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!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

• Youtube: Beer League Heroes Channel
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• Facebook: Beer League Heroes

The Athletic

Will Ken Holland make an early-season trade to bolster the Oilers? What history tells us

• Holland has a modus operandi that can be used to track possible targets. He trades for players he’s had on teams previously, he trades for players who have been wildly successful and he has no fear of aging players (unless the Smith setback has scared him straight, which is unlikely).
• Over his long career as an NHL general manager, Ken Holland has rarely made a trade in the early portion of the season. A typical summer would involve two or three free-agent signings, possibly a trade and then a long period of evaluation beginning in training camp and running into the second half of the season.
• The Oilers’ general manager is often active at the deadline, and if there’s an area of need and the club is in contention, he is one of the more aggressive GMs in the game.
• In all of his career as general manager, one trade by Holland made in the first three months of the season had a massive impact on a championship.
  • On December 28, 2000, Detroit acquired centre Igor Larionov from the Florida Panthers for defenceman Yan Golubovsky.
  • Larionov helped Detroit win the 2002 Stanley Cup. It is the only true trade of its type during Holland’s time as an NHL general manager.

BLH’s Thoughts: I feel like I’ve mentioned this in the past couple of weeks or so, but as usual, Lowetide works his magic and makes it a much more compelling read with historic Oilers references and the lot! 

Anyway, the point is, Holland doesn’t make early season trades. His mission statement is one word, “PATIENCE” and that’s it. He’s Jim Rutherford’s arch nemesis if you will.

So unless something pops up, he’ll continue to work the phones and get the lay of the land but we’re still some time from American Thanksgiving and given how much of a traditionalist he seems to be, I wouldn’t expect anything to happen near any of the holidays. In fact, I’m not expecting any moves until closer to March. 

Lowetide.ca

• John Tortorella suggesting Connor McDavid change his style tells you more about the people running this game than one trillion words could ever do. Shame on hockey men for being so blind to the beautiful game’s true appeal: mind-blowing skill at 100 miles an hour.
• The NHL is run by old people, who believe the league’s success comes from big hits, lucky bounces, fighting and bulls on skates. There’s no room for speed, skill or strategy. The real enemy of hockey is coaching, because creative offensive strategy is difficult and brings headaches.

BLH’s Thoughts: Coaches coach to win, not to create entertaining hockey because it’s the clubs that pay their salaries and the owners want success on the ice as it translates to a significant increase in their social currency. 

So in 20 years when the old dogs have been taken out back and shot, their replacements will come and the M.O. will remain the same, win or be fired, and in order to win; the coaches will do their best to limit the other team’s scoring/scoring chances and as a result, creativity will be stifled that much more. 

You see, it’s impossible to re-create the old Russian squads of the 70s and 80s, who, in my opinion, were the most entertaining teams to watch because of how they moved the puck so gracefully. It’ll be impossible, because a club cannot create an academy where the players are forced to comply with the coach like the Russians were with Tarasov and Tikhonov back in the day. 

What’ll happen is we’ll get fantastic individual talents like McDavid, Makar, Dahlin, Draisaitl, but who’ll need to find a way to make their abilities shine in an NHL coach’s system.

I mean, it’s worked with Connor and Leon so far and Makar to and extent, but I remember watching Rasmus Dahlin in his draft year and he was like what I would imagine Bobby Orr was like. It’s just sad that these highly gifted offensive defensemen can’t come into the NHL and be able to be themselves, play their game. 

Or maybe I’m just being selfish because I grew up in a time where we had Paul Coffey, Brian Leetch, Phil Housley, etc. Blue liners who got the green light to take the puck end-to-end and entertain the crowd to no end. In that light, I agree with LT, but in reality, I don’t see a time where coaching changes to the point to where hockey is back to where it was in the 70s or 80s, fun to watch. 

NHLRumors.com

Free Agent Goaltenders That Could Be On The Move

Marc-Andre Fleury — Chicago Blackhawks – The Chicago Blackhawks’ goaltender has been rumored to be moved throughout the early portion of this season. Fleury has a goals-against-average above 4 in the early going.

Mikko Koskinen — Edmonton Oilers – Now with his latest hot start, Koskinen is seemingly off the market. Edmonton runs hot and cold with the goalie that has a faulty, high-glove side. The Oilers could sell high on him before the deadline.

Braden Holtby — Dallas Stars – An excellent start for Holtby combined with a dismal one for Dallas raises the chances of trade. He may wind up on a contender just after the Olympic break at this rate.

Jaroslav Halak — Vancouver Canucksb – Simply, Jaroslav Halak would make excellent insurance for a contending team. Halak is cheap when it comes to the cap as well.

