Is this the Exact Man the Edmonton Oilers Need?

This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!

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The Athletic

Evan Bouchard is going to be the Oilers’ secret weapon in 2021-22 — and he’s already showing why

Why does Tippett suddenly trust the 21-year-old Bouchard a year after he could barely get on the ice? It has to do with finding areas of strength and an established level of ability.
Bouchard’s a smart player, which is an advantage on offence and defence.
“He reminds me of Larry Murphy. I’m not saying he’s Larry Murphy, but that’s the type of game he plays.” – Craig Button, TSN
He’s a magician with the puck.
Edmonton starts him third pair even strength, and with a spot in the penalty-killing rotation, despite his skill set… Why? That’s the area of need.
…on the first night, with Keith and Russell missing time, it was Bouchard who emerged as the next man up at even strength, and he was a main player on the penalty kill.
It’s safe to say that Bouchard, while still establishing his level of ability, is being given some room to wheel and find his place on the roster.
Holland and Tippett made the call on Bear, and Bouchard was slotted in on the third pair.
He is exactly what this team needs, and the delayed arrival merely obscured his ability.

BLH’s Thoughts: Name me a player who scored more than 1200 points in the NHL more quietly than Larry Murphy. How many of Murphy’s coaches asked him to get in the guts a bit more and be more physically assertive? I bet you a lot, and did he change his game? Nope. Just went about his business and scored the 5th most points of all-time for an NHL defenseman. Maybe the coaches and pundits in Edmonton should take note…

When NHL coaches and GMs play a young player like this that’s a good indicator that the young man is going to be a real player going forward. I’m talking all-star caliber. Considering how Holland loves slow-playing his young studs and how much Dave Tippett abhors using rookies and really green skaters, this is a very good sign for Evan Bouchard.

If there was a Dan Marino for hockey players, Bouchard would be him. He should go down in Oilers history as the club’s second-best passer ever if everything goes to plan.

Oilersnation

Friday Thoughts

Through 16 games teams have scored 33 goals on 124 opportunities for an average of 26.6% efficiency. Very few teams will be able to compete in the regular season without a very good powerplay.
- It is the main reason why the Canadiens will miss the playoffs. Their PP was bad last year and it has looked brutal in two games thus far going 0-for-8.
Vegas looked terrible against LA last night. Robin Lehner said it was the worst game his team has played since he joined them. Mark Stone left the game with a lower body injury. Vegas could get off to a slow start without their emotional leader.
Brutal news for Anaheim. They played very well in their season-opening win against Winnipeg, but today they announced John Gibson is out with a lower-body injury.
An amazing stat regarding the Calgary Flames. They’ve lost 11 season openers in a row.
When the LA Kings signed Phillip Danault they believed it would allow Anze Kopitar to be more offensive. They looked like geniuses last night as Kopitar scored 3-2-5 in the Kings 6-2 victory over Vegas.
Zack Kassian needs to clear one more test tomorrow, according to Dave Tippett, but it looks like he is ready to play. Devin Shore did skate on his own today, but he will not play tomorrow. Slater Koekkoek will also draw in meaning Kris Russell and Colton Sceviour will come out. Mike Smith will start in goal tomorrow v. the Flames.

BLH’s Thoughts: Could LA be the surprise of the year? Phil Danault is a certified beauty! The Kings did well snatching him and Victor Arvidsson up and it’s too bad about Quinton Byfield, but he’ll be back soon, stronger and faster. It’s early days, mind you, but it’s fun to speculate nevertheless.

Would Eastern Canada collectively implode if Toronto and Montreal missed the playoffs? I don’t know if either will be that bad this year but I’m not impressed with the Maple Leafs’ lineup this year and the Habs are going to have a rough go without Carey Price… If I had to make a bold prediction, it’d be that the Buds and Habs are lottery teams this year.

Spector’s Hockey

ESPN: Emily Kaplan last night reported there was “serious optimism” last Thursday that a Jack Eichel trade was imminent but things fell quiet. She said there are five teams still interested in the Buffalo Sabres center that can fit his $10 million annual average value within their salary-cap payrolls.

TSN: Pierre LeBrun believes the Ducks could be one of the destinations for Eichel, as they could make do with his absence from the lineup during his recovery. He also thinks the St. Louis Blues could be lurking though they want to be a contender this year.

THE ATHLETIC: Earlier this week, Arthur Staple speculated the New York Islanders’ decision not to sign Erik Gustafsson suggests general manager Lou Lamoriello could prefer waiting until later in the season to invest assets in acquiring a defenseman. He believed Lamoriello looked into the status of Anaheim Ducks blueliner Hampus Lindholm, who’s an unrestricted free agent next summer.

DAILY FACEOFF’s Frank Seravalli took to Twitter yesterday reporting the Chicago Blackhawks are trying to move Andrew Shaw’s contract. He’s on permanent LTIR with an annual average value of $3.9 million.