questions the Montreal Canadiens are facing.

Free agents aplenty – The Canadiens have 20 players under contract for next season with about $10.7 million in cap space. They have pending free agents in Joel Armia, Phillip Danault, Tomas Tatar, Eric Staal, Michael Frolik, Corey Perry, Jon Merrill and Erik Gustafsson.

Expansion draft decisions – Potential forwards that could be exposed include Jake Evans, Paul Byron, Artturi Lehkonen and maybe Jonathan Drouin. On the blue line, one of Ben Chiarot or Joel Edmundson will be exposed. Do they do a side deal with the Seattle Kraken?

BLH’s Thoughts: As you’ll read down the page a bit, the Edmonton Oilers are going to definitely be talking to Finnish winger Joel Armia. He can kill penalties AND he’s a prick to deal with on the walls and in the corners. If he came to Edmonton, he’d probably be able to teach Jesse Puljujarvi a few things.

But if you’re the Oilers are you’re under the impression that the Habs have a few other players you like who might be in a spot of bother expansion draft-wise, wouldn’t you make the call to see what Marc Bergevin was thinking? I mean, personally, I really dig Lehkonen and Paul Byron. That kind of work rate is really missing in Edmonton’s bottom-six.

From The Athletic

Lowetide: Which draft prospects will be available when the Oilers pick at No. 19?

Possible selections

There are over a dozen selections that we can count as certain to be off the board by the time Edmonton makes its first-round selection. Combining the fine work done by Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler for The Athletic, we can safely exclude over one dozen names who should be gone before Edmonton selects.

Sebastian Cossa	G	WHL	Giant goalie, he’s a wall
Brennan Othmann	LW	Swiss	Scorer, sixth sense for offence
Zachary L’Heureux	LW	QMJHL	Skilled agitator plays at the edge
Corson Ceulemans	RHD	AJHL	Complete skill set, size, speed
Fabian Lysell	RW	SHL	The new Ales Hemsky

BLH’s Thoughts: I LOVE Fabian Lysell. He’s absolutely electric with the puck and that f*cker can fly! I get Pavel Bure vibes when I watch him but that’s just me. I’ve heard he’s got a hidden mean streak in him to boot.

But if we’re drafting for need, Cossa should probably be first, then Othmann, L’Heureux, Lysell, and Ceulemans. I’d argue the Russian centre, Svechkov, should get some consideration as well as the Oilers don’t have much coming up the pipeline pivot-wise.

From the Edmonton Journal

OILERS NOTES: James Neal hasn’t gone down buy-out road just yet

Oilers general manager Ken Holland hasn’t told the player’s agent he is being bought out, although it’s likely

“They haven’t expressed anything yet,” said agent Pat Morris.

Neal is not a top-six player. He’s a fourth-line player right now. He’s still got hands, but his feet in the racehorse game of five-on-five are problematic. Buying out Neal gives the Oilers some contract space. These are the buyout facts.

If bought out, Pittsburgh might be a possibility for Neal on the cheap after having played there before.

You might see Florida buy out defenceman Keith Yandle, the resident iron man who has played 922 straight games, second to Doug Jarvis’s 964. Same with San Jose goalie Martin Jones and Dallas netminder Ben Bishop, who missed the past season recovering from a torn meniscus.

It’s all quiet on the free-agent front with Chiasson, who has spent three years (173 games) here. “He loves it there. He would like to stay. They haven’t shut the door on him,” said his agent, Morris. But the Oilers might be looking at a similar winger in Joel Armia for a third/fourth-line role in free agency.

BLH’s Thoughts: Mark Spector tweeted late yesterday night that he doesn’t expect the Oilers to buy anybody out before the deadline for teams to have their protection lists in, but did say specifically to James Neal that he expects him to be traded or bought out before the month is over.

Do you have time for Keith Yandle and/or Ben Bishop? I think I would at a discounted rate. That’s easier to say in Yandle’s case, the guy never misses a game. Not so much in Bishop’s though, he’s kind of the opposite. Would he fare better in a situation where the nets were evenly shared though?

After watching Armia throughout this year’s post-season, I’m sold. He was fantastic in his role for Montreal.

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