Category Archives: Rumors

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

Draisaitl and RNH Struggling Massively at 5v5 This Month Is Killing Edmonton’s Chances

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, and The Daily Goal Horn 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!

GM18: Vegas @ Edmonton

Who to Keep an Eye for the Golden Knights
  • #9 Jack Eichel – Five goals in his last five and two assists on top of that! Jackie’s flying right now. He and Connor going head-to-head is much better than when Crosby and McDavid face each other I find and I’m expecting nothing less than a very entertaining battle tonight. 
  • #20 Chandler Stephenson – Don’t ask me where this guy came from but he’s got one goal and 7 assists in his last half dozen minus one. If I recall correctly, this guy has got a pair of rockets on his feet. He can really move. 
  • #19 Reilly Smith – Eight goals in his last ten games. This guy always burns Edmonton for at least one when he plays then I find. Don’t take that as fact though, it just feels like he’s always scoring against the Oilers. 
Who to Keep an Eye for the Oilers
  • #21 Klim Kostin – He’s still performing very well. He hit a post and demolished Drew Doughty the other night. I’ll be very interested to see how he meshes with Ryan McLeod (needs a point) and Jesse Puljujarvi (needs a goal in the worst way). Can the combination of speed, size, and physicality overpower Vegas?
  • #26 Mattias Janmark – One good game and he’s on McDavid’s wing. Well, I hope that he’s got the same legs tonight as he did vs. LA. 
  • #29 Leon Draisaitl – One 5v5 goal this month… Averaging a shot/game at 5v5… He needs to pick up the pace offensively toute suite. 

BLH’s Thoughts: The recipe for success tonight for the Oilers is to prevent zone entries, clog up the middle of the ice, and get shots and bodies on Vegas’ net. 

I’ve got a bone to pick though… 

On Friday, Bob Stauffer couldn’t say enough about how much Jesse Puljujarvi is struggling but the fact of the matter is, he’s hitting more than any active forward on this team, he’s shooting more at 5v5 this month than the likes of Leon Draisaitl and RNH, he’s disrupting more plays, he’s winning more battles on the boards. He’s not button hooking 10 feet into the other teams zone and losing the puck on a consistent basis like Draisaitl is. JP has drawn as many penalties this month as Leon and Nuge combined whilst only playing 5v5 and around 13 minutes a night. Jesse has three times as many takeaways as he does giveaways despite the Pulju-haters saying the puck dies on his stick all of the time. 

It’s true, of the three $3M men (JP, Yamo, Foegele), McLovin’ has the most goals and he appears to be doing more work but the fact of the matter is, Puljujarvi is clearly the best of the three (also in November he’s one of the team’s best possession and chance drivers) despite not scoring a goal. Head over to Natural Stat Trick and look at those publicly available numbers, it’s not even debatable. The Oilers are better with The Bison King on the ice than not, yet Jay Woodcroft in all of his wisdom refuses to play him more and demotes him to the third line. It’s a bold tactic but I sense a bit of panic settling in amongst the Oilers coaching staff. 

Leon Draisaitl is averaging ONE fucking shot on goal at even strength this month! He’s a god damned 50 goal scorer! What the hell is he doing out there for $8M a year if he’s not shooting.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has ZERO bloody assists at 5v5 ON THE SEASON! You want to talk about how the offense is dying with the $3M men but Nuge is out there eating shit at even strength despite getting close to ALL of his ice time with Draisaitl and McDavid?!!! C’mon man!

And this is what pierces my nuts about Edmonton media. They know what’s going on but it’s a game for them. They can read the stat sheets about who’s doing what and when and how often. Yet, they choose to go after the easy targets every single time. 

Here’s the thing, there needs to be more attention paid to disallowing zone entries, getting back to support the dmen, and forcing pucks and men on the other team’s net.

This team doesn’t need a “short-term” fix in the bottom six to give the club some more truculence. If they’re going to upgrade that portion of the roster, go out and get a long-term fix like Garnet Hathaway. Forget this Zack MacEwen bullshit. You want a guy who’ll play 6 minutes a night that’ll smash faces? Ryan Reaves is on the outs in NY but I’d argue the game has passed him by. 

