Teams ARE Interested in Jesse Puljujarvi But Want Cost Certainty According to Friedman

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Random Thoughts: Free Agency Edition

If he [Holland] can add in a trade for another defenceman or sign one like Mark Pysyk that can stop-gap, it would be tough not to give him an ‘A’ on the work he’s done to this point.
I did not expect Evander Kane to be an Edmonton Oilers when the 2022-23 season rolled around… I wanna see how long we’re going to get the guy on his best behaviour over the one that had Byfuglien throwing his clothes in the shower.
I’m going on record as saying that I’m pretty excited about having Jack Campbell aboard as our new goaltender… with $25 million coming his way to make it happen, I’ll be fascinated to see what how he handles the workload and the pressure of being the Edmonton Oilers’ new goalie.
The Oilers need defencemen that can skate and defend and I have no doubt in my mind after seeing the guy play for 18 games plus the playoffs that Kulak will help the Oilers keep pucks out of their own net.

BLH’s Thoughts: Bob Stauffer brought up the name of Ben Harpur on his show yesterday. He’s a 27yr old 6’6″ 222lb left-shot defender who split a very brief season with Nashville and their AHL club last year. Probably not the guy I’m looking at if I’m Holland but Stauffer also brought up recently signed Jordie Benn and he’s a little more along the lines of the kind of #7 dman I would prefer. 6’3″ RHD Greg Pateryn is out there still I think, but he’s not played more than 20 games in the NHL since 2018.

I’m just thinking that Edmonton has so many left-shot guys looking to break into the NHL, wouldn’t it make more sense to go out and acquire a veteran no.7 who’s a right shot?

The Oilers got their Dennis Rodman, now they have to live with it. Jordan and Pippen found a way to do it, McDavid and Leon will too.

I shouldn’t have to worry about Edmonton’s new goaltending tandem coughing pucks up from behind the net, letting in early goals consistently, or bad glove hands anymore, but I will still wait and see on Campbell. He’s definitely got the experience between the pipes as a starter and on top of that he wasn’t playing behind the most defense conscious team in the league and still did okay.

I think Edmonton’s defense is going to be better than Toronto’s but not by any massive margin. So there are going to be nights where he’s left out to dry and I want to see someone who’ll be able to steal some games for the Oilers.

Skinner will be the guy I have my eyes on more so and Ryan Fanti in Bakersfield as well. I don’t know if I’ll give much thought to Calvin Pickard but I do feel less anxious about Bakersfield’s netminding knowing that Pickard and Fanti are down there.

It’s funny, not too many bloggers in Edmonton knew about Brett Kulak before he was traded to the Oilers, but now they’re all massive fans of the guy. Not one mention of heaters or small sample sizes, eh? Glad he’s back and I’m looking forward to watching him but I still feel like he’s a 3rd pairing dman that can slot up the lineup for short stints. Permanent 2nd pair defender has me a little bit concerned. Can Edmonton trust him and Bouchard to get the job done or should the Oilers be looking to acquire a more suitable veteran for that role? Maybe a guy like Marco Scandella would be a nice option? I dunno, I’m just spitballin’.

Lowetide

TRADING JP

Elliotte Friedman mentioned yesterday (I think with Bob but I didn’t hear it) teams are interested in Jesse Puljujarvi but want cost certainty. That would seem to present an exit strategy for both sides, if the young winger signs a value deal it would be easier to deal him. It’s also possible the Connor Brown deal means the Finn is back for another year. Interesting weeks ahead.

BLH’s Thoughts: Something has to happen here. Either Jesse has to sign something reasonable or Holland’s gotta move him for less than he desires. If nothing happens and Puljuu heads back to Finland to await a trade or a better contract offer, that’s going to be disastrous for him especially. The Oilers are having trouble moving him because there’s a perception that if he takes whatever club owns his rights to arbitration, he could get upwards of $4M and I don’t know if even the most analytically aligned clubs want to do that. I believe Friedman was saying that most clubs who’re interested in him want Edmonton to take a contract back.

It’s all kinda confusing, right? Friedman was saying at one point that the Oilers want to move JP for cap space but all we’ve been hearing is that Holland wants a player in return. So what’s the deal here?

Trade Rumors

Spector’s Hockey

Adrian Dater believes Nazem Kadri will return with the Colorado Avalanche… Dater thinks the Calgary Flames are a strong suitor for Kadri.
Salim Valji believes the Calgary Flames must learn lessons from Johnny Gaudreau’s departure if they hope to avoid a similar fate with Matthew Tkachuk.
Aaron Portzline reports the Blue Jackets’ signing Gaudreau has left them with insufficient salary-cap space to re-sign restricted free agent winger Patrik Laine.
Arpon Basu speculates the availability of John Klingberg in the free-agent market suggests there’s a depressed market for defensemen like Petry who play a similar style.

The Daily Goal Horn

During ESPN’s broadcast of free agent frenzy, Kevin Weekes reported live that Kadri had several teams in on him and he was mulling things over… The Fourth Period noted that the Avs could still be an option but the New York Islanders, Seattle Kraken, Ottawa Senators, and Anaheim Ducks were among suitors… While I think the Ducks are an interesting option with a ton of cap space, would Kadri want to go there after winning a Cup?… You can also add the New Jersey Devils to the mix.
Speculation has [JT] Miller looking for a new deal in the 5-7 year range with an $8.5M AAV at the very least. Many teams attached to him, like the New York Rangers, can’t afford that… According to multiple insiders, Vancouver wants three to four pieces in return that would include at least one top prospect and a first-round pick… The New York Islanders were reportedly interested and may have been close to a deal that supposedly fell apart on the draft floor. Another could be the new Jersey Devils, who were spurned by Johnny Gaudreau on Wednesday.