Joonas Korpisalo — Columbus Blue Jackets – For as good as Korpisalo has been, he has become expendable on Columbus. The goaltender will have to put up some better numbers to improve his trade value — which is currently limited.

Craig Anderson — Buffalo Sabres – No one knows how long Craig Anderson can keep playing like this but he got off to a great start for the Buffalo Sabres. The four wins alone were shocking enough but the .921 save percentage turned a lot of heads.

Vitek Vanecek — Washington Capitals – It does not seem likely Vitek Vanecek (restricted free agent) will get moved. However, one never knows with goaltending in Washington. The Capitals’ management does seem to favor Ilya Samsonov so a move would not be a total surprise.

Thomas Greiss — Detroit Red Wings – Thomas Greiss could be an interesting trade for the Detroit Red Wings. It seems inevitable that he will get moved. This is more of a question of when and not if. 

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!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

• Youtube: Beer League Heroes Channel
• Twitter: @beerleagueheroe
• Instagram: @beerleagueheroes
• Facebook: Beer League Heroes

Oilersnation

Let’s Talk About Edmonton’s Third Line

• Both Foegele and Kassian produced three points each from games one through four, while Ryan also chipped in with a goal. As a line, the trio had a 67% goal share, and a 74% expected goal share.
• …since the first four games, the trio’s performance has rapidly declined.
• Foegele and Kassian have just one 5v5 point each since, while Ryan has none. Additionally, the line has been outscored 1-5, and scoring chances have been 14-21 in favor of the opposition. The duo of Ryan and Foegele in general have been outscored 3-9, as both of them rank last on Edmonton in goal differential. 
• Is Derek Ryan a 3C: A third-line center isn’t expected to be consistently matched up against top lines every game, but I feel that a jump for an aging player from an exceedingly sheltered fourth-line center to a third-line center on a different team is larger than many think.
  • Regarding his results for this season alone, Ryan’s play-driving metrics have been fairly average. Similar to the rest of the third line, his results have also gradually worsened in his most recent games.
• How Good Has Foegele Been?: One area of the game Foegele has historically struggled in is finishing. Relative to the chances he puts on the net, he’s always finished less than expected. This has persisted this year so far. 
  • no Oilers forward has been on-ice for scoring chances against at a higher rate than Foegele.
  • I feel that he’s simply had a rough stretch of games, and perhaps a more defensively-sound linemate on the third line could benefit him.
• Who Should be the Other Winger on the 3rd Line?
  • I feel that Kassian would be better suited for a fourth-line role.
  • Sceviour could at least assist the third line from a defensive standpoint.
  • Brendan Perlini hasn’t played particularly well following a very strong pre-season… he should remain on the fourth line…
• …keeping McLeod at 3C alongside Foegele and Benson/Sceviour would be the most preferable choice for the third line as of now, and hopefully, their 5v5 struggles don’t persist.

BLH’s Thoughts: I’ll tell ya what, I did not mind the trio of Foegele, McLeod and Sceviour. Even Perlini, McLeod, and Sceviour was a nice line against Buffalo. Hell, just throwing any combination of those four skaters out seemed to work OK for Coach Tippett. 

Derek Ryan has been on my mind for a good week now and I really hope that McLeod can keep up this current form because in my opinion, Ryan is better off on the 4th line right now. He needs a break from what Tippett has been handing him so far with regards to TOI and quality of competition. Although, with that said, when the Oilers face the Blues, St. Louis’ 4th line features some very big (slow) bodies in Klim Kostin, Dakota Joshua, and former Oilers James Neal. 

Until it happens, I’ll keep saying it, Ken Holland should be on the lookout for an upgrade in his bottom-six before his team’s record goes from 10-3-0 to 10-8-0. Look at the Pacific Division standing, the bloody Anaheim Ducks are 2nd right now with 19 points and then tied with 18 points are Calgary, Vegas, and LA… The Oilers have 20 points… 

Lowetide.ca

• The Oilers have lost two of three on the trip, and that’s not ideal. The final home game against the Rangers had some bad habits and the losing on the road followed.
• We haven’t seen the return of good habits, so the inconsistency is likely to continue.
• I have Edmonton with half of their expected points for the month already in the bank, so there’s a little room here for some wobble.
• I see the Chicago, Dallas and Arizona games as prime opportunities for victories in the coming two weeks.
• I don’t see St. Louis or Winnipeg on the road as being great chances for a struggling team, but a tighter defensive effort at five on five would be welcome.
• Philip Broberg had two more assists for the Condors last night, he has nine assists in 11 games so far this season. Broberg is fantastic in the AHL at this moment. No idea about recall.

