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 (Mitchell)
Lowetide: Projecting the 2021-22 Edmonton Oilers opening night lineup
- The team will be more offensively focused in the year to come, with shutdown defender Adam Larsson now with the expansion Seattle Kraken and no obvious replacement in sight.
- Dave Tippett will be able to ice a lineup with six defencemen capable of passing the puck well on outlet passes leaving the Oilers’ zone.
- If the Oilers are all about owning the puck, forechecking and backchecking? Music. The top-end talent on this team will be able to outscore all comers if the team is winning the possession game on all four lines.
- Dylan Holloway is a complete wild card at this point. He could rock training camp, land on a skill line and force all kinds of movement among the forward group and projected lines. If his Wisconsin season is a real reflection of Holloway’s skill, Edmonton won’t be able to keep him off the roster.
Zach Hyman-Connor McDavid-Jesse Puljujarvi
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Leon Draisaitl-Kailer Yamamoto
Warren Foegele-Derek Ryan-Zack Kassian
Tyler Benson-Ryan McLeod-Josh Archibald
(extras: Devin Shore, Kyle Turris)
Darnell Nurse-Tyson Barrie
Duncan Keith-Cody Ceci
Kris Russell-Evan Bouchard
(extra: Slater Koekkoek)
Mike Smith
(Mikko Koskinen)
BLH’s Thoughts: I’d love to be proved wrong, but I don’t think there are going to be any big surprises this year and Tippett likes to carve down his training camp roster early so that he can get to work preparing for the season with the main group.
Now, where a player slots in the lineup? We may see some different looks in that regard.
One quick question though, if you’re Coach Tippett and you know you’ve only got seven games in the first month of the year, do you stack the roster with vets and risk losing the likes of Tyler Benson and Alex Stalock on waivers, or do you take that handful of games to give the unlikelies a run to see what they’ve got?
Oilersnation (Laing)
Pettiness and tidy business: The Jesperi Kotkaniemi offer sheet is amazing
- Many will remember the Montreal Canadiens issuing an offer sheet to Sebastian Aho in 2019. It was a weird one, however, as it was the easiest match the Canes could’ve had. The offer sheet was a five-year deal with an AAV of $8.46-million and while it was heavy on signing bonus’, again, it was easy for them to accept.
- For the Canadiens now, however, things are ever so different.
- Carolina has forced them into a bind by signing Kotkaniemi to a one-year, $6,100,015 dollar deal with a $20 signing bonus. 15 is Kotkaniemi’s number, while Aho’s is 20. Cheeky.
- But the Habs might be better off not matching the deal. For one, Kotkaniemi isn’t a $6.1-million NHL player. In fact, he might only be a third-liner at this point.
- …while a qualifying offer will be expensive next year, they (Carolina) could also look at negotiating a longer-term deal at a lower AAV.
- If the Habs want to match the offer, they’ll need to find a way to move out a large chunk of salary while Kotkaniemi would become one of the highest played players on the team.
BLH’s Thoughts: It is what it is. The Habs should probably take the picks and cap room and focus on finding themselves a center. I mean, you’ve got to wonder if the Jack Eichel rumors pick up in Montreal, right? Or now I’m reading that Elias Pettersson could get an offer sheet of his own?
I say there should be more of this kind of stuff from an entertainment POV. I’d love to see somebody get into it with Vegas’ though as they seem to give zero f*cks about anything and they’re intent on doing whatever it takes to win no matter who gets hurt in the process.
Who knows? Maybe Marc Bergevin, where ever he is, waits until Seth Jarvis is an RFA and sends him an offer sheet…
Spector’s Hockey
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek discussed the Carolina Hurricanes signing Montreal Canadiens center Jesperi Kotkaniemi to an offer sheet on Saturday. Friedman said the Hurricanes had discussed the possibility of a trade for Kotkaniemi with the Canadiens but couldn’t work out a deal. He thinks the Hurricanes informed the Canadiens of their intention to sign Kotkaniemi to an offer sheet, probably within 24 hours of doing so.
SPORTSNET: Eric Engels speculates Bergevin could target Arizona Coyotes center Christian Dvorak. The Habs GM will have some extra draft capital with the first- and third-round picks he’d get from the Hurricanes as compensation.
TVA SPORTS: Yvon Pedneault also thinks Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin will be working the phones to find a suitable, affordable replacement. He speculates he’ll target teams that have to reduce payroll before the start of the season.
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: Dan Kingerski recently examined four possible rental centers for the Penguins if Evgeni Malkin should be sidelined by knee surgery longer than expected.
- The first is San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl. Kingerski speculates he could be had for a similar cost the Carolina Hurricanes paid for Vincent Trocheck, which was two bottom-six forwards and a promising prospect.
- Other options include Columbus’ Max Domi, Dallas’ Joe Pavelski if the Stars are out of playoff contention by the trade deadline…
