Category Archives: NHL

Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

“There have been a lot of really good teams on paper, but they don’t turn out to be good.” – Oilers Head Coach on if his Team is Ready to Contend

September 10, 2021 Beer League Hero

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!

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Sportsnet (Spector)

Q&A: Oilers’ Tippett on Keith, Hyman, turning hard lessons into playoff wins

Are you ready to turn playoff lessons into playoff wins?

We’ve taken some steps forward in the regular season, but it hasn’t translated into playoff success. That’s something that we have to own.

Does it concern you how the game changes come playoff time?

We have a saying we use all the time: Every play counts… So the more adept you are at dealing with the ‘Every play counts,’ the better percentage your chances are of winning (in the playoffs).

Adding Hyman, Foegele and Ryan, how much better are you up front?

The one thing that’s different between the regular season and a playoff series is, you have to be able to score grinding goals where you create off the forecheck… And those guys I just mentioned, they’re all players who will enhance our group in that part of the game.

The Oilers have looked ready before, and it turned out they weren’t. Are they ready now?

There have been a lot of really good teams on paper, but they don’t turn out to be good. It’s our responsibility as players and coaches to maximize what we have, and be a good team.

BLH’s Thoughts: One thing that bugs me about Tippett, he’s non-committal with his answers. He does the non-answer answer well and it’s boring as hell. That said, if you don’t have the answer to the question or you do and don’t want to give it, there’s nothing better than a non-answer answer which, in this case, has me wondering if Tippett is as high on his club as the guys covering it.

Now, as the reader, you’re only getting portions of his quotes here, but they’re the best parts in my opinion. So, you can head over to Sportsnet and read the full interview if you’d like but I don’t feel like you’ll glean any more there than you will here.

Oilersnation (Laing)

Edmonton Oilers announce training camp details

The club announced Thursday that its main training camp will kick off on Sept. 22, with the rookie camp kicking off on the 15th of September.
Here’s the full list of players:

Goaltenders – 3

Ilya Konovalov
Olivier Rodrigue
Ethan Kruger

Defencemen – 9

Phillip Kemp
Dmitri Samorukov
Simon Kubicek
Markus Niemelainen
Filip Berglund
Michael Kesselring
Philip Broberg
Max Wanner
Yanni Kaldis

Forwards – 16

Dylan Holloway
Matvei Petrov
Dino Kambeitz
Henry Rybinski
Drew Englot
Brady Burns
Josh Prokop
Tim Soderlund
Devin Brosseau
Xavier Bourgault
James Hamblin
Ostap Safin
Jake Chiasson
Raphael Lavoie
Tyler Tullio
Kirill Maksimov

BLH’s Thoughts: Naturally you’re going to want to get a glimpse of the big names on this list like Lavoie, Bourgault, Holloway, Samorukov, and Broberg, but I encourage you to watch out for the Russian goalie Konovalov. This guy’s got some real talent and it wouldn’t shock me at all if he absolutely dominated this rookie camp and put himself in the competition for the backup job in Edmonton.

Other players I’ll be curious about are winger Matvei Petrov, skilled forward Brady Burns, defencemen Phil Kemp and Michael Kesselring, as well as the hulking 6’5″ Ostap Safin.

Who are you excited to see from that roster?

Spector’s Hockey

BALLY SPORTS MIDWEST’s Andy Strickland hosted St. Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube on his “Cam and Strick” podcast on Sept. 7. Asked about Vladimir Tarasenko’s trade request, Berube doesn’t expect the 29-year-old winger to be moved.

Strickland followed up on Twitter the next day, suggesting a third team might have to get involved if Tarasenko gets traded. “There’s at least one team willing to retain a portion of Tarasenko’s salary,” he said.

BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: Jimmy Murphy recently reported the Carolina Hurricanes may have put themselves into a bind for the next offseason because of their successful signing of Jesperi Kotkaniemi to an offer sheet.

Murphy cites an NHL executive suggesting the addition of Kotkaniemi could create difficulty for the Hurricanes to re-sign him and their other key free agents. Kotkaniemi and Martin Necas are restricted free agents while winger Nino Niederreiter and center Vincent Trocheck are unrestricted.

The new NHL franchise in Seattle already has their AHL affiliate worked out! Click the pick and grab a Karen shirt today!

Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

“Holland Must Find his Curtis Joseph!” Says One Oilers Pundit

September 9, 2021 Beer League Hero

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The Athletic (Mitchell)

Reasonable goal-differential expectations for the Oilers in 2021-22

After two seasons and a great deal of roster turnover, there are three things that are true: Goals against has been reduced, the penalty kill has taken on major importance (to the point of the roster sacrificing even-strength options) and the team has made the playoffs twice.
For two years running, the penalty kill has been splendid for the Oilers. That single-game state is giving the team an enormous advantage and doing much to drive results.
What having five PK men on the top three lines does is open up the fourth line for all manner of uses: bringing along young players, slotting in tough forwards on nights when that need is anticipated, housing skill players who are waiting for an opportunity on skill lines, etc.
Holland and Tippett moved out Bear and Jones for what can be described as more reliable veterans, but there will be plays Keith and Ceci can’t get to that the younger men could handle with speed and quickness.

