Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with 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 The Hockey Writers
Maple Leafs to Make Surprising Addition
While there’s a lot of chatter that the Leafs will stick with the four core, but also recent reports that Morgan Reilly might be a player the Leafs contemplate trading, Chris Johnston from Sportsnet mentioned on the Steve Dangle podcast that Toronto will make at least one move for a big-name player.
- “There’s going to be like one player on this roster on opening night that is going to get everyone excited. I’m talking like a big name, a big promise player and no ones gonna see it coming,”
Johnston offered up some hints as to the type of player the Leafs would target, saying the player is from a team that missed the playoffs, they are on an American-based team, and they have multiple years left on their contract. Early speculation from people who saw/listened to the podcast think Travis Konecny and Evander Kane but there could be a handful of player who fit the bill.
BLH’s Thoughts: Evander Kane would move the needle a little bit and give the Leafs what Wayne Simmonds was supposed to. That said, I still think they need to upgrade their defense and bring in some more functional grit for their bottom-six.
Who would they trade to get an Evander Kane or Travis Konecny by the way? Is that a Willy Nylander deal?
From The Athletic
This is an excerpt from Lowetide’s post entitled, “How Ken Holland’s transaction history could foreshadow the Oilers summer to come.”
The Summer of 2021
According to PuckPedia, Holland has about $23 million in cap room. The general manager mentioned a buyout was possible at his year-end avail, so that number could increase.
The signings of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Mike Smith and Adam Larsson seem likely based on Holland’s end-of-season media discussion. That’s as much as half of the $23 million available, with RFA Kailer Yamamoto still to sign.
If Holland hits the market with $16-18 million (assuming a buyout for James Neal or Mikko Koskinen) and a shopping list that includes a top-six left winger, a No. 3 centre and a goalie upgrade, how much can he spend on his top free-agent target?
Oilers fans see names like Gabriel Landeskog, David Krejci and Philipp Grubauer at the top of each spot on the depth chart where the club has an opening. Even with more cap room in memory, those names appear out of reach.
The general manager will make his list and check down as he did a year ago with Markstrom and then Smith.
Does Holland see a Hossa out there? We wait.
BLH’s Thoughts: I’ll tell ya what, if the Oilers to-do list is a 3C, a top-six LW, and a netminder, here’s who I’d prioritize for each position,
- 3C: Philip Danault (Paul Stastny)
- LW: Taylor Hall (Tomas Tatar)
- G: Chris Driedger (Petr Mrazek)
The fellas in brackets are the plan Bs if the plan As can’t be brought in.
I happen to think that another piece should be added to that priority list though, a top-four defender and that player should be someone who’s big, experienced, and skates well.
But there are 31 other teams out there looking to upgrade their team as well, so there’s very little chance that Edmonton gets one of the players on my list let alone two or three and if you clink the link at the top of the excerpt and read his article, you’ll see that Holland is not as active as he once was.
Realistically, I think we should expect one major target for him to chase as he did with Jacob Markstrom last year.
Speaking of major targets…
Holland has spent two full years basically telling the public what he was going to do whether that was at the draft or as the trade deadline approached or even in the offseason. So we’ve yet to be shocked by a move yet and to me, that’s a tad uncharacteristic considering his past moves in Detroit.
I’m thinking that with a little bit of extra ammo in his pistol this year, he’s going to pull off a move that nobody saw coming. Nothing huge, but something significant enough to make the hockey world perk up a bit.
Expect the unexpected…
Following up on @FriedgeHNIC report on the Dougie Hamilton situation with Carolina. Hamilton’s agent, J.P. Barry was granted permission yesterday to speak to clubs which could encourage a sign and trade and option of an 8th year on term. Neither side is any rush at this point.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 14, 2021
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