Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with excerpts from the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation from all of the internet’s best sites including Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, The Athletic, TSN and more!
From Oilersnation
Five players the Edmonton Oilers could trade back into the second round for
- Jack Peart, D, Fargo (USHL) – a mobile defender who possesses a smooth stride when skating forwards and backwards. His ability with the puck allows to be effective in transition, capable of skating the puck up the ice himself or finding an open teammate to get out of the defensive zone. He has decent size, standing at 5-11 and weighing 186, he can hold his own when battling against opposing players in the defensive zone. He has an active stick that will allow him to disrupt passing lanes and cause turnovers so his team can transition to offense.
- Ayrton Martino, LW, Omaha (USHL) – loves to generate offense — whether it be for himself or his teammates. He is a strong skater with good vision and high-level puck skills. Martino can attack on the rush, using his vision to spot open passing lanes and hit his teammates with accurate passes and puts them in prime position for scoring opportunities.
- Zachary L’Heureux, C, Halifax (QMJHL) – started the season as a legitimate first round prospect, and with a combination of strong offensive instincts and a hard-hitting mentality it was easy to see why. He has a lot of strong offensive traits. He has great shot that he can get off with great power and accuracy, high-end skating ability that allows him to get up and down the ice and he is hard to play against because of his physicality and strength.
- Dmitri Katelevsky, RW, Bars Kazan (VHL) – a versatile forward who can play both the wing and center. He plays with a high pace and is reliable at both ends of the ice. With his thick frame and strong skating ability he is excels in close quarters. While he flashes some high-end puck skills, his best attribute is his mature defensive game. He’s an extremely smart player who knows how to suppress the other team’s offense and get his team out of danger.
- Chase Stillman, RW, Esbjerg U20 (Denmark U20) – an offensive-minded player who has excellent vision and playmaking capabilities. He also brings a physical element to the game, with a willingness to engage in the corners and throw punishing open ice hits. With his 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame Stillman is more than capable of handling himself in physical battles. Modern power forwards are harder to come by, and Stillman fits the role with his unique attributes and aggressiveness.
BLH’s Thoughts: At the moment, the Oilers do not possess a 2nd round pick and I’m not confident they’ll acquire one. Now, that said, this year’s draft is going to be one for the ages because there’s going to be a ton of late round selections who are going to surprise. I also think that some 19yr and 20yr olds that were skipped over in the previous two drafts will get picked.
To comment directly on the players mentioned above, Edmonton’s first pick will either be a goalie or a forward. L’Heureux intrigues me greatly. I see a Brad Marchand-type ceiling on him or a Antoine Roussel-type floor. Chase Stillman would interest the Oilers, he sounds like a Martin Lapointe sort of player.
Either way, I don’t think it would be a bad idea to draft some players with a bit of Tasmanian Devil in their game this year.
From Lowetide.ca
Currently, Edmonton has $11 million in cap space, and that will grow to almost $24 million with a James Neal buyout, a Mikko Koskinen trade ($2 million retained), Kyle Turris in Bakersfield and Oscar Klefbom on LTIR.
I mentioned some time ago that Seattle was dropping $80 million into the free-agent pool. In real terms, that could take Adam Larsson from $4 million times four years for $4.5 million times five years. As much as I am a fan of this player, there has to be an outer marker where the risk becomes too great. I hope he signs in Edmonton, but it sounds like he’ll take a bigger piece of the pie if he does return. That impacts the rest of the roster.
The size of the Goodrow contract is an early distant warning signal. Holland’s $24 million isn’t going to get him all the way to balance. That’s good news for Dylan Holloway, Philip Broberg, Dmitri Samorukov and Ilya Konovalov.
BLH’s Thoughts: The Goodrow deal was destined to happen. As Soon as I heard/read what pundits were saying Blake Coleman would be asking for, I knew that Goodrow would be asking for an amount that should put him out of the reach of the Edmonton Oilers.
Now, speaking of a Mikko Koskinen trade, Bob Stauffer proposed the following trade on his radio show yesterday,
- To Arizona: Koskinen and Edmonton’s 2021 1st round pick
- To Edmonton: Darcy Kuemper and one of Arizona’s three 2021 2nd round picks
The offer was predicated on one of Jesper Wallstedt or Sebastian Cossa being selected before Edmonton’s pick.
Stauffer also threw out Coyotes 25yr old center Christian Dvorak’s name it he same conversation.
From Spector’s Hockey
NHL Rumor Mill – July 20, 2021
BALLY SPORTS MIDWEST’s Adam Strickland took to Twitter yesterday reporting that the Seattle Kraken might not be the only stop for Vladimir Tarasenko if (emphasis on “if”) they select him in tomorrow’s expansion draft.
Strickland also expects the Montreal Canadiens to revisit last offseason’s contract talks with Mike Hoffman. The 31-year-old winger signed a one-year, $4 million contract in January with the Blues despite the Canadiens offering nearly $1 million more. Strickland adds the Blues have expressed interest in bringing Hoffman back.
BLH’s Thoughts: I’ll be shocked if Hoffman gets another $4M contract, but they again, if Marc Bergevin is flush from putting Carey Price and Shea Weber on LTIR, he may very well get the money he’s looking for PLUS the Habs will definitely be looking for forwards who can put the puck in the net after getting shut down vs. the Lightning in the Cup final.
OTTAWA SUN: Bruce Garrioch reports the Senators are seeking a top-two center and a top-four defenseman to help them make the playoffs next season. Those moves will likely come via the trade market rather than free agency. They have six picks in this year’s draft, including two in the second round, that could be used as trade bait.
FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: George Richards cites Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reporting the Florida Panthers could have a deal in place with the Seattle Kraken. The Kraken would sign goaltender Chris Driedger and the Panthers would send them winger Frank Vatrano for doing so.
BLH’s Thoughts: Adam Henrique is a name that’s been tossed around as someone who could find his way to Ottawa. Apparently he had a really good World Championships alongside Nick Paul and Connor Brown.
Couldn’t the Kraken just sign Driedger on the 28th and still take someone from Florida in the expansion draft and vice versa? Unless the Panthers are thinking Ron Francis is going to take a player that’s under contract, they’re already handcuffed to an extent, why send them a sweetener to take a player of their choice?
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