BLH’s Thoughts: Doesn’t it make you curious why this team has started the year so inconsistently? This is not an inexperienced roster anymore and there are some very good veteran hockey players on the team to go with a handful of ELITE talents. We shouldn’t be talking about inconsistency at this point, so I want to know why we are.

Sounds like Broberg is having himself a really good time in Bakersfield right now, but it must be said and I have said it so many times in the past, early in a young player’s career when they’re on, they’re f*cking flying and when they’re off, they’re shit and that’s okay, it’s just part of the process and we need to wait for those peaks and valleys to flatten out a bit or else we risk throwing him to the lions and his eventual devourment. 

So don’t get too excited about Broberg having himself a good stretch of games and demanding Holland bring him up. Our young Klefbom 2.0 has to show us that he can do this over the course of the season or at least 30-40 games… In the meantime, enjoy the show because this young man is electrifying! 

The Daily Goal Horn

• For the Seattle Kraken, who are sitting dead last in the Pacific Division at 4-9-1 (9 pts) trading their captain and pending UFA Mark Giordano could be coming sooner rather than later.
  • If the Kraken wait to trade Giordano at the NHL Trade Deadline they could increase their return with more teams being able to bid due to less cap issues. However, if another team struggling on defense is willing to pony up a decent return, why not pull the trigger and start working on the future now?
• The Anaheim Ducks and the Chicago Blackhawks have two things in common right now. Both teams have no GM in place and both are willing to wait until the offseason to hire one.
  • Rumblings are teams may want to see if Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas could be available if Toronto decides to make changes this summer.

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!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

• Youtube: Beer League Heroes Channel
• Twitter: @beerleagueheroe
• Instagram: @beerleagueheroes
• Facebook: Beer League Heroes

Cult of Hockey

Player grades: Too little too late as Oilers leave two points behind in Buffalo

• #2 Duncan Keith, 3. Too late recognizing the danger on Ceci’s turnover on the first Buffalo goal. Made a terrible turnover of his own on the 2-2, then was slow to recover as the scoring thrust came back down his side of the ice. Got turnstiled on a couple of other occasions.
• #5 Cody Ceci, 3. Good as he was on Thursday, he was that poor on Friday… 0 shots, in fact the Oilers as a team mustered just 2 in his 12+ minutes at evens.
• #25 Darnell Nurse, 4. Played his customary 24+ minutes with 7 shot attempts, 3 of them on goal.
• #13 Jesse Puljujarvi, 6. Earned the primary assist on Draisaitl’s first goal with a fine one-touch pass.
• #22 Tyson Barrie, 6. The best of a so-so lot of blueliners, Barrie pushed the play north (a team best 14-6 shot share at 5v5) and had his moments on the powerplay as well.
• #29 Leon Draisaitl, 7. The best of the Oilers once again, scoring both Edmonton goals on consecutive second-period powerplays to give the club a short-lived 2-1 lead…16/23=70% on the dot… Oilers dominated possession to the tune of 22-9 shot attempts and 13-6 shots on goal during his 15½ minutes of 5v5 play. Overall he led the team with a massive 25:20, drawing 2 penalties in the process.
• #71 Ryan McLeod, 6. Played the 3C role on this night with 10:33 at even strength, over 4 minutes more than Ryan… Moved the puck effectively at times, beat it square at other times.
• #74 Stuart Skinner, 4. His second start on the road trip, and the second time his team responded with an iffy effort…  23 shots, 20 saves, .870 save percentage.
• #75 Evan Bouchard, 4. A few decent breakout passes and a couple of sharp keep-ins, but far from his offensive best. 0 shots on net.
• #97 Connor McDavid, 6. Was out of synch with his mates at times, sending more than one pass between teammates and right on out of the offensive zone.

BLH’s Thoughts: The sloppy play that Edmonton’s PP and top-six was covering up for earlier in the year as the club started the year in Edmonton is beginning to bite them in the ass against clubs who are willing to work harder. There’s no way in Frank’s Fiery Hell that this Buffalo Sabres roster should be beating the Oilers, regardless of if it was the hind end of a back-to-back. 

Oilersnation

The Day After: It’s gut check time for the Edmonton Oilers

• Easy to blame the change of flow in the game on the team slowing down and looking sloppy, but the truth of the matter is the Sabres were just playing better hockey.
• Cody Ceci and Duncan Keith each coughed up pucks on the Sabres’ first and second goals, and on the third, Darnell Nurse tried to carry the puck deep into the offensive zone before turning it over.
• On each goal the Sabres scored, they had a player slip behind the Oilers’ last line of defence and get breakaway chances.
• Some concerning trends are starting to emerge for the Oilers and it’s nothing those who follow the team are foreign to.
  • Edmonton’s struggling at five-on-five. In the last seven days, the Oilers have played four games and given up 13 5×5 goals — the most in the league in that time.
•  Edmonton’s 30 5×5 goals against are tied for the fourth-worst number in the league with the Vegas Golden Knights. The teams who have given up more? Seattle, Arizona and Chicago.