BLH’s Thoughts: Am I the only one who thinks that Keith and Ceci might be faster and better skaters than Bear and Jones?

Edmonton’s new defence should be more dependable when the puck has been won, and it might play less on defence due to effective outlet passes and a deeper forward group in support.
The Oilers have real firepower now. The 2021-22 Edmonton team is championship quality offensively. Three lines who can outscore seemed a dream for many years, but the pieces are on the roster as the team gets ready for training camp.
The Oilers are not balanced, filled as they are with tremendous gifts and obvious flaws. Holland must find his Dwayne Roloson, his Curtis Joseph, in the months to come.

BLH’s Thoughts: What if he’s found his Roloson in Mike Smith? Now, if he can find a Curtis Joseph too, we’re in business baby!

I was thinking this morning that the Oilers are really two pieces away from becoming a Stanley Cup challenging team,

An elite third line center

A top-15 starting goalie

I’ve said it for years, to build a hockey team you must make sure the spine of the team is the strongest part. Meaning, the centers, the goalie, and the defense have to be the strengths of the club.

The Oilers are there with McDavid, Draisaitl, Nurse, Barrie, Keith, and Bouchard. They’ve got Dylan Holloway, Philip Broberg, and Dmitri Samorukov on their way, but as you know, with younger players come the peaks and valleys…

Could they throw Nuge on the third line and slide Holloway to the wing? Sure! That’d probably be a decent idea when Holloway makes his debut for the Oilers anyhow with Nuge’s two-way ability. I suppose all they’d be left to find is…

Oilersnation (Gregor)

Expectations for Oilers Goaltending

Can you name the goalies who posted a .920sv% or better in 2020 and again in 2021?
- The correct answer is no one.
In the past five seasons only six goalies have posted consecutive seasons with a .920sv% or higher.
- Sergei Bobrovsky and John Gibson in 2017 and 2018.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy in 2018 and 2019.
- Robin Lehner, Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin in 2019 and 2020.
- Khudobin and Bishop split time with Dallas both years
- Lehner played 2,600 minutes (44 games) with NYI in 2019 and 2056 minutes split between Chicago and Vegas in 2021.
…with a potential crackdown on crosschecks this season (I will believe it when I see it), then more power plays should result in more goals scored across the league.
Smith was seventh in SV% last year and in 2020 Mikko Koskinen finished tied for 13th at .917sv%. If both are playing well, then the games started will likely be close to a split. If we expect Smith’s Sv% to dip a bit, should we also expect Koskinen’s .899sv% to increase?
I don’t see the reason for major concerns regarding the Oilers goaltending. I could see Smith drop down to around .916 or so, but I could also see Koskinen improve from .899 to .910.
Barring injury, I think the Oilers goaltending is capable of posting a combined Sv% around .907-.910, and if they do that the Oilers should easily have home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

BLH’s Thoughts: I’d also like to add that I think a more experienced group of defensemen who are also better puck-movers will have a positive impact on Edmonton’s netminding. If Edmonton’s forwards can improve in their own end even more, that’ll also be a massive help to their goalies’ stats.

NHLTradeRumor.com

WHAT TRADES WILL THE LEAFS MAKE THIS SEASON?

Most NHL Analysts agreed the Leafs needed to add a little more grit to their lineup last season as they were perceived to be a pretty soft team. GM Kyle Dubas partially addressed this by adding forward Nick Ritchie.
Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com reports the Maple Leafs need more forward depth after the departures of Zach Hyman, Joe Thornton, Nick Foligno and Alex Galchenyuk.

EDMONTON OILERS INTERESTED IN TRADING FOR JOHN GIBSON?

Last season there were NHL trade rumors going around that John Gibson was unhappy in Anaheim and did not want to be part of a rebuild and wants to play for a contender.
Rumors are starting to float around if the Edmonton Oilers struggle with their goaltending this coming season, will they target John Gibson at some point?

WHAT WILL THE CANUCKS DO WITH QUINN HUGHES AND ELIAS PETTERSSON?

The Vancouver Canucks still have not signed Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson to new contracts. Pettersson can receive an offer sheet from another team but Hughes is not eligible to receive one as he has not played in enough games to qualify for one.
There have been NHL Rumours that Elias Pettersson could receive an offer sheet. Earlier in the offseason it was reported the Montreal Canadiens and Seattle Kraken could offer sheet Pettersson.

Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

The Edmonton Oilers’ Window for Pacific Division Domination is Quickly Closing

September 9, 2021 Beer League Hero

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Oil on Whyte (Lynch)

Five reasons this team is a playoff team

Better Top Six

The top six really only added one player this offseason, Zach Hyman, but that one move definitely improves the team a lot. Edmonton has two first-line units in Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman combined on one line and then Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl on another.

BLH’s Thoughts: Add in an ever-better Jesse Puljujarvi as well as a youngster like Kailer Yamamoto or Rafa Lavoie (in the coming years), and that top-six is set to get better and better.

