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
Edmonton Oilers beat writer Daniel Nugent-Bowman recently took some questions from the fanbase and in the form of a mailbag post he submitted his responses. Here are some of the more intriguing snippets from that article,
What is your estimation on the career trajectory of Nugent-Hopkins?
- “A few more years of being an effective top-six forward (winger) and special-teams contributor before transitioning to the third line.”
Does it surprise you Holland doesn’t seem to be showing any urgency to win now?
- ” It doesn’t surprise me. Holland has done exactly what he’s said he’d do. He said he’d be steady on the rudder, and that’s what he’s done. With some roster flexibility opening, I believe it’s the right time to get more aggressive — especially with McDavid, Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse on the roster. We’ll soon find out if he agrees with that assessment.”
Is this the year he goes all-in? If not this summer, what would need to happen for him to go all-in at the trade deadline?
- “He won’t go all-in during the summer. The Oilers ideally need at least one top-six winger (assuming Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is back), a third-line centre, a depth winger, a defenceman (assuming Adam Larsson is back) and a goalie (assuming Mike Smith is back). That’s a lot to accomplish.”
- “The way it’s been described to me is Holland wants to ensure the Oilers are, at minimum, a definitive top-eight team in the NHL before he starts pushing his chips in.”
Would you leave some salary-cap space available entering the season to maintain flexibility for trades, especially at the deadline this year?
- “I know Holland normally likes to have at least $1 million worth of wiggle room. But it’s worth noting the Oilers could be in long-term injured reserve again because of Oscar Klefbom’s injury. Offseason roster improvement is especially important.”
Holland said recently that he wouldn’t have any problem returning with the same goaltending tandem next year. Is Holland bluffing?
- “There’s a chance the same tandem returns, but I believe it’s a tiny chance. From what I’ve heard, Holland knows he needs cover for Smith if he’s brought back. I suspect he’ll bring in a solid 1B goalie.”
In my opinion, the Oilers’ greatest need is an effective third line that can chip in occasionally. How realistic is it that the Oil will have one by season’s start?
- “They probably need two-thirds of that line to be people who didn’t play for the Oilers in the playoffs. However, there are perhaps bigger fish to fry in the form of a top forward, defenceman and goalie, so they probably can’t spend too much here.”
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BLH’s Thoughts: As I was watching the Islanders/Bruins game last night I was admiring how well JG Pageau was playing and at the same time feeling an obtuse about of envy for the Islanders and the amount of fantastic bottom-six players they have. I wondered how the Oilers could be better if they had a Pageau-type in their lineup and then as I read DNB’s mailbag a thought popped into my headbone, “What if RNH was that third line center the team needs?”
When Nuge is on his game, he’s a fiery sonofabitch plus he’s got the skill of a top-sixer and I think his 200ft game is very polished. So what if he re-signed with the Oilers as their third line center and Coach Tippett utilized his strengths in that role instead?
I would imagine one of the first things that comes to your mind is that the Oilers can’t pay a 3C $6M a year and I do agree with that. But what if RNH spurned all other offers and signed an 8yr deal with $5M/yr? Would that salary structure be acceptable then?
Could Nuge be the Next Shawn Horcoff?
How would you feel about a third line that featured Blake Coleman, Nugent-Hopkins, and Zack Kassian? Expensive, but like Pat Maroon, effective.
As for Ken Holland’s slow play plan, I dig it and the reason for that is, it’s working. every year the core gets a little bit better and more experienced and the value of that experience isn’t something you can buy on Amazon and slap it on a player’s uniform. Losing in the first round is painful but very rarely does a team not go through those growing pains on their way to a championship. I hope Holland sticks to the plan instead of pivoting at the first sign of success like the last fella did.
I can also see the Oilers keeping some cash on hand for when the trade deadline approaches. If it were me, that’s were I’d bolster my bottom-nine on forward and depth on D. If there’s a good no.3 netminder, I’d be tempted to consider that as well.
Now, my hopes are that a couple of Bakersfield Condors are primed and ready to go by the time the NHL playoffs roll around. Who knows? Maybe we could see The Kid Line 2.0…
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