This team needs to trade for one or two top-four defensemen. Simple as that. Proper ones too. Not players who they think “could” play there. I’m talking about blueliners like John Klingberg, Scott Mayfield, Joel Edmundson, maybe Erik Karlsson, I think they’re looking at Gavrikov in Columbus. 

The Oilers could also use some shit disturbers. I think Tyler Benson could be one. Brendan Lemieux is definitely one but I am curious if Ken Holland is talking to Montreal about Josh Anderson. His name is coming up again. He’s basically and Evander Kane-type but on the other wing. 

Look, this month can’t end fast enough. I think tonight’s game will be very competitive, however, if the local media in Edmonton is going to cherry pick names to blame for this micro-slump and completely ignore others, I’ll be there to correct that injustice.

Rant over… This version at least. 

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

Edmonton Oilers Trade Talk: Tarasenko, Soucy, Chychrun, Kings/Oilers Preview, and More!!!

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, and The Daily Goal Horn 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!

The Athletic

Lowetide: Why the Oilers need to trade for an established defenceman
  • “The key for this team and this season lies in correcting a problem that has existed since it became known Oscar Klefbom’s playing career was over. The Oilers have been asking too much from the top end of the defence and relying on fringe help to complete the defensive group.”
  • “At five-on-five, Nurse averages 18:34 per game and his goal share is 42 percent.”
  • “Nurse-Ceci have struggled together this season, but only when Campbell is in goal. Nurse-Campbell is 7-14 goals (33 percent). Ceci’s time with Campbell is less severe (5-9, 36 percent) but the struggles of the pairing are tied directly to Campbell’s play.”
  • “In order for the Oilers to truly ice a championship-level team, the third pair needs to be Kulak and Barrie or Kulak and Bouchard.”
  • “Assuming the team is looking for a left-handed defenceman, the play should be to aim as high as possible on the depth chart. Adding a veteran replacement for the rookies and Murray on the third pair doesn’t move the needle.”
  • “Carson Soucy would be a quality acquisition, but his team (Kraken) is ahead of the Oilers in the standings.”
  • “Chychrun’s availability and price tag make him a less likely pickup, but if he plays well and stays healthy with the Coyotes the outlook may change.”
  • “In order to make a trade for Soucy or Chychrun, the organization must be willing to part with the 2023 or 2024 first-round selection, and top-end talent like Dylan Holloway, Xavier Bourgault or Broberg.”
  • “A winning streak during November would give Edmonton some breathing room but the emergence of the Kraken and Kings (plus Golden Knights) might put pressure on management to make a move.”

BLH’s Thoughts: I’ve. Been. Saying. This. Since. Pre-season… FFS! But if it costs a first rounder or a high-end prospect to get Carson Soucy, that’s a hard pass. F*ck that noise. 

I’m going to keep shouting out Montreal’s Joel Edmundson but I’m curious about Edmonton’s appetite to trade Evan Bouchard if it means the defense really improves considering Broberg can play both sides and Mikey Kesselring is really getting shit done down in Bako. 

Not related to a Bouchard trade, but does Connor Murphy move the needle for you? I can’t speak to his actual defensive effectiveness. I feel like he’s such a prick to play against every time his team faces the Oilers and I would like a bit of that on Edmonton’s blueline. 

Also unrelated, the team lacks an identity beyond the 2nd line. The third and fourth lines are a mish mash of players that are 5th liners, they’ve got one top pairing defender, a 2nd pairing defender and four 3rd pairing blueliners. Amongst those skaters, no hard-nosed grinders, no highly skilled playmakers, no snipers, no defensive specialists, no scrappers or yappers, just a bunch of vanilla unspecialized hockey players. Is this team turning into that same old easy to play against club when their top two lines are on the bench? 

It’s become so bad that Bob Stauffer is talking about Edmonton needing to acquire the likes of Sam Lafferty (CHI) and Zack MacEwen (PHI) as they are types that will move the needle. 

Has this club swung so hard the other way in their team build that they’re completely unbalanced with Evander Kane out? 

