Would You Make This Trade?

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

Philip Broberg is ready for his NHL audition

The eye test in preseason showed Broberg taking too long to make decisions with the puck, and because of it he was taking too many hits (five in three games) to survive.
At the time of his recall to Edmonton, Broberg has played in 13 AHL games, posting 10 assists and an even-strength goal differential of 6-5.
Broberg can skate the puck out of danger or pass it to safety. He has an effective “spin-o-rama” move that allows him to sidestep an oncoming rusher, turn and head the other way in one motion. It’s impressive and, more importantly, effective in getting out of jams and avoiding hits.
Broberg is being used in all situations and is having success at even strength and on the power play.
His performance with the man advantage includes impressive passing from the point, finding lanes for his shot and gaining the offensive zone with his speed.
Broberg is also confident in challenging defencemen deep into the offensive zone if the opportunity presents itself.
…the big part of his offensive game took place in a complementary role in Bakersfield.
The speed is exceptional.
Broberg skates like a forward and can separate in a couple of steps. He’s a rangy player with good size (6-foot-3, 204 pounds) and is still adding man strength. He can close a gap quickly and has a nice touch on his passes.
He has a good shot, uses it often (27 shots in 13 games) and drives to the net with authority and no fear. I’d stop short of calling him rugged, but he’s not shy when things get rough in scrums or along the wall.

BLH’s Thoughts: Broberg can play, there’s no doubt about that and I think tonight he’ll have a good-to-great game but most of that will be because of nerves. However, Chicago’s forwards are more skill-based and seeing as Broberg came up in the Swedish system, there’s a chance he’s more accustomed to defending that kind of forward.

The real test will be against Dallas and Arizona as they’ve got some more aggressive forwards and they’ll be testing Broberg’s composure with the puck on his stick and in his own zone.

Cult of Hockey

Three times lucky for Edmonton Oilers?

If that anyone would have told me two months ago that Cody Ceci would prove to be an adequate replacement for Adam Larsson and that Mikko Koskinen and Stuart Skinner would step up big time in the event Mike Smith was injured, I would have been doubtful.
Ceci is playing sound two-way hockey in a Top 4 role. He’s not the banger, hacker and hitter that nasty Larsson was on defence, but Larsson wasn’t the heads up passer that Ceci is.
As for Koskinen and Skinner, they’ve had many more good starts than bad ones, and have, on a slight majority of nights, outplayed the goalie in the opposition net.

Will the Edmonton Oilers be three times lucky?

Tyson Barrie having a consistent run of play where he’s both moving the puck well and also making sound decisions on defence, not pushing things too much, not trying to force plays in the o-zone and n-zone. Barrie’s defensive play in the last five games has been more settled, but he’s going to have to find a way to stay settled without big Nurse at his side.
Duncan Keith was Chicago’s #1 d-man last year. For two weeks or so, he’s going to have to act as Edmonton’s No. 1 left side d-man.
Kris Russell. He’s not a good partner for Barrie, as they’re both smaller players and tend to get pushed around a bit. But teamed up with Evan Bouchard? That might work.
Evan Bouchard. He started out looking great, both on the attack and defence, but his defensive game has fallen apart too often in recent weeks.
Philip Broberg. He’s raw. He can skate as well as any Oilers d-man, and that includes Darnell Nurse.
William Lagesson. Last year he stepped in and aced it for a handful of games partnering with Adam Larsson. Then Lagesson got hurt and stopped playing well.
It’s asking a lot to expect this group to keep it together in Nurse’s absence. But they have a chance…

BLH’s Thoughts: If you take a team’s no.1 defenseman away from them, that hurts. In a morbid kind of way, I am quite curious to see how the Oilers play without Nurse and where the shortcomings appear.

Wild Bill is back and he’s getting a second chance. If you read Lowetide’s blog you would probably be under the impression that Lagesson’s NHL prospects are sinking like a rock, but I wonder if this fresh opportunity will re-energize his efforts like it did with Ryan McLeod? The Oilers will need a physical element on its blueline with Nurse out and I know for a fact that William Lagesson can be a mean mother f*cker if need be. He can also make a play and skate with the puck too though.. That said, do you think he gets TOI over Kris Russell?

I have a feeling that Tyson Barrie will step up while Nurse is out. Nothing to back that up, just a hunch.

FWIW, if you’re part of the “trade Nurse” camp, to which I was for a long time but am no longer, there may be a section of the Oilers media and fanbase who see you as a racist with no proof.

My guess of what Dave Tippett does tomorrow vs Chicago! #LetsGoOilers #OIlers

Hyman – McDavid – Puljujarvi
RNH – Draisaitl – Yamamoto
Foegele – McLeod – Kassian
Perlini – Sceviour – Turris

Keith – Ceci
Russell – Barrie
Broberg – Bouchard

— Archivist🏒🥅 (@Archivistttt) November 20, 2021

Spector’s Hockey

TVA SPORTS: Anthony Martineau and Nicolas Cloutier weighed in on which Montreal Canadiens players they’d attempt to trade if they were the general manager.
- Martineau suggested shopping Brendan Gallagher. He felt the 29-year-old winger’s $6.25 million cap hit through 2026-27 could become burdensome for the Canadiens over the long term.
- Cloutier, meanwhile, suggested packaging defenseman Ben Chiarot with versatile forward Joel Armia for a first-round pick and a prospect.
TSN: Darren Dreger reports the New York Rangers have been in the market for a middle-six forward for some time. It can be a third-liner or someone who can skate on the top-six. That search became amplified by Sammy Blais recently suffering a season-ending injury.
- Pierre LeBrun reported the Florida Panthers aren’t in the market for a replacement center for sidelined captain Aleksander Barkov.

BLH’s Thoughts: If the rumors are true about Chiarot, and I believe them to be, I could definitely see a Chiarot/Armia to Edmonton deal being something Ken Holland would be into.

As for the first rounder going the other way, I would imagine the Oilers would prefer to go another route there unless extensions are in order, but in that case, given Chiarot’s a left-shot dman, what will that say for those under him on the depth chart and Armia just re-upped with Montreal on a 4yr deal (no trade protection though).

If you were Oilers GM would you move Zack Kassian, Dmitri Samorukov, and a 2023 2nd round pick for Chiarot and Armia?