BLH’s Thoughts: I don’t think the Sabres were playing a better brand of hockey than the Oilers, but fundamentally, they were willing to go to the dirty areas and get to work a bit more than Edmonton. It didn’t help that one of the Oilers’ more reliable pairings had a shit night… 

Now we’re back to that whole question regarding whether or not this team is only capable of playing to their opponents level. Losses to Detroit and Buffalo on this road trip weren’t really in my mind when I looked at the schedule… 

Now, St. Louis on paper look very formidable (+11 goal differential) but they’re on a 2-game skid at the moment and like Boston, they’re a 4-line team but their defense is suspect and the goaltending has struggled this past week. 

Can Edmonton get back to basics and play some sound hockey tonight or will they continue to try and outscore their mistakes? We’re set to find out… 

Spector’s Hockey

TSN: Chris Johnston reports goaltender Tuukka Rask has been working out at the Boston Bruins training facility.

THE ATHLETIC: Pierre LeBrun speculated about how much it’ll cost the Toronto Maple Leafs to sign Jack Campbell to a contract extension… LeBrun suggested the annual average value could be somewhere between $4 million and $5 million on a four-to-five year deal if he has another solid season.

LeBrun also reported contract talks between the Nashville Predators and Filip Forsberg are expected to start soon… LeBrun speculates the Forsberg camp could seek an eight-year extension and wondered if either side will use the eight-year, $56 million extension signed by Gabriel Landeskog this summer with the Colorado Avalanche as a comparable.

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!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

• Youtube: Beer League Heroes Channel
• Twitter: @beerleagueheroe
• Instagram: @beerleagueheroes
• Facebook: Beer League Heroes

Cult of Hockey

Bright minds of NHL agree: Edmonton Oilers are legit this year but also expect a trade or two

“… I’m still expecting a move or two from Edmonton before they get done with the trade deadline this year. And if they do that, then yes they are 100 per cent legit. Even if they don’t, I still think they’re a Top 8 team in the NHL and if you’re a Top 8 team in the NHL you have a chance to do something.” – Brian Lawton on Oilers Now (11/10/2021)

• Derek Ryan started out well at third-line centre, but has dropped off. If I were to project Edmonton’s trading needs for a playoff run, I might prioritize bringing in another centre over bringing in another goalie…
• Slater Koekkoek and Kris Russell have both had their struggles as the third-pairing left shot d-man. That’s another area where I expect the Oilers will make a deal, bringing in a veteran d-man at the deadline, just as Oilers GM Ken Holland has done two years running, acquiring Mike Green in 2020 and Dmitry Kulikov in 2021.
• I don’t really see any player in the Bake that Edmonton will be counting on in an NHL playoff run. A trade or two it will be then, with Holland maybe moving out a defensive prospect to bring in the right player.

BLH’s Thoughts: I agree with Staples heere in that Edmonton’s bottom six should be a point of improvement at the deadline. Ryan Getzlaf is the guy I’d target personally but he’s having himself a fantastic year so far and I don’t know here the Ducks are going to land come trade deadline time…

A dream trade target would be Philly’s Claude Giroux. He’ll be a UFA next summer but he’s got himself some trade protection. However, he’s always been a glorious playoff performer and considering how much intensity this team is still lacking, he’d be a really good addition from that standpoint alone. 

I often wonder about Edmonton re-acquiring David Perron. He’s annoying, draws penalties and scores goals… What more would you like alongside Leon Draisaitl?

I understand that Holland is on the hunt for a goalie (*Cough* Braden Holtby *Cough*), but what good is a goalie if the team in front of him is lacking?

Oilersnation

Weekly Rumours – Potential Oilers Targets?

• Insider Chris Johnston said this week that one of the things the Oilers will look at is a goaltender. He added that Marc-Andre Fleury is on their radar.
• Fleury carries a cap hit of $7 million so unless Chicago was willing to retain or take back Mikko Koskinen, then a deal really couldn’t work.
• Chris Johnston also said that he could see the Oilers adding a defenseman… Nick Leddy would be the best target of the bunch for the Oilers but I could also see Ken Holland being interested in Marc Staal and Danny Dekeyser.