GM17 Kings @ Oilers

Who to Keep an Eye on For Los Angeles
  • #22 Kevin Fiala – Three goals and two assists in his last five games for T-Mac’s Kings. LA’s premier acquisition this past off-season is leading the team in scoring but for some reason he’s lining up on the 3rd line with Rasmus Kupari and Carl Grundstrom. It’s a dangerous line nevertheless and I’ve got a feeling they might give Edmonton’s defense some challenges. 
  • #34 Arthur Kaliyev – From LA’s 4th line, Kaliyev has 9 points in his last 10 games. The Oilers with they could have the depth scoring that LA has. Jay Woodcroft better have one helluva plan to mute the Kings’ offense tonight or they’re going to get lit up. 
  • #8 Drew Doughty – He’s averaging over 26 minutes a game since returning to action and has accrued 10 points on the year. He’s always had a thing for giving Edmonton’s young stars a hard time but I don’t think it’s worked on Draisaitl and McDavid so he’s turned his attention to Jesse Puljujarvi 

Who to Keep an Eye on For Edmonton
  • #22 Tyson Barrie – This guy is en fuego! Nine points in his last ten and has been promoted to the top pairing at times over the last week or so. 
  • #37 Warren Foegele – Two goals in his last pair. So now the expectations courtesy of the Edmonton media are sky high for McLovin’. That said, he’s skating very well, but at the same time does anybody think he’s a junior player stuck in an NHLers body? I mean, he’s absolutely reckless with his physicality, right? He goes in for the hit and half the time he misses the guy even though he’s got this massive frame. Also, I feel like when he gets the puck on his stick he gets overexcited and all of a sudden he thinks he’s Mario Lemieux and that often ends up poorly. I wish he would just calm his tits down a tad and hit that soft ice so Leon could feed him for shots because he has a really nice release. 
  • #21 Klim Kostin – The big Russian has impressed since being called up. It’s only been 8 minutes of TOI mind you but he’s been solid along the boards and with the puck. It would be a nice surprise if he could keep it going and find a place on this team’s bottom six more permanently. 

BLH’s Thoughts: I’m very curious to know if Draisaitl might get some revenge on Mikey Anderson for that slewfoot from last year’s playoff series that crippled the German superstar. 

Bob Stauffer reckoned on the radio yesterday that Stu Skinner will get the start and I think that’s a good choice. Confidence isn’t high with Jack Campbell at the moment and the Oilers need a netminder between the pipes that can give them a chance against this high-octane Kings team.

LA is young, fast, tough, they shoot, they’re skilled, and they’ve got some elite veteran leadership bringing along those kids. Edmonton is really missing Duncan Keith right now and more specifically Evan Bouchard. Doughty and Kopitar are still fantastic NHLers right now and I can see them leading this team to a win tonight. I have little faith in the Oilers’ defense and bottom six at the moment and with LA’s depth and intense forecheck, my feeling is that this is LA’s game to lose. I mean, 97 and 29 could win it on their own or the Kings could shit the bed too, but I’m leaning towards LA. 

Trade Rumors

Oilersnation

BLH’s Thoughts: I mean, if you think he’s going to take a deal akin to what Nuge or Kane took, sure, look into it but I can’t see that happening. The Ruskies tend to stay on the East coast and migrate to places like Florida, New Jersey, New York, etc. 

The other thing is, Puljujarvi or Yamamoto have to be moved before adding to Edmonton’s top-six on the right side. It’ll happen. But if we’re looking at STL, what about Ryan O’Reilly to shore up the team’s defense a bit?

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

Edmonton Oilers Talk: Stauffer Throws Out TWO Names the Oilers Should be In On

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, and The Daily Goal Horn 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!

