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 Cult of Hockey
This in from NHL insider Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now, his take on potential interest in Zack Kassian of the Edmonton Oilers.
- “Zack Kassian, there will be teams interested in him. I could see Pittsburgh and the New York Rangers, but in fairness to Zack, I didn’t mind what we saw of Zack in the third and fourth game of the (Winnipeg) series.”
Staples’ Takes (Abbreviated)
- Kassian has three more years on a deal with a $3.2 million per year cap hit. He will be 31 in January. He’s at an age when many players start to fade in terms of their two-way play.
- He provides the Oilers with a menacing physical player who can help them win in the playoffs, at least if he brings his “A” game. He’s also an enforcer with the ability to ride shotgun now and then with Connor McDavid in the regular season.
- Kassian’s scoring fizzled in 2021. He ranked 391 out of 432 NHL forwards for even strength scoring, with just 0.96 points per 60.
- On the Oilers, he ranked just 11th for Oilers forwards on hard plays at the net (screens, jams, tips, hard charges and battles won) on Grade A scoring chances.
- When it comes to his two-way play at even strength, of the 11 Oilers wingers who played more than 200 minutes, Kassian ranked six in major contributions to Grade A shots for but was third worst out of the 11 when it came to leaking Grading A chances against.
- The Oilers aren’t a big team and without Kassian, they’d suddenly be a lot smaller and lacking in any kind physical menace save for Darnell Nurse, who you really don’t want engaging in fist fights.
- I can see the Oilers both tempted to move him but tempted to keep him. I am unsure of what’s best to do here. If I had a vote, I’d certainly like to hear what other teams have to offer. (LINK)
BLH’s Thoughts: We’ve posted here on numerous occasions in the past that the Rangers and Penguins were interested in Kassian’s services in recent years. Both teams are looking for an answer to Tom Wilson (even though Kassian and him are in different weight classes).
I took snippets from Staples’ post there but they’re the most poignant points made by him and what I read is that by his numbers he was a massive drag on Edmonton’s offense during the regular season.
However, to Stauffer’s point, we did see him return to that tried and true Kassian style of play in the post-season and that’s where the team really needs him. Think of him as the Oilers’ own Sam Bennett or Claude Lemieux, players who tend(ed) to underwhelm in the regular season but took off in the playoffs.
Now, I’d like to mention another team that might be interested in him, the Seattle Kraken. Kass is the kind of player who can bring fans to their seats with a big hit or a fight and I think that could be of great value to an expansion team.
For me, unless he’s lost in the expansion draft, I wouldn’t move him unless somebody of similar style replaced him. As Kevin Weekes said last week, when the Edmonton Oilers have been a great team, they’ve had Rottweilers on the roster and they don’t have enough as it is. Removing Kassian without finding a suitable replacement would leave them with even fewer…
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