NBC’s Goss Says Oilers Are a Potential Destination for Disgruntled Bruins Winger

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

The Oilers’ top 20 prospects, winter 2021: With Evan Bouchard graduating, who’s the new No. 1?

• The ranking prefers skill and speed, fades slower players and one-dimensional types and graduates players at 50 games (or close to 50 if the player is assured of reaching the total). Players who are close to NHL-ready receive no extra credit for their skills, so a player can be ranked 11-20 and still have a career (in a limited role).

BLH’s Thoughts: LT did up some pretty extensive reports on each player, so you’ll have to head over to The Athletic and check those out if you want a more detailed explanation for their place on his rankings and his projections for them. 

I really don’t have a problem with LT’s rankings here. I feel a bit stronger on Phil Kemp though and reckon he should be a tad higher. I’m not as sold on Kesselring as some are either. 

One thing that does aggravate me a tad is the overly general career projections though. Nobody can tell the future, anybody could get that, but for a pundit whose prospect knowledge is as deep as Lowetide’s, I would like to see a more defined career projection.

Do you think Markus Niemelainen has 20+min/night shutdown potential? Could Dylan Holloway top off as a 30g 30a winger? If Stu Skinner is projected to be an “NHL goalie”, what kind? Are we talking about a 40g/yr 1b or does he have the potential to be a bonafide 60 games per year starting goalie?

I suppose I feel like prospect pundits are playing things a tad safe when they’ve got the knowledge to put their neck out there a bit. 

Lowetide.ca

Niemelainen

• He is a big, strong defenseman who can punish opponents, we knew it on draft day. What we didn’t know, and was obscured by playing for a middling team in the Liiga, is Niemelainen can skate and move the puck.

BLH’s Thoughts: We saw last night, the latest Giant Finn to play for the Oilers is a god damned wrecking ball. He went after every Penguins winger within striking distance, but he also paid the price too because those pesky Pens came right back at him, Aston-Reese especially (but he was going after everybody he could too). 

I like having a dman on the roster like this. Even though he was hitting a ton, he didn’t go overboard with them. He stayed within the boundaries and ended the night with a goose egg in the PIMs column. 

‘Twas a good start

The Hockey Writers Rumors

• According to Elliotte Friedman, while talking about the possible upcoming Kane trade, the NHL insider said while on The Jeff Marek Show,

“From what I heard they’re doing to do this as a three-way, cause it’s very hard to fit Kane’s salary in on a straight-up deal unless you’re taking something back that you may not want.”

• If a third team gets involved, the Sharks can retain 50% of his contract and the second team can retain another 50%, which would bring his cap hit down to $1.75 million per season.
• TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that multiple teams have already shown interest in DeBrusk after the forward told the Bruins organization he’d like to be moved. Dreger said as many as 12 teams, maybe more, have been in touch with the Bruins and while the Bruins will try to facilitate a deal, likely won’t do so until Brad Marchand serves his three-game suspension and /or their AHL affiliate in Providence deals with a COVID issue.
• NBC Sports Boston’s Nick Goss believes the Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, and Ottawa Senators are also on a list of five potential trade destinations. Other sources have listed the Seattle Kraken and Carolina Hurricanes as possible options.

BLH’s Thoughts: Something nobody has talked about because it’s as far-fetched an idea as they come, but would the Oilers use Warren Foegele to bring Jake DeBrusk home? It’s not like Foegele has been lights out since he was acquired.

Personally, I like both wingers and obviously you need to give Foegele more time to settle in with the Oilers. Also, why would you pay a premium for a “distressed asset” as Bob Stauffer likes to call players who have low trade values?

If the Oilers like DeBrusk that much, the offseason is the best time to make that happen.