Oilers Now

Bob Stauffer and Frank Seravalli Discussing What the Oilers Need
  • Seravalli – “You know what they need? They need edge. They need someone that makes your team really difficult to play against.”
  • Stauffer – “I can give you a guy. I don’t know how much edge he plays with but there’s a player out there that can kill penalties, he can skate, he can take faceoffs, he’s a right shot, he plays right wing and center and he’s on a team where we all know what’s going to happen with that team and that’s Chicago. The player’s name is…”
  • Seravalli – “Let me guess… Sam Lafferty.”
  • Stauffer – “Sam Lafferty. $1.125M cap hit. That’s the type of player Edmonton needs to go get.”
Who Seravalli Thinks the Oilers Miss
  • “I think you guys miss Zack Kassian more than you think in terms of being that player that’s difficult to play against… The reason his act wore thin at the end is because of the cap hit. If you had Zack Kassian’s style of play at $750k or $1M, I think everyone looks at that a bit differently, would they not?”
Bob Stauffer’s counter
  • “Yes, does that player play for Philly? Is that player’s name Zack as well?… What about Zack MacEwen?”
  • “MacEwen is what he is. He’s a 4th line player who runs around and bangs. He doesn’t scare anybody fighting-wise, but at least you know he’ll be there. So when the Dallas Stars try to rub your nose in it a bit, you’ve got a bit of pushback. 

BLH’s Thoughts: Well, Lafferty might be a player with size, speed, and an ability to thrive on the PK, but 5v5 this guy is where offense goes to die. That said, he’s probably on par with Foegele, Shore, and Janmark, but he’s also only 27 years old and playing for Chicago probably does your fancies no help. Make no mistake about it, Edmonton’s watching this guy. Maybe he becomes a throw-in in a bigger deal?…

Zack MacEwen… Is he functional when he’s not throwing hands? I like that he’s fearless and he’ll take anybody on, but at the same time if he’s not feared by the others, what else is he good for? Tyler Benson will be back in a few weeks and I know for a fact that guy will go around hitting everything that moves. We used to have Josh Archibald who’d do the same but not a lot else. 

Could the Oilers actually look at re-acquiring Zack Kassian if they could get ARI to retain half of his salary? Everybody loved him here… Personally, I don’t think so. Not this season anyhow. Maybe next year when he’s on the final season of his contract. 

I have a name. What about Marcus Foligno? He makes just a shade over three million a year and he’ll have one more season after this left on his deal but he’s your prototypical power forward and over that last two seasons he’s had 11 fighting majors which puts him in the top-ten of the entire league. On top of that, he’s a 45pt winger and we know that the Wild are going to be shedding salary this offseason thanks to the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. So that begs the question, would you trade one of Jesse Puljujarvi or Kailer Yamamoto in a deal to bring in Foligno?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYvmg67kmMU

GM15: Oilers @ Canes

Who to Keep an Eye on for Carolina
  • #20 Sebastian Aho – He’s the 2nd most productive Hurricane during this micro-slump with three goals and two assists on 16 shots. Of course, four of those points came in one game… So take those numbers for what you will. However, Aho loves putting up the points against the Oilers seeing as he 20pts in 11 games against them. 
  • #88 Martin Necas – Necas is still lighting the lamp for Carolina and he has to be a shoe-in to get his name on the scoresheet once again this evening. Five goals and seven assists in his last dozen minus two. What a threat this guy has become for the Canes.
  • #86 Teuvo Teravainen – Has ZERO goals on the year and a paltry five assists. He’s due to break out here. This guy is way too good not to be scoring goals and you know how it is with the Oilers and snipers needing ginos.
Who to Keep an Eye on for Edmonton
  • #55 Dylan Holloway – It sounds like he’s going to get promoted into Edmonton’s top six to play alongside Leon Draisaitl. The lines haven’t been posted at the time of writing yet, but if that’s the case, that’s one hell of an opportunity for this young man. I mean, he’s got the speed, the hands, the IQ, but he’s new to the league and the other thing is whenever he’s been introduced to a new level of hockey; he’s struggled out of the game. I’ve written about this time and time again. Check out his stats going back to midget. Year one, pedestrian numbers. Year two, production explosion. 
  • #93 Ryan Nugent Hopkins – 9 goals in 19 games versus Carolina and he’s scoring at over a point-per-game pace in his last ten and his TOI is about to blow up with Evander Kane out. 
  • #97 Connor McDavid – Can he make it 15 goals in 15 games? Traditionally, McDavid’s had a really tough time scoring vs. the Canes as he only has TWO goals in 10 career matchups against them. That said, he’s got 10 assists though, so there’s a chance that one of his linemates (Puljujarvi/Nugent-Hopkins) could cash in.

