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 The Athletic
Jonathan Willis recently penned a really interesting article this week basically playing Devil’s Advocate with a few of the moves that are on the table for the Edmonton Oilers going into this year’s offseason. He talked about bringing Mikko Koskinen back, what to do with Adam Larsson, and how Ken Holland should probably handle free agency this week.
Let’s look at the speculative parts from that post and chew on them a bit.
- “The Oilers could ride out the final year of Koskinen’s contract, at least until the trade deadline. Goalies typically don’t cost much in the spring; the last starter-caliber ‘tender traded at the deadline was Robin Lehner in 2020, and all he cost was a second-rounder and some throw-ins. Edmonton’s likely to get a reasonable performance from him in the meantime and could upgrade before the postseason if so desired.”
BLH’s Thoughts: I’ve been thinking about this option since the club was eliminated a few weeks ago. I’d say there’s about a 50/50 chance it goes down though. I don’t believe Ken Holland will force a move here with him and they’ve got Alex Stalock already signed up for another year. What might not happen is Mike Smith and depending on where you sit on him returning, that may be a great thing for the team or a disastrous one.
If the Oilers did find themselves going with Smith and Koskinen or Koskinen and Stalock until the deadline, the goalies who are on expiring contracts that might be available include Marc-Andre Fleury (VGK), Darcy Kuemper (ARI), Braden Holtby (VAN), Elvis Merzlikins (CBJ), Joonas Korpisalo (CBJ), and Jack Campbell (TOR).
My hope is that they find a way bring a Chris Driedger, Linus Ullmark, or one of the Blue Jackets’ goaltenders to town this summer as opposed to gambling on whoever is on contract and save the trouble of having to pay some sort of financial penalty to move Koskinen.
- “One of the better arguments in Larsson’s favour is that there probably aren’t a ton of better options out there. The most reasonable alternatives are the available trade possibilities — Seth Jones is a fun-if-unlikely idea, while Minnesota and others are facing expansion dilemmas. Free agency is a lot harder; if we’re going to pick on Larsson’s age, it’s pretty hard to turn around and advocate for a David Savard or Travis Hamonic or even Brandon Montour.”
BLH’s Thoughts: If Edmonton walks away from Larsson, they’ll be making a massive mistake BUT there are options out there like Savard and Hamonic. Jason Demers has been connected to the team in the past and even Kevan Miller or Zach Bogosian would probably get some consideration in that event. I mean, they might get an inquiry anyhow, but the importance of having a ruthless gatekeeper (or three) in the postseason cannot be understated enough.
Don’t believe me? Just look at the impact that Brayden McNabb had for Vegas in their series win against Colorado and the lack of a player like that for the Avs. Scott Mayfield erased Boston’s prized trade deadline acquisition (Taylor Hall) and made him a non-factor in that series. Joel Edmundson has been an absolute force for the Habs and when Jake Muzzin went down for Toronto, they looked lost on defense.
You don’t “need” this sort of player for the entire regular season though. My belief is that a team could trade for one at the deadline or beforehand and hire him for the playoffs where they’ll succeed in an environment that has less infractions called against and more rope given.
- “There’s lots of things teams can do with money, especially in a flat-cap environment, but the better question is how Edmonton can address its weakness up front. One approach was taken last summer by the Panthers. Florida started with the duo of Sasha Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau up front, and added four names to its top-six: two one-year bargain signings (Anthony Duclair, Alex Wennberg), one cheap analytics darling (Carter Verhaeghe) and one problem-contract-for-problem-contract deal (Mike Matheson for Patric Hornqvist). That quartet scored 59 times and excepting Hornqvist cost less combined than Zach Hyman alone is likely to cost this summer.”
BLH’s Thoughts: I distinctly remember Mark Spector saying you don’t go into an offseason and add two top-six wingers. I guess he must’ve forgotten what Florida did last year.
I do support this method of roster addition though but what the Oilers will have to deal with is the “Edmonton Tax”. Until the Oilers win something of significance, if they want premier talent, they’ll have to add term or salary to their offers. For me, I’d prefer dollars to term.
Here are a few forwards that I think the Oilers could target on bargain deals similar to what the Maple Leafs have been doing in recent years and what the Panthers did last season,
- Erik Haula (C/W), Luke Glendening (C), Cedric Paquette (W), Barclay Goodrow (C/W), Nikita Gusev (W), Tomas Nosek (C/W), Corey Perry (W), Brett Ritchie (W), Patrick Marleau (W), Darren Helm (C/W), Ryan Dzingel (W), Casey Czikas (C), Derek Ryan (C), Joel Armia (W), Jordan Martinook (W)
Admittedly, there aren’t many sexy names on that list but the goal with adding them is to bulk up Edmonton’s bottom-six and save money for a more premiere player at another position.
You might be asking, “What about the defensemen, BLH?”. So here’s your list of bargain dmen who’re hitting the UFA market this summer,
- Sami Vatanen, Mike Reilly, Derek Forbort, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Brendan Smith, Erik Gudbranson, Erik Gustafsson, Carl Gunnarsson.
Again, not so sexy, but if you’re looking to add some depth, maybe these vets would tickle your fancy a bit.
I know that Ryan Rishaug was talking up Forbort yesterday on the Jason Gregor Show because he thought there’ll be a push to sign that sort of dman in the summer after watching what kind of player has been excelling in the playoffs this year like the Joel Edmundsons and Scott Mayfields.
Jamie Oleksiak’s name was brought up on Oilers talk radio yesterday too and I can’t remember who said it. So, just don’t be surprised if those names get pushed a little bit in Edmonton as we approach free agency.
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