Unlikely the Oilers Make A Trade Before February
Listening to #Oilers GM Ken Holland on with @Bob_Stauffer today, certainly sounds as if he’s planning to stick with this roster for a couple more months. Perhaps a significant add then, if the club is still in the picture that they are enjoying today.
— Kurt Leavins (@KurtLeavins) November 25, 2019
BLH’s Thoughts: It makes sense. Leave the dance with the one that brought you. If Jesse Puljujarvi manages to find himself traded in the next few days, I’ll be shocked. Holland also said in that interview that about a month before the trade deadline the chatter starts to pick up. So we, as Oilers fans, should be prepared to wait another couple of months before really speculating on the roster.
Bill Peters Hitting the Unemployment Line Shortly?
“Not very surprising the things we’re hearing about Babcock. Apple doesn’t fall far from the Tree, same sort of deal with his protege in YYC. Dropped the N bomb several times towards me in the dressing room in my rookie year because he didn’t like my choice of music. First one to…” (source)
NHL looking into Akim Aliu’s allegations of racist comments made by CGY head coach Bill Peters in 2009-10: https://t.co/dAjptfspKR
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) November 26, 2019
BLH’s Thoughts: #Yikes. I’ve not a lot to say on this one other than, if Don Cherry got fired for what he said, there’s no way that Bill Peters survives this. That said, he should be given an opportunity to defend himself and a complete and thorough investigation must be completed. Although, I don’t think it’s going to take very long.
Two teammates from Rockford backing Aliu's allegations regarding Bill Peters. https://t.co/ztFFI5UpAJ
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) November 26, 2019
Given what’s come out between Mike Babcock and Mitch Marner, it seems like it’s open season on coaches. Players are coming out of the woodwork and if you’re a coach at ANY level, you’d best hope you didn’t slip up at ANY point in your time as bench boss.
After touching base with various stakeholders in this ugly situation, I can no longer see any scenario in which Bill Peters remains coach of the Flames.
— Eric Francis (@EricFrancis) November 26, 2019
Will the Rangers Deal Chris Kreider?
Last season, the New York Rangers dealt star forwards Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello for what amounted to Brendan Lemieux, Jacob Trouba, Matthew Robertson, and a third-round pick in the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft. This year they will find themselves in a similar situation with Chris Kreider as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
The Rangers assistant captain is not worried though,
“There is nothing different in my approach this year,” said Kreider. “I have the same commitment and same investment in this team as I did last year. Wearing a letter as an alternate captain, I wouldn’t have accepted that if I didn’t have that same investment in this group. I have a responsibility here. There’s nothing different.” (source)
BLH’s Thoughts: As an Oiler fan, I’d be in favor of a Chris Kreider rental and potential signing before July 1st. He’s fast, powerful, drives to the net, and he scores goals (albeit sporadically). It all really comes down to price, right? Price to acquire and price to sign. Speculation is that he’ll be looking fo $6M per year or more on a long-term deal and at 29 years of age, it’s safe to assume that his best days are behind him. That’s not to say he doesn’t have a few good years left, but anything longer than a three or four year deal could come back to bite whoever signs him to a big ticket with a distant expiry date.
Blues/Leafs Trade Bubbling Up?
Chris Johnston of Sportsnet recently commented on an appearance from St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong and his VP of Hockey Ops Dave Taylor at a Toronto Maple Leafs game.
Doug Armstrong is here of the St. Lous Blues and he is also here with his VP of Hockey Operations, Dave Taylor. Whenever you see two senior executives from one team, it raises the eyebrows.
This is the second time Armstrong has watched the Leafs this season. They’ve had a number of senior staffers around Toronto games this year. That is something to watch as we get closer to the trade season. (source)
BLH’s Thoughts: I feel like any moves that were being inked out might’ve been put on hold after the Leafs relieved Mike Babcock of his duties. Most of the speculation before that was that Toronto lacked defenders with some sandpaper to their game or they had too many skilled players on their roster. I reckon now that Kyle Dubas has a coach who’s on the same page as him, they’ll let this play out for a while and see where things take them.
Quick Hits
- Boston – Should Matt Grzelcyk continue to perform well, the Bruins could consider moving Krug in-season if they could get a big return for him?
- Nashville – How long until the Predators make a change behind the bench?
- Arizona – Might the Coyotes make a deal soon to solidify its playoff chances?
- Buffalo – 2019 first overall pick Rasmus Dahlin is out with a concussion.
- Colorado – Rantanen to return against the Oilers?