To add to that, players like Zack Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will someday transition to the best third line in all of hockey and the likes of Dylan Holloway and perhaps Carter Savoie or Matvei Petrov will graduate to the top six.

Weak Division

The Edmonton Oilers division is not the strongest in the NHL. This season they will be in the Pacific that has opponents like the Seattle Kraken, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, and Anaheim Ducks. None of those four teams are expected to be very good, and the biggest threat in the division should be the Vegas Golden Knights.

BLH’s Thoughts: This division might be weak now but it will get very competitive in two or three years. The Oilers had best have their ideal lineup sorted by the time LA or Anaheim’s grade ‘A’ prospects have hit their stride.

The Defence Looks Deeper

Keeping Tyson Barrie gives the Oilers a top offensive defenseman that might be a liability in his own end at times, but honestly, he is not a bad defenseman and he put up a heck of a lot of points last season.
The second unit is also pretty good depending on how Duncan Keith performs. If he can show that he is not the aged veteran on his way out of the league and instead can be the same guy that won the Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup six years ago then this blueline has a major upgrade in their top four.
Cody Ceci is a reliable defenseman that still has a lot of hockey ahead of him and can be a good pairing with Keith.
The bottom unit that will have Evan Bouchard getting a big chance in the league definitely also will take a step forward this season.

BLH’s Thoughts: It’s a more experienced group, exactly what the club needed. Toss in the fact that there are no untradeable defensemen on this team and there will be opportunities available for the likes of Philip Broberg, Dmitri Samorukov, Phil Kemp, etc.

Improved Bottom Six – On Paper

The bottom six added Warren Foegele as their big addition this offseason. Honestly, that is a great move for the team. Edmonton’s bottom-six does look better on paper with Foegele, Kassian, McLeod, and Archibald ready to lead the charge.

BLH’s Thoughts: There’s talk that Dave Tippett may even slide Jesse Puljujarvi or Kailer Yamamoto down to the third line. That’d definitely increase the scoring ability of the bottom-six.

Connor McDavid Is Still Here

Any team with Connor McDavid is a contender for the Stanley Cup… Teams have found ways to shut him down and keep Edmonton off of the score sheet, but this season with the different additions to the lineup that just might not be possible.

BLH’s Thoughts: 100%

Lowetide.ca

HEAVEN

When a hockey team works really well, like the early 1970’s Bruins or 1980’s Oilers, there are so many parts that work in unison to drive success. It’s talent, experience, hard work, precision.
Edmonton’s top talents have it all figured out, they soar like majestic eagles. It’s the rest of the roster, the sixes and sevens and nines, who must come together and create something more than their individual talents imply.

BLH’s Thoughts: LT has what he believes to be the opening night roster sans the 4th line up on his site as well as who we might see at rookie camp next week. I suggest you click the link above and check those out.

I think one of the easiest things for the GM of a rebuilding team to do is acquire the stars. It’s simple, draft them and develop them. The hard part is finding the surrounding pieces that will facilitate the young stars’ development so that they do indeed become elite hockey players.

The Oilers are now on the right road with the decade of darkness firmly implanted behind them. The depth pieces might not be 100% right, but the players that Ken Holland has brought in are the right “kind” of players and by that I mean, guys who want to be in Edmonton, have high work rates, and are of exemplary character. The bad apples are gone and nobody is bigger than the club anymore.

That said, there will still be tinkering to be done. Every year contracts expire and trades are made, the job of bringing in the right players will be an ongoing one for Ken Holland, but the most exciting part of where the Oilers are in the process is that come trade deadline time, Edmonton should be in on some really good names.

NHLRumors.com

The top remaining unrestricted free agents

Luke Fox of Sportsnet: The latest notes on the top remaining unrestricted free agents.

1 Tuukka Rask – If/when his body is ready to play after offseason surgery, GM Don Sweeney left the door open for his return, and he’s not looking to break the bank on any deal.
2. Jason Demers – Played over 17 minutes a game last year.
3. Nikita Gusev – The 29-year old forward can play both sides. He should be getting some interest. If not, he could head back to the KHL.
4. Travis Zajac – The 36-year old can still give a bit of offense (20 points last season), kill penalties, and is good on the draw.
5. Sami Vatanen – The New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers are two teams that might have a bit of interest in the right-handed defenseman.
6. Zdeno Chara – Unsure if he’ll play this season. There was some speculation that the St. Louis Blues were interested but that report got shot down.
7. Ryan Donato – The San Jose Sharks didn’t qualify the 25-year old center after consecutive 20 point seasons. Should be a low-cost gamble for someone.
8. Alex Galchenyuk – The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t publicly closed the door on bringing him back after he showed some flashes beside John Tavares and William Nylander last season. The Montreal Canadiens are believed to have some level of interest.
9. Tyler Bozak – Will have to take a pay cut but can still kill penalties and win faceoffs.
10. Zach Parise – Still waiting for a deal with the Islanders to be announced.

Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors