BLH provides you with the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation featuring Tyson Barrie (EDM), Ryan Getzlaf (ANA), Brent Burns (SJ), and more!
This is not the kind of news Edmonton Oilers fans will like.
*NEW* What’s the plan for Edmonton’s defense after this season? Check that out here!
*NEW* Are the Edmonton Oilers poised to make a tough trade before next year? Maybe…
NHL Rumors and Speculation
Sheng Peng (San Jose Hockey Now): The San Jose Sharks made a few small moves at the deadline.
- Brent Burns is 36-years old and has four years left at $8 million per and they possibly could have moved him but it would have been ’50 center on the dollar.’
- Martin Jones has three years left at $5.75 million. Will they keep him?
- They could’ve got good trade value for Tomas Hertl at the deadline but holding onto him suggests they are still looking at a reset and not a rebuild.
Eric Stephens (The Athletic): Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray held strong on his asking prices at the trade deadline for players like forward Rickard Rakell and defenseman Josh Manson.
- The Winnipeg Jets had an interest in Manson. The Jets may have been okay with a first-round pick but wouldn’t part with Ville Heinola or Cole Perfetti. The Maple Leafs moved a first but weren’t really interested in moving Nick Robertson or Rodion Amirov. The Montreal Canadiens weren’t interested in moving Cole Caufield or Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
Edmonton Oilers: Ryan McLeod has been recalled to the taxi squad from the Bakersfield Condors. The 21-year-old forward has tallied 14 goals, 14 assists & is +23 in 28 games with Bakersfield this season.
- Bob Stauffer (630CHED) – “A deserved recall! McLeod has 14-14-28/+25 in his last 23 GP. Has gone 54.1% on faceoffs last 10 GP. Could play as early as next Monday in Winnipeg.”
BLH’s Thoughts: The foolishness of a rabid fanbase is out in full force when you see people say that McLeod should start on McDavid’s wing when his quarantine has concluded.
I’ve got to ask my older readers, before the 90s when NHL video games became as popular as they did and you could trade anybody and edit your lines, were there fans that would suggest a call-up go straight to the top line of their favorite team? It’s my recollection that young players were required to earn their promotions in the lineup as they were recalled from the minors.
Now, with that being said, I don’t think that young McLeod will a 4th liner when he gets his first game. My belief is that he’ll go to the third line to start and depending on how he does, maybe he could go as high as the 2nd line due to his elite skating and size.
I don’t know what McLeod’s ceiling is. To me, I get shades of Adrian Kempe and Roope Hintz but those two have a bit of sandpaper in their game. Perhaps Pierre Engvall would be a good comp? He’s a big guy, has good skill, great speed, and plays on the 3rd line in Toronto. If I’m not mistaken, does he not spend a some time on the Maple Leafs PK too?
Look, there’s going to be an adjustment period. The things he’s been doing in the minors aren’t going to work in the NHL and he’ll have to figure that out. The quicker, the better and the more TOI he’ll get.
Jonathan Willis (The Athletic): The Edmonton Oilers and Tyson Barrie have been fantastic fits for each other. But with player value and team need shifting, the relationship probably shouldn’t extend beyond this season.
- “Ideally, Bouchard is filling Barrie’s role — right-handed, offensive defenceman and power-play quarterback — as soon as possible. Having Barrie around blocks Bouchard’s progress.”
- “Barrie is an offensive upgrade from Klefbom, but the potential combination of Klefbom returning and Bouchard could end Barrie’s days in Edmonton.”
BLH’s Thoughts: For me, this all depends on price point and the one thing we know about Ken Holland, he loves NHL veterans. Would there be a better defense in Edmonton’s division if they were to have this group of defenders on hand next season?
Nurse/Barrie
Klefbom/Larsson
Kulikov/Bear
Jones/BouchardI suppose the other thing we know about Holland is that he loves competition and that he feels that it’s up to the younger player to beat out the older one if he wants a place in the lineup.
There will always be a buy for a player like Tyson Barrie, Adam Larsson, or Ethan Bear if Evan Bouchard wins a job out of camp, but if the Oilers were to let any of those RHD leave without replacing them and Bouchard stumbles next season, that would put them in a precarious position, no?
But as I said before, it will depend on price points…
Bob Murray (Anaheim Ducks): On the Ryan Getzlaf trade talks at the deadline,
- “Getzy and I had numerous discussions about his future, and to his credit, most of the discussions were about the future of this organization,”
- “Look, if you think there’s something there that will help us tremendously going forward, he would have gone somewhere, he would have done it. We narrowed it down and talked, it just wasn’t there.”
Sources: nhlltradetalk.com, nhlrumors.com, Twitter
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