Finally had the time to sit down and have a good conversation with one of my sources and I’m happy I did. Lots of Oilers talk was tossed about but I’ll keep this brief.
As I do each time I report what I’m told, please don’t shoot the messenger. I just let you guys/gals know what I’m told. There’s probably a less than %5 chance that any of this happens and things change all the time. If you don’t believe me, send me the batting average of McKenzie, Dreger, LeBrun, etc. So take it all with a grain of salt. If anything it’s great entertainment and excellent water cooler talk.
The conversation didn’t start on an Oilers note though:
- “Patrick Kane is on the verge of being shopped by the Hawks. They need cap space. HOLY SH*T!!!”
- “Everyone that isn’t named Toews is for sale!”
- “(Hawks) Fans will hate whatever happens. That’s just the way it is. But if the Hawks want to remain a successful team, they need to make those tough deals, deals that they’ll probably lose, to make things work. Hossa shouldn’t have received his current contract, Anisimov, Panarin, the list goes on. Awful cap management. Now they’re paying for it and they’ll most likely have to dismantle their team. That Hawks team won’t win the Cup for a very long time now.
- “In a cap system, it’ll be very hard to trade those contracts.
- “I expect VAN, LA, or ARZ to be in the mix.”
Well, I didn’t expect to be talking about the Hawks but that’s some pretty big news given that the rumors started quite recently some big move(s) that Chicago would be making.
Summarizing… pic.twitter.com/tSnaVAJeHe
— Jay Zawaski (@jayzawaski) June 10, 2017
My thoughts about this are that they’ll get the most for Kane and trading him would allow the Hawks to remain competitive. I mean, what if they could get Max Domi, Dylan Strome, and a 1st rounder out of Arizona? Patrick Kane is still one of the best, if not THE best, winger in the game, he’s still young and moving him to a club like Arizona, where they have a plethora of great young talent coming through their system as well as the need for a face for their franchise if they choose to stay in Arizona or relocate to, I don’t know, Seattle.
Anyways, I don’t cover the Hawks nor do I really enjoy them as a team. So let’s move on to the other tidbits.
- “Vegas will claim M.A. Fleury and flip him. The rumor at the moment is Sam Bennett going back to Vegas for Fleury.”
Makes sense. Bennett has loads of potential but doesn’t seem to be fulfilling that in Calgary. Perhaps a move to a club where he’d be more of a focal point would benefit him. And Calgary needs a keeper. Plus the fanbase down the QE2 is always complaining about how the Oilers got all the 1st overalls…
I asked, How much is there to the Buchberger/Eberle rough relationship Friedman was talking about this week?
- “Pretty accurate. I don’t see it happening. Friedman knows what he’s talking about.”
That was a follow up on a very popular post regarding the Eberle/Isles rumors being snuffed out by Friedman I did up this week.
I asked about who the Oilers are leaning towards in the 1st round of the draft coming up.
- “I’ve heard Kailer Yamamoto.”
I also inquired as to the McDavid/Draisaitl contracts.
- “Shortly after July 1st probably and they’ll sign together.”
The word on Kris Russell.
- “Hearing $4.5Mx4. Oilers could be willing to go as high as $4.25M for 4 years. We’ll see.”
- “They’re also looking at Cody Franson on a 1-year deal worth $4M to cover for Sekera but will try to sign him for less.”
- “$4M is fair market for a top 4 dman.”
- “They want Kris Russell back.”
Pick up the NEW “Beat His Ass” shirt right now!!
I’m torn on this. I think this says a couple of things regarding Darnell Nurse’s development. Either they’re not happy or skeptical on how it’s going or they’re willing to pay Russell over $4M to play bottom-pairing minutes at some point in his deal. Either way, it’s a point of concern.
One has to wonder if Chiarelli is open to moving Nurse to expedite the process of winning the Cup. I wouldn’t.
As far as Franson, I’ve heard that he’s not the most mobile defender in the league and $4M per seems like a lot of skrilla to give a guy who can’t pivot well and is a tad soft.
What about Spencer Foo? Is he coming to Edmonton?
- “He is. He’s coming to Edmonton.”
On Tyler Pitlick,
- “I expect Pitlick to get another contract. Another 1-year deal to take Hendricks’ spot because Hendricks is done in Edmonton. Pitlick has had the injury bug like Klefbom. He needs to come back with more muscle and a bigger body. That way, He doesn’t get hurt as much. That’s exactly what Klefbom did. At the end of 15/16, Klefbom was around 205lb and at the start of 16/17, he was around 217lbs. The result, Klefbom finally had a full season.”
- “I hope Nuge bulks up too. His lack of upper body strength is killing him. An extra 5lbs of upper body muscle would make a HUGE difference.”
I really hope that this is true and it really happens. Pitlick showed last season that he can float throughout the entire lineup and he can score on basically any line. He’d be a perfect replacement for Matt Hendricks too. Although, I hope the Oilers can keep Hendy on in some capacity. Maybe working with the prospects down in Bakersfield.