BLH’s Thoughts: Stauffer’s been talking about Red Wings targets for the last week or so. So I wonder why Yaremchuk could see Holland being interested in those players?

DeKeyser makes too much, but Staal’s $2.5M is right in Holland’s wheelhouse. Leddy looks to have lost a step and he wasn’t all that impressive the other night when Edmonton was in Detroit. 

Staal checks off a lot of boxes, though… 

What happens if Smith can’t go and needs to be put on LTIR? How do you think that would change Holland’s plans?

We’re in for a very interesting bout of speculation until about a month before the deadline I reckon. If Edmonton keeps on winning, the pressure to make a trade will become less and less and it might give the Oilers a bit more leverage come trade deadline day. 

NHLRumors.com

• NHL Watcher: Mike Chambers (Denver Post) on Sportsnet’s The Jeff Marek Show on Colorado Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard: “I believe Sam Girard was the big piece in the efforts to get Jack Eichel here and I still think Girard is going to get traded, I think the Avs want a forward for him and they want to lose his $5M long term cap hit.”
• Lisa Dillman of The Athletic: (mailbag) Thought the Kings would have been more aggressive on the Jack Eichel trade front. It may have taken Alex Iafallo (Alex Tuch comparable), Brandt Clarke (Peyton Krebs comparable), a first-round pick, and a second or third. To it would have been worth it but can see why management went conservative.
  • If the Calgary Flames don’t re-sign Johnny Gaudreau, and he doesn’t sign closer to his home (Devils or Flyers), he would look good in a Kings jersey. Pending UFA Filip Forsberg would be interesting but he has an injury history. The Kings are deep down the middle but if they were able to sign Tomas Hertl maybe they could move him to the wing.
• Kevin Kurz of The Athletic: (mailbag) Think it’s 50-50 that Tomas Hertl signs a contract extension with the San Jose Sharks.
  • Don’t see former Shark Joe Pavelski signing with the Sharks this offseason, even if the Sharks are able to shed Kane’s contract. He’ll be looking to sign with a contender as his career nears an end.

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!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

• Youtube: Beer League Heroes Channel
• Twitter: @beerleagueheroe
• Instagram: @beerleagueheroes
• Facebook: Beer League Heroes

The Score

Tortorella: McDavid must change his game to win Stanley Cup

• John Tortorella believes Connor McDavid will have to alter his game come playoff time if he’s to lead the red-hot Edmonton Oilers to the promised land.

“I do think he has to change his game a bit. Not turn into a checker, obviously,” Tortorella said, per ESPN. “He’s talked about culture, he’s talked about standards, he’s talked about winning. You’re not just going to fill the net during the playoffs and outscore teams. You have to play on the other side of the puck. You have to have that business-type attitude of, ‘Nothing’s going to bother me, no matter how you’re going to check me.’

BLH’s Thoughts: Hmmm. Reckon Sportsnet’s Mark Spector will be all over this one with Bob Stauffer next week on Oilers Now?

Tortorella isn’t wrong, but before McDavid can take that step in his game, the rest of the roster has to show that it’s capable of handling itself with regards to its offensive production. 

Then again, were Vincent Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis two-way geniuses when they won the Cup with Tortorella in 2004? How about when Mario Lemieux was winning Cups in ’91 and ’92? Did 66 transform his game to make those championships happen? 

I dunno… Somebody has to score the goals… 

Lowetide.ca

• Last night was a big night for Philip Broberg, who had the look of a dynamic, complete defenseman patrolling the blue for Bakersfield. He stood up at the blue line, punished advancing forwards, skated miles, passed the puck with aplomb, scored a point, and was seemingly one step ahead of any Heat all night long. 
• Broberg was so impressive he overshadowed solid performances from Dmitri Samorukov and Markus Niemelainen. Through 10 games, Broberg is separating from the pack, Mike Kesselring is gaining traction and William Lagesson is flagging badly. 
• I don’t think the Oilers should recall Broberg, he is starting to dominate the AHL (Stockton is a fantastic team and he cut through them like a hot knife through butter) but you want to see that for 30 games before elevating. I am going to change my view in this way: If Broberg plays like he did last night through Christmas, they should call him to Edmonton. He was that good. 

BLH’s Thoughts: Good for Phil! That hit in the clip above was really something. The Stockton player who decided he was going to skate right past Broberg, the balls on that guy to try something like that… Woof! 

For me, even if Broberg is wrecking the AHL by game 30, he’s staying down until after the NHL trade deadline because if he can come up to the NHL and continue his strong play, he’s as good as a trade acquisition as they say…

The Daily Goal Horn

NHL Trade Bait Tracker