Gregor says Puljujarvi has ZERO Value

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The Athletic

Will Oilers pro scouts help identify quality at the deadline?

Zack MacEwen’s name is out there as a target, and many fans are intrigued, but the perceived issues (veteran defenceman, possibly a centre, maybe a replacement for Kane if there’s a delay in rehabbing) aren’t addressed.
Names like Jakob Chychrun, Erik Karlsson, John Klingberg and Max Domi keep surfacing, and there are some quality talents on the list.

PLAYER	FIVE-ON-FIVE NUMBERS 2022-23
Radko Gudas	Nasty throwback D, wildly effective
Carson Soucy	60 percent goal share, rock solid
Nick Jensen	Effective, 56 percent goal share
Dmitry Kulikov	Effective player for bad team

Patrick Kane	Struggling this season, still high value
Gustav Nyquist	Scoring well on a poor team
Lukas Sedlak	Productive two-way W, great utility
Sean Monahan	1.87 pts-60, rebound season
Kasperi Kapanen	2.73 pts-60, suddenly hot as a goal scorer

BLH’s Thoughts: Interesting to see Sean Monahan creeping into the Oilers rumor mill. Whatever it was in Calgary didn’t follow him to Montreal and you’d have to think the Habs would rather keep him than lose him and deal somebody else like Gallagher or Drouin if they wanted to save money.

Soucy’s probably close to a lock to come to Edmonton. Luke Schenn’s name is popping up as well and that of Joel Edmundson’s. I see Schenn being the more likely to come to Edmonton but as part of a larger plan. Maybe Barrie or Bouchard would get moved for help at forward to open up room for the Canuck’s bruiser.

Any former Red Wing will need to be considered and that’s probably why we’re seeing Gus Nyqvist’s name on that list.

We’ll see though. As far as the guys like Karlsson, Chychrun, Kane, Toews, etc. I don’t think the Oilers have the assets to get those deals done and one of the reasons I think that is because down their prospects down in Bakersfield aren’t being handled well at all. Carter Savoie can’t find his way off the bottom six, Rafa Lavoie is being healthy scratched, Xavier Bourgault isn’t on the top PP units, Noah Philp has also had some issues carving out a defined role, and Colin Chaulk seems to be happy playing the AHL vets over the kids.

The fact of the matter is, the value of Edmonton’s prospects down on the farm are lower today than they were last year at this time and that does absolutely nothing for their trade value.

https://twitter.com/bcurlock/status/1602326312122818560

Oilersnation

Monday Mailbag

How much damage did Jesse Puljujarvi’s Finnish interview do to his value in a simple trade?

“I don’t think his trade value is going to get any lower. I feel for the kid right now because he was speaking honestly about his lack of confidence, and it was a tough read.” – Baggedmilk

BLH’s Thoughts: Yeah… Honestly, why would Puljujarvi’s representation give that interview the green light? It’s not like Jesse bearing his emotions to the world was going to add anything to his trade value. On Friday, it sounded like Bob Stauffer took it as a veiled trade demand. So, it might be safe to assume that’s how the rest of the organization took it and Holland’s comments about how the NHL is a hard league to play in didn’t really give me the feeling that he’s feeling all empathetic towards JP. That could also play into how hard he’s working to move the young man, too.

The best thing Pulju can do for himself is play as hard as he can. Play like it’s his last day on the ice. Go to the net hard, run guys into the boards, shoot the puck every time it touches his blade in the o-zone because if he truly wants out of Edmonton, he has to make his GM’s job easier.

Lastly on this interview, do you think it was a coordinated effort between Markus Lehto, Tommi Seppala, and Mark Spector? The timing of all everything was a tad suspect to me…

https://twitter.com/oilersaccess/status/1602338289633366017

Is Klim Kostin sticking? Do you see him being sent back once players get activated from IR?

“That man is going to be a fan favourite around here for a while.” – Yaremchuk

BLH’s Thoughts: Ah, that air is so clear at the top of the mountain. Let’s give this some more time to marinate. At the moment Kostin is just what the doctor ordered but he’s had consistency problems throughout his career. If he starts to go through a similar drought that Yamamoto, Foegele, McLeod, and Puljujarvi, we’ll see an epic flip flop from the likes of Yaremchuk.

Where would you play RNH? If 3C, then where do you slot in McLeod? Do you see Jesse as the best fit with either of these centres?

“At this point, I don’t see JP as the best fit for any centre. Many other wingers are playing better than him.” – Gregor

BLH’s Thoughts: This is a funny comment from Gregor. He’s equating point production with playing well and I think that’s poor judgement on his part but at the same time the question is kinda dog shit. Puljujarvi’s best fit is for the center who needs a big bodied winger who can work the walls and the net-front. He’s had time with all four of the Oilers’ main centermen this year and he’s had different degrees with all of them.

As for McLeod, another year on the wing wouldn’t hurt. He’s not as good as Roope Hintz in Dallas, but I do see similarities in their games and going a similar route with McLeod would probably go a long way into developing a really good middle six forward. Plus, there’s lots of talk that Edmonton is seeking another center as it is…

Who do you think is gonna take the biggest step forward between now and the end of the season?

“He’s not underperforming, but let’s see more from Kostin.” – Brownlee

BLH’s Thoughts: Everybody said either Kostin or Holloway and the right answer is Philip Broberg. Whether that’s with Edmonton or another club, he’s the guy that is going to take the biggest step. Let’s hope that’s with the Oilers.

GM29: Oilers @ Wild

Who’s Hot for Minnesota in their Last Five Games

#26 Connor Dewar – 3g 2a
#26 Mat Zuccarello – 1g 5a
#46 Jared Spurgeon – 0g 4a

Who’s Hot for Edmonton in their Last Five Games

#97 Connor McDavid – 7g 6a
#29 Leon Draisaitl – 4g 6a
#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – 4g 4a

BLH’s Thoughts: Honorable mention goes to Klim Kostin and Derek Ryan as they’ve scored two goals and two assists each in their last five games, Tyson Barrie has five assists in as many games, and Stu Skinner is 3-1-0 with a 2.51 GAA and a .931 SV% in his last five. Edmonton is 6-4-0 in their last ten… So they’re rolling at the moment but Minny is 7-3-0 in their last dozen minus two.

It should be a great match tonight. I’m looking forward to it!