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From TSN 1260
On the June 1st edition of the Jason Gregor Show, TSN’s Ryan Rishaug and host Jason Gregor spoke to how they see the Edmonton Oilers offseason could go. Here are some snippets from that segment.
- “The Oilers bottom-six, I expect a massive overhaul. I think Ryan McLeod is in your bottom-six, ideally he starts as your fourth line center. I think Josh Archibald is there and Zack Kassian.”
- “Even the 13th and 14th forward, you might see Jujhar Khaira in there. Maybe Devin Shore.”
- “I think you’re going to see four new faces when I consider bottom-six and the extra forwards.”
On Kyle Turris
- “Unless Kyle Turris looks great, he might be your 14th forward I guess, but from what I saw this year I’d be surprised (if he made the Oilers).”
On Zack Kassian
- “I have Kassian and Archibald as your bottom-six RWs, but I’ll say this about Kassian, I think Zack Kassian and Yamamoto are going to push each other. I don’t think Kailer Yamamoto is a lock automatically to be a regular every day in your top six next season. I think if Kassian can get his head on and not worry about his contract, he’s got a chance to push and those two guys rotate on your 2nd and 3rd line.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Personally, if the Oilers were to sign someone like Kyle Palmieri, Mike Hoffman, Brandon Saad, or Nikita Gusev and force Yamamoto to play on the third line, that wouldn’t be a bad thing at all. In fact, when he was moved down the lineup against Winnipeg onto a line with Tyler Ennis and Gaetan Haas, he was that line’s driver.
I think it’s far more detrimental to his development to keep him alongside Leon or Connor for extended periods of time where his offense is drier than a witch’s nether regions.
He has to be put in a position to succeed in all aspects of the game and the good thing is, we know he can play in the top-six but would he be playing in Tampa’s top-six or Colorado’s? I don’t think he would be, so why are we forcing him into Edmonton’s?
As for Kass, his form returned against the Jets but the big question now is, is it permanent or selective because it needs to be permanent if he’s to thrive in Edmonton. The shitty thing is, we’ve got to wait until next season to find out and Bob Stauffer is already throwing out that the Rangers and Penguins are interested in him.
I believe in Kass. I reckon he could be a very important asset for the Oilers in 2021-22 IF he believes in himself…
Now, if there management isn’t sure and the offers they’re getting from other teams are good, then I guess they have to move on from him, but in that scenario I’d hope they reach out to Brett Ritchie or somebody of that ilk to come in and be that guy who could take care of business when required.
Now, as for the Oilers making massive changes to their bottom-six, I believe it’s something they should do but I’m not sure it’s a job that they complete in the offseason.
My feeling is that they’d be happy to go into 2021-22 with this setup,
L3: Benson-McLeod-Kassian
L4: Shore-Khaira-Archibald
Extra: Haas (if re-signed)
It sounds like they’re going to give Tyler Benson a shot next year if he’s not picked in the expansion draft and I think there could be an appetite to keep Gaetan Haas around because he’s got speed, he can play on the PK, he’s good defensively, and he’s an older player who is willing to play the role given. Devin Shore played very well and should be back if his demands are reasonable and you’d think that JJ will return as well since he had a strong year.
If that happens, Gregor’s prediction would have to wait as long as the trade deadline possibly, but I could definitely see Ken Holland making a plethora of trades to pick up forwards with tons of playoff experience and character. Maybe that’s where a Ryan Getzlaf could be picked up for the run or maybe a Dustin Brown too. How would you feel about bringing in Joe Pavelski, Mark Giordano, or Nick Leddy as playoff rentals?
It could be just my thing, but I don’t have any concerns about the Oilers regular season unless their goaltending shits the bed. That’s a real big deal for this club. Other than that, keeping the powder relatively dry for the trade deadline would be the way I’d go. By then the team would know which prospects stand to continue in the organization and which ones they could move on from and they’d have a full pantry of draft picks to use from the 2022 and 2023 drafts.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below!
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