BLH’s Thoughts: The Oilers are 6-4-0 in their last ten which is a tad better than Carolina who are 5-4-1. The Hurricanes have dropped their last two and Edmonton broke a 3-game skid versus Tampa last time out.

It sounds like Freddy Andersen tweaked something in practise the other day and therefor Rod the Bod’s boys will be relying on either veteran backup Antti Raanta or rookie Pyotr Kochetkov to shut down Edmonton. Either way, I always get a bit anxious when the other team plays somebody other than their no.1 for the reason that Oilers tend to find a way to make that guy look like a bloody all-star, right Charlie Lindgren, Scott Wedgewood, and Eric Comrie?

Carolina’s bottom six scoring has all but dried up in this 5-4-1 stretch of theirs just as Edmonton’s has in their little stumble. Weird… Another Stanley Cup contending team who relies heavily on their top-6 forwards to carry the load offensively. That’ll be two teams in two days that I’ve noticed this statistical anomaly…

As for tonight’s result. It’s hard not to feel good about the Oilers going into this one and they spanked Carolina earlier in the year when Svechnikov torched them for three. I’m going to say they SHOULD win tonight but leave a bit of room for error considering the game is on the road and in Carolina where the ghosts of 2005 still float about… 

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

Edmonton Oilers Talk: “Does three losses in a row grow to four? Five?” – Lowetide

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, and The Daily Goal Horn 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!

Lowetide

GAME 14 2022-23: OILERS AT LIGHTNING
  • “Lightning are 6-3-1 in their last 10 and has one home loss this year, Edmonton has made things tough on themselves and it could get worse. Does three losses in a row grow to four? Five? The team needs a goalie to steal a game, a depth forward to score twice, and for God sakes could the PK kill a penalty for once? It’s a long list.”

BLH’s Thoughts: Ugh… 

Did anybody else catch David Staples suggesting the team call up Kris Russell and see if he’d come back just to help Edmonton’s PK? My lord… That is some kind of suggestion. What about putting Niemelainen back in? He’ll block a shot or two and he’s owns the highest hits/game for a dman in the league. 

Staples also suggested that Ryan Murray get sent down to Bakersfield and I can definitely get on board with that if it means an upgrade on the back end. MTL’s Joel Edmundson is the kind of blueliner this team needs. He blocks shots, he hits, and he’s the kind of blue collar defender the Oilers are missing on the 2nd pair PLUS he only makes $3.5M/yr if I recall correctly.

See, what the difference was between the Capitals and the Edmonton last night was Washington’s structure. They stuck to the plan and the Oilers did not. Their defense had a game plan and didn’t deviate. They got in the lanes, boxed guys out, and simply made life very easy for career back up Charlie Lindgren and really difficult for anybody trying to score on him. 

How ’bout it? Do you think Edmundson would move the needle for the Oilers or should they give Broberg a try? Or is there better option out there in your opinion? Any thoughts on Mike Reilly over in Boston? Sounds like he might be on the move once Charlie McAvoy returns. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItTzcddbMwc

GM14: Oilers @ Lightning

Who to Keep an Eye on For Tampa Bay
  • #91 Steven Stamkos – The last week or so has been unkind to this future hall-of-famer as he’s been absolutely snakebit. He’s been unable to twinkle the twine in his previous half dozen minus one and as we know, if a sniper needs to snap out of a drought, there’s no better team to play than the Oilers. 16pts in 15 career games against Edmonton… 
  • #86 Nikita Kucherov – 18 points in his last ten games. 10 points in his last five. Kucherov is on fire right now and with the way Edmonton’s defense is playing at the moment, he might get 10 more tonight. Add to that the fact that he has 21pts in 12 games versus the Oilers… Yikes… 
  • #98 Mikhail Sergachev – 5pts in his last five from Tampa’s backend and he’s averaging over 25 minutes a night according to Daily Faceoff dot com. 
Who to Keep an Eye on for Edmonton
  • #97 Connor McDavid – He’s put up 8 goals in 8 games during his career versus Tampa and he’s still lighting up the league right now. I think it’s a fair bet to say he’ll take it up a notch against Victor Hedman. 
  • #36 Jack Campbell – Soupy’s played pretty well against the Lightning in the past. He’s got a record of 2-1-1 with a .916 sv% and 2.45 GAA and if we’re being honest here, he needs a bounce back game in the worst way. I feel like if he can have a good performance against this high-scoring Tampa Bay team, he’s going to gain a shit ton of confidence. 
  • #18 Zach Hyman – I love the way Hyman is playing right now. He’s been the most consistent player on the team this year and if there’s anything Edmonton’s young struggling players can learn from him it’s that hard work pays off. Zach isn’t the most skilled player on the team but he’s the hardest working even when things aren’t going well for his club. 

