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Oilersnation
Monday Mailbag – How would you grade Ken Holland’s offseason work so far?
Which signing surprised you the most during this free agency period?
- “I was stunned to see Evander Kane re-sign. I thought he’d be a one-and-done player for sure.” – Baggedmilk
What are everyone’s quick thoughts on the Kane, Campbell, and Kulak signings?
- “The Campbell deal scares me a little simply because goaltending is wildly unpredictable.” – Tyler Yaremchuk
It seems that some salary will need to be shed in some way. What is the most likely move?
- “Holland will look to trade Foegele or Puljujarvi would be my best guess based on convos I’ve had. There is more interest in Puljujarvi at this moment, but his pending arbitration case likely means a deal isn’t done until all parties know what his next contract is. I wonder if Holland considers allowing a team who is interested to negotiate a new contract with Puljujarvi and then trade him.” – Jason Gregor
How would you grade Ken Holland’s offseason work so far?
- “We’ll see what happens with the RFAs, but it’s at least an A- for now. I think this has been Holland’s best off-season with the Oilers.” – Cam Lewis
BLH’s Thoughts: After hearing Ryan Rishaug go on and on about how Kane wasn’t coming back, I was pretty convinced that was going to be the case. So that was pretty surprising, but I don’t know if that tops Johnny Gaudreau spurning Calgary AND New Jersey to sign with the Blue Jackets in Columbus. Although, we don’t know where Nazem Kadri and John Klingberg will end up. Maybe they’ll sign with somebody nobody thought of…
$5M/yr for a proven starting netminder in the NHL is pretty good business for me and it allows Stu Skinner to work his way into becoming the team’s no.1 goalie by the time Campbell’s deal is on year four. At that point, Skinner will be 28 and, in theory, he should be ready to take the wheel plus the Oilers can adjust the starts for each goalie as the seaons progress. Maybe this year Skinner gets 30-35 games, then next year 35-40, followed by 40-45, and so and and so forth. You get the picture.
Evander Kane did the honorable thing in taking less than he could’ve. He said he wants to win and by signing that contract, he’s put his money where his mouth is… 🙂
I really dig the numbers of the Kulak deal, but there is a part of me that wonders if he just had a really good run of games last year. I feel like he’s been a bottom pairing defender for most of his career if not all of it and now he’s getting thrust onto Edmonton’s 2nd pairing because he can skate well. Even so, $2.75M/yr for a bottom four defender is good business and it’s hard to complain about having depth on defense.
“It’s time (for a trade).” is what Bob Stauffer has been saying for a week when asked about Jesse Puljujarvi and I think that’s straight from Ken Holland because Bob likes to borrow lines from the coaches and GMs of the team and regurgitate them endlessly on his show until either the player, coach, or GM is gone.
Cult of Hockey
One compelling reason for Oilers to trade Tyson Barrie, and several why they should think twice
- As a fan of Tyson Barrie the player and the person, I choose to play devil’s advocate and make the case for keeping him around.
- Over the 2 seasons combined, Barrie’s 89 points ranked 10th in the NHL.
- During his 2 seasons in Edmonton, the unit has been #1 in the NHL in conversion rate at 26.7%, and #2 in total powerplay goals with 109, trailing Colorado’s 114 (with 19% more opportunities).
- Barrie’s 44 powerplay points rank 6th in the NHL over that time. His 6.54 powerplay points per 60 rank #5, behind a handful of guys you may have heard of before: Victor Hedman, Adam Fox, Roman Josi, Cale Makar.
- …his on-ice rates of 11.16 Goals For per 60 rank #1 among all NHL d-men over the last 2 years.
- Barrie’s 5v5 goal differential soared from +23/-27 (46%) under Dave Tippett and Jim Playfair to +31/-19 (62%) under Woodcroft and Manson. He followed that up with an impressive +12/-7 (63%) in the playoffs.
- The oldest rearguard still on the roster? Why that would be Tyson Barrie, who turns 31 next week. Ceci and Kulak are next at 28.
- The most experienced defender? Barrie again, with 683 NHL games to his credit, and another 46 in the playoffs.
- The Oilers have precisely 3 with NHL experience in Barrie, Ceci and Bouchard (102 GP). Beyond them are a trio of “distant bells” in developing minor leaguers Vincent Desharnais, Mike Kesselring and Phil Kemp.
- … at least one painful move remains… Will it be the trade of Tyson Barrie? Maybe so, but it says here such a transaction doesn’t come without risk. Experienced puck-moving right-shot defencemen who outscore at even strength and can backstop a high-end powerplay don’t exactly grow on trees.
BLH’s Thoughts: It was either Duncan Keith was retiring or Tyson Barrie was getting traded and we know what happened. I think to add to what Mr. McCurdy has said, the Oilers are better with Barrie than without him. What happens of Bouchard struggles? What if Bouch gets hurt? If Barrie isn’t there then Darnell Nurse’s workload blows up and they need that $9M unit as healthy as possible.
That said, I would say there’s a better chance that Barrie is moved next offseason when he’s only got one more season left on his deal. Bob Stauffer recently hinted that Vincent Desharnais could possibly take over on the 3rd pairing as soon as next year.
Now, I do think at some point that Ken Holland will attempt to acquire an experienced blue liner. Maybe just a rental for the playoffs, but that’s his M.O., right? He’s always done that since his days in Detroit. Maybe that’s Luke Schenn (VAN), Radko Gudas (FLA) or Mark Borowiecki (NSH), but it’ll be a guy that fills a hole.
Trade Rumors
Spector’s Hockey
- Friedman reported the Edmonton Oilers were trying to move Jesse Puljujarvi for a draft pick. He indicated that it’s difficult right now because the clubs with an interest in him have little or no cap space and didn’t want to make that deal.
- According to Friedman, the New York Rangers were talking to the Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues.
- Jeff Marek believes the Detroit Red Wings could be the final destination for John Klingberg
- Friedman also cast some doubt on reports suggesting the Calgary Flames could make Kadri a mega-offer.
- Winnipeg Jets center Pierre-Luc Dubois and Columbus Blue Jackets winger Patrik Laine are two other possible offer sheet candidates.
- Steve Macfarland reports people believe Tkachuk wants to live and play in St. Louis where he grew up.
- Eric Francis believes the Flames will trade Tkachuk if the winger is reluctant to sign beyond 2022-23.
BLH’s Thoughts: Francis said on Oilers Now yesterday that Tkachuk will be gone by the end of the week.
Whatever Calgary does, they need to get it right with this trade but they’re behind the 8-ball on this one. I read that STL offered them Kyrou, Krug, and a first rounder and they turned it down. Is Ryan O’Reilly out of the question?
What about sending him to Arizona for Johnny Hockey-lite, Clayton Keller. He’s 23 and signed long-term for $7.15M/yr. Maybe tack on Jakob Chychrun too and expand the deal a bit because the worst thing Treliving can do is commit to a trade the signifies that the team is going into a rebuild. They need a competitive club in order to get that arena sorted.
Could you imagine Tkachuk and Kassian on the same team?…
