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 NHLRumors.com
Aaron Portzline of The Athletic: (mailbag) Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen has said that he is willing to hold onto Seth Jones into next season even if he hasn’t signed a contract extension. Will this change now that John Davidson is back?
If the Blue Jackets hold onto Jones without an extension, it’s a risky move for three reasons.
- His trade value would go down as the acquiring team would have him for less than a year.
- There is the risk of Jones getting injured before the trade deadline.
- It would also lead to a year of headlines about the organization having another player that doesn’t want to be there.
BLH’s Thoughts: I wish I could remember where I saw it being reported that Kekalainen was quoted as saying that Jones would be moved at the draft this summer.
The headlines are already there and we’re not talking about Los Angeles, New York, or Chicago, we’re talking about Columbus, Ohio. No Offense to you if you live there but it shouldn’t be a surprised to anybody if NHL superstars would rather play elsewhere.
Either way, Portzline’s points are quite fair. That said, if the right deal isn’t on the table for him, why rush to trade him any earlier than the trade deadline. At least there he could create a bidding war for Jones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2HmQCj5k3o
From NHL Trade Talk
The Province’s Patrick Johnston notes the Canucks are already planning a major shakeup of their blueline this offseason and there is a lot of trade talk surrounding Schmidt. If he stays, the team is expecting a lot more out of him than what he offered this season. But, because they want to make changes and because players like Travis Hamonic were a welcome surprise to the team, Schmidt may be the expensive piece that doesn’t fit.
- “Nate Schmidt, if he is still a Canuck next season, will be looking to prove he can be the true two-way presence the Canucks hoped he’d be, but mostly wasn’t. Assuming he stays, he’s a quality player to build the second pairing around.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Whenever there’s an Oilers fan who shits on Ken Holland for not trading two 2nd-round picks for Devon Toews I often wonder why they’re so quiet about Nate Schmidt?…
Now, if the Canucks want to eat some salary on Schmidt and move on from him, I think he’d be a really good 2nd pair option for Edmonton if Oscar Klefbom is unable to start the year next season.
Schmidt’s relative GF% (3.23) and xG% (0.57) were north of zero, so that’s always a plus. It means he was in on the goals that actually happened and active in the ones that didn’t. That said, his shot share metrics where shit. His relative CF% and FF% were both sub-zero (-1.34, -0.17) but I nail that down to him playing on a poor team and possibly being asked to up his defensive game a tad since the Canucks are nowhere near as good as the Vegas Golden Knights or the Washinton Capitals, the teams Schmidt played for before landing in Vancouver.
What do you think of this player? Could he be a good partner for Adam Larsson or does The Iron Swede need someone who is more defensively-inclined?
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