Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with 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 Oilers Now
Elliotte Friedman was on Oilers Now yesterday and he spoke about the negotiations between the Oilers and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as well as a possible pivot with regards to their offseason focus.
- On RNH – “I think it’s a grind. I think it’s really challenging. I really do think they’re trying to find something. Nugent-Hopkins has invested a lot in this team and this team recognizes that Nugent-Hopkins is the kind of low-maintenance hard-working person who doesn’t cause you a lot of problems and cares a lot about the organization. It’s just a big challenge… I think the puzzle piece that’s RNH has become more complicated this year in the salary cap world and I just think that they’re really grinding to find a way, I just don’t think it’s easy.”
- On the defense – “The thing I wonder is, one of the things we’re starting to look at here is blueline. You look at all of these teams, the four teams that are standing, they all have really deep bluelines and I’m kinda wondering if the Oilers are looking at that. Especially with Klefbom, it’s uncertain about what his future will be. I do wonder if you guys are looking at something else on the blueline, maybe making it deeper.“
- On adding a older veteran to the bottom six – “I do think that people who’ve been through things are important. It can’t just be a roster spot given away to somebody, it’s got to be somebody who can play.”
Friedman added the following as well,
- “I think the Oilers are taking a hard look at the last two playoffs, the mini-series with Chicago and the disappointment this year with Winnipeg and I think they’re taking a hard look at what they need to do to be better. I think guys like Evan Bouchard are going to get a chance to play next year, I do think that’s going to be important to them, but I also think they’re looking at their group and saying, ‘What else do we need here? We can’t keep coming back with the exact same situation because it hasn’t worked for us the past two years. So how can we take advantage of our flexibility?’.”
BLH’s Thoughts: After hearing what Friedman had to say about RNH, my optimism regarding him returning to Edmonton is at an all-time low. I wonder if they look to spend under $10M on the wings and allocate more funds to the defense and third line center position and after hearing how well Darcy Kuemper did at the World’s, I’m curious if that avenue is revisited too.
I will say this, my belief is that a top-six LW is still at the top of Ken Holland’s priority list but seeing the amount of blueline talent that could be heading to free agency next summer makes me think that a third line center might not be the only thing worth trading for this summer.
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