Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jesse Puljujarvi Being Targeted According to Shannon

Yesterday on the Monday edition of Oilers Now! Bob Stauffer and his guest John Shannon from Sportsnet had a good conversation on the Oilers and of course the latest trade rumors.

Below you’ll read about the rumor that Jimmy Murphy put out over the weekend but Bob won’t say his name and I wonder why that is?… It bugs me a bit to be honest. I find it a bit disingenuous and kind of rude. I mean if you’re going to go as far as to mention where you heard it days after Twitter has dissected it, you might as well give credit to the source of the rumor…

Anyways, to the quote…

Stauffer: Let me ask you this, part of the reason we get you on John is to talk about league stuff, How much are you hearing, I saw a rumour out of Boston from a fellow who suggests that the Oilers and Boston were talking Nugent-Hopkins and he said it was basically in embryonic stages, early stages. I think he said Danton Heinen and Peter Cehlarik and I was like, “yeah, I don’t see that happening.” I don’t know how Boston can do that. Boston has $62M committed moving forward for their team as well but I don’t see that happening with Nugent-Hopkins. I think that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is here to stay this year.

But are you hearing anything at all about the position the Oilers are in right now? Because I don’t see Edmonton being sellers. I still think that the Oilers think that they can chase down a playoff spot. They do have some unrestricted free agents that maybe get moved at some stage for some pieces but I’d like to get your thoughts…

Mark Letestu, Pat Maroon, Mike Cammalleri are those UFAs that Bob is talking about. All of them would definitely provide useful services to a playoff team (including the Oilers) and my question is, what kind of “pieces” would the Oilers want? Draft picks? Prospects? Cap Space?

Lowetide did up a pretty good summary of what he thought the Oilers could get in return for their assets over at The Athletic. I’m not sure if you’re signed up for that publication or not but if you are, HERE is the link and if you aren’t, click THIS LINK and sign up because a) you get 25% off (I think that will cost you like $5 a month or something cheap like that in total) and b) I get a hearty handshake from The Athletic in the form of a $10 Amazon credit. I imagine some of you will be apprehensive because of the amount of stats-leaning writers but there’s much MUCH more to it. Justin Bourne’s breakdowns are f*cking amazing! Portzline’s Q&A posts are really cool! Craig Custance has a podcast on it, and I also like Pierre LeBrun’s insider info!

I recommend you read Lowetide’s article completely for full effect but if you want the Cole’s notes version, here you go (in my words):

Rentals – draft picks 4th round plus or young winger with NHL potential
Standard Turris/Duchene-like trade – higher end prospect (former 1st rounder) or a true NHL player with some zip to his stride.
Salary dump – very little. maybe a player of the same position. most likely the Oilers would have to pay to move these players.

Shannon:Well, I’ll tell you what, IF the Oilers were sellers or IF the Oilers felt like they needed an upgrade and they needed to sacrifice someone, to me, there are only two people in the whole organization that anybody would want anything of, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is one of them and the potential of Jesse Puljujarvi is the other. 

So those are the only two people I can guarantee you that Peter Chiarelli has been taking phone calls on. Bob you know GMs in this league, they’re trying to fleece you anyway.

Of course those would be the players. The GMs are preying on Chiarelli’s reputation for dealing away young talent but the difference is, the Oilers don’t have to trade RNH or Pulju. Hall needed to go to shake the foundation of the team and Eberle had to go because he made too much money for the production he was putting out. RNH is contributing a lot this season (basically replacing Eberle’s offense at centre) and Pulju has already shown us that he’s a much better fit on the Oilers than he is on the Bakersfield Condors.

When the pro scouts are around the Edmonton Oilers, the two guys that are at the top of the list are Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jesse Puljujarvi.

Obviously the Oilers will want something big if either of those two are to move. I’m talking about a Tyson Barrie or a Justin Faulk but I’ve been told that neither of those dmen are available anymore.

Shannon: I’m not suggesting the Oilers are shopping him (Puljujarvi) at all, I’m not.

But he is saying that Peter Chiarelli is taking calls on him… So PC is feeling out the market on the Finn by not including him in the same untouchable group as Darnell Nurse or Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl.

If I’m Chiarelli and I’m not 100% convinced about Puljujarvi, I still hold onto him until I know what’s going to happen with Drew Doughty, Erik Karlsson, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson because I know for a fact, those teams will want an arm and a leg for those players and at Puljujarvi’s age and potential, he’ll still be a wanted commodity. Also, he’ll be on a cheap contract.

I guess if one were really putting everything together, RNH, Puljujarvi, and a 1st rounder would surely land you one of those three soon-to-be-UFA superstar dmen above, no? At least put you at the top of the list of teams to negotiate with.

Blake Wheeler vs. Jesse Puljujarvi

I’m not sure I buy the comparison much. Wheeler had the advantage of coming into the NHL at the age of 22 and immediately being a 40pt player.

Now, what I would look at is what changed when the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg because he went from a 40pt player to a 60pt player. If you know what the catalyst was that sparked Wheeler’s production, please enlighten me in the comments below!

IF it takes Pulju 6 years to develop into a Wheeler-type player, I think it would be in the best interests of the Edmonton Oilers to keep him under contract cheap until that potential is realized because it’s not like Puljujarvi is useless without the puck, he isn’t. He’s actually quite useful and his defensive game is far more developed than most players his age. I’d milk all he’s worth until he started displaying that offensive potential. I’ve even heard from pundits that perhaps Puljujarvi’s future lies at center… Wouldn’t that be something?

What do you think about Shannon’s comments? Let us know in the comments below!

Beer League Hero Written by:

I'm the Beer League Hero! I am from Camrose, Alberta but I make my home in Taipei City, Taiwan. I've been through the ups and downs and the highs and the Lowes, the Bonsignores and the McDavids, the Sathers and the Eakins but I'll never leave my Oilers, no matter what! They're with me until the end and then some. GO OILERS GO!

One Comment

  1. Lee Dicken
    November 28, 2017

    I think it’s best for the team if PC is told by the owner no more trades until we know if we have a chance at playoffs .
    And trading away players like RNH would have to be a home run for the Oilers and PC who has zero street cred as a sharp GM.
    I like RNH’s game, trading him away remembering they have 0 center prospects is a very serious situation. I think if they trade RNH it will be a dark day for the fans. And seriously the return with Boston for essentially 3rd and 4th line players is beyond ridiculous

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