One Oilers Pundit says Fans Might Not See Samorukov, Broberg or Bourgault Play Any of their Careers in Edmonton!

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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Oilersnation

Monday Mailbag – Are we making too big of a deal about Brendan Perlini?

Are we overhyping Perlini after the pre-season performance of Ty Rattie a couple of years ago?

The main difference though is that Perlini is doing this while playing with bottom-six linemates and he isn’t just tapping in passes from Connor McDavid. – Yaremchuk

BLH’s Thoughts: Bang on! The other thing to consider is that Perlini scored at the start of camp when opposition rosters were low on quality and at the end of camp when the teams started to resemble something closer to that of a regular season roster.

What do you need to see from Yamo to consider it a successful season?

If he is in the top-six he needs to produce. That is the role when you play there. If he struggles to produce I expect he will be moved to the bottom six.

BLH’s Thoughts: Three things, 1) Stay healthy 2) Produce 3) Stay hot defensively.

That said, if you’re a regular reader here, you know that I feel like Yamamoto would be a fantastic 3rd line RW with Derek Ryan and Warren Foegele. I just think the combination of those three could churn out a ridiculously good shutdown line.

Will Oilers fans get past their PTSD from the decade + of darkness and realize that this team has a real chance to be a contender this year?

Honestly, I’m the guy that drinks the Kool-Aid every single year so you don’t have to convince me to get fired up about another season. – Baggedmilk

BLH’s Thoughts: Robin Brownlee’s response made me laugh a bit,

“Let’s avoid attaching a term for a serious health issue to a period of losing hockey. Bad form.”

F*ck me, dude… Life is WAY too short to take things that seriously. I’m sure the guy writing in was looking for some way to use PTSD in a manner that would alienate and offend someone on Oilersnation’s panel because that’s what people do, right?

What a weird moment to choose to publicly shame some random person who was simply trying to offer some levity to the ridiculousness that is Edmonton Oilers fandom…

Serious question, is there any point in the day where somebody isn’t virtue signaling online?

Zack Kassian has been hurt in the last two fights he’s been in and I’d like to know if everything thinks he needs that to be a part of his game to be effective?

If he thinks it is, then I don’t see why not. Kassian plays best when he is engaged and when he is engaged and physical the odd scrap will occur. His next 10 fights might have no issues. No one can say for sure. – Gregor

BLH’s Thoughts: He’s fighting a lot less in recent years than he did earlier on in his career. I think a lot of Kassian’s game is in his head and similar to Milan Lucic, he kind of needs to be prodded a bit so his blood starts to boil.

I wouldn’t tell him to stop fighting. He’s a dangerous guy, why chop off his balls like that?

What is everyone’s biggest takeaway from the eight games the Oilers just wrapped up?

Better balance, more scoring depth and more options up front. That bottom six doesn’t look like it’ll get caved in even-up like we saw last season. Also of note, Mikko Koskinen has looked very sharp. – Brownlee

BLH’s Thoughts: The PP looks even more dangerous that it has in the past and a lot of people are going to attribute that to Zach Hyman, but mark my words, Jesse Puljujarvi is going to wreak havoc on the league this year and I believe the next step that he’s about to take will have him cashing in a lot more on the PP than Hyman.

Also, Brownlee’s right. Koskinen has looked good. So has Mike Smith and so has Stuart Skinner…

The Athletic

How Ken Holland is increasing the Oilers’ talent pool, and why fans are nervous about it

In Edmonton, there’s a large group of fans who are not pleased with the team’s transaction history since Holland arrived.
There are two factors at play.
- Fans wanted to see playoffs, followed by playoff success. So far, there is nothing in the postseason results worth bragging over.
- The second factor is the most interesting. A generation of Oilers fans grew up on rebuilds, on young players arrived representing hope and progress.
- Edmonton’s habit of trading draft picks has been an ongoing tradition through the three most recent GMs (Holland, Chiarelli and Craig MacTavish). That’s a third, lesser point of aggravation for the fan base.
During the salary-cap era in Detroit, Holland signed several big-name free agents at a time when the franchise was pushing for Stanley Cup championships.
The Red Wings last won 50-plus games in 2008-09 and began the long coda into mediocrity that would reach its nadir in 2017-18.
- He discovered a way to increase the talent pool by including older players. The cap hit was less dear when he signed players no longer at their peak, and in many instances, Holland made solid bets by embracing older talent.
Holland didn’t have a chance to use free agency heavily in his first two seasons with the Oilers. Money was tight, and the organization’s reputation kept it off the “A” list of top free agents.
Holland is building a team to win now and is using the deeper pool (of aged veterans) he discovered in Detroit.
The (Oilers) organization has an unusual relationship with its fans right now.
The fans are fractured on the path forward and are fully aware of the length of contracts for the team’s impact players.
Holland’s activity strikes Oilers fans as stale, old-timey. If it doesn’t work, he will be remembered as Chiarelli 2.0 or something similar. That may not be fair, but it’s reality.
There are signs management is using modern techniques in some areas. The Oilers have used the cap to their advantage this offseason…
Management isn’t concerned about the distant future right now. Holland is focused on Game 1 of the 2021-22 season.
You might not see Dmitri Samorukov, Philip Broberg or Xavier Bourgault play any of their NHL careers in Edmonton. You may have nothing to look forward to on draft day 2022. You may see a trade deadline deal for Anton Khudobin (age 35), Mark Giordano (age 38) or Dustin Brown (age 36).
Count on that first-round pick in 2022 being gone, and expect a player close to 30 or older in return.
Edmonton’s window of opportunity ends with the expiration of McDavid’s current contract.

BLH’s Thoughts: Look, this is just how it’s going to be now that we’re knees deep in the Holland era. The Edmonton Oilers are a perennial playoff contender now and the trick will be to get them past the 1st round every year until McDavid and Draisaitl are gone and that will cost them futures… Also, expect more old guys to come in.

You don’t like that? Meh. Your buddy’s algorithm says that’s a bad Idea? Tough shit. Embrace the Holland model or go cheer for another team.

NHLTradeRumor.com

Pierre LeBrun was on TSN’s Insider Trading and reports Nashville and Ekholm have talked all off-season long about an extension and have not been able to get one done yet but here is the wrinkle: I’m told that agent Kurt Overhardt and Ekholm have told general manager David Poile and the Predators that if he is not signed by the start of the season we want to shelve talks.
- If no contract is ironed out in the next 5 days it is possible the Predators will look to trade him at the 2022 NHL trade deadline and not risk losing him for nothing next season when he becomes an UFA.
With the Rangers out as a potential suitor for Eichel, the Boston Bruins, Anaheim Ducks, LA Kings and the Columbus Blue Jackets seem to be the probable destinations for an Eichel trade.