BLH’s Thoughts: This game should be a war of attrition between two of the league’s highest scoring top-six forward groups. It’s funny, Tampa’s bottom six isn’t getting their names on the scoresheet much either this year. So this should be an interesting matchup. 

Connor, Leon, and Nuge have all scored very well against Jon Cooper’s club over the course of their careers and I expect that to continue tonight. Now, will they outscore Tampa’s legends? I’m not confident of that, especially if they fall into penalty trouble again. 

I don’t really get it. Everybody and their dog knows the Oilers can score but nobody knows if they can defend? I mean, they all know they can’t defend, but the real question is, when will the men who run this organization finally decide to build a team that can play a high brand of defense that can be capitalized on by it’s high octane offense?

It’s going to be high highs and low lows until then I fear. 

Now, as for the $3M men (Puljujarvi, Yamamoto, Foegele), Ken Holland is a patient guy and he rarely makes a move before February. However, if these three players can’t get their production lines going, I think maybe 10 games down the line we’re going to see some changes. Maybe they’ll try to do something internally first (Benson, Lavoie, Bourgault for a cup of coffee), but if that fails to flip the script, I could see roster moves made.

The season is way too important and with American Thanksgiving coming up, the Oilers need to be in a good position standings-wise or their season might be at risk which sounds really f*cking odd to say considering the amount of talent on this team. 

The worst part of trading any of those players is that they need Puljujarvi and they won’t get very much for Yamo and will have to pay to get rid of Foegele. Ask yourself this, would Warren Foegele get claimed if he were put on waivers. 

Trade Rumors

Spector’s Hockey
  • DAILY FACEOFF: Frank Seravalli examine five potential trade targets for the Toronto Maple Leafs if they decide to bolster their goaltending depth.
  • THE PROVINCE: Patrick Johnston cited Jim Rutherford’s appearance Monday on Sportsnet 650 in which he expressed his ongoing unhappiness with the Vancouver Canucks’ performance.
    • Rutherford indicated management attempted to make some trades during the offseason. However, they were hampered by cap space or high prices paid by other clubs.
    • Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported Rutherford’s goal for next summer is moving big contracts to clear salary cap space. “VAN is open for business,” tweeted Seravalli.

BLH’s Thoughts:

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

Edmonton Oilers Talk: Puljujarvi to the Penthouse and Yamamoto to the Basement

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, and The Daily Goal Horn 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!

Oilersnation

Monday Mailbag – Are you concerned about Kailer Yamamoto?

What did you think of Markus Niemelainen’s game?

  • “I think you need to keep guys fresh too. Nemo has had a couple of rough games and I think giving him a breather with back-to-back’s coming up would be a good idea.”

Is it time to start getting concerned about Kailer Yamamoto?

  • “Yamamoto can’t be fed top-six minutes all year if he isn’t scoring.” – Cam Lewis

Is it time to start getting concerned about Kailer Yamamoto?

  • “Jason Smith. Edmonton could use a rugged, tough, and physical D-man in their top six who is great on the PK and can play tough minutes.” – Jason Gregor

BLH’s Thoughts: I’m actually okay with Niemelainen so far and I dig that the coaching staff is giving him the reps he needs. Also, they stick with him even when he’s had a tough shift or period. He offers an element that nobody else on Edmonton’s defense has in their toolbox and I’m talking about everybody in the whole organization. Nobody open-ice hits like Niemo not even Nurse. 

Yamo’s going through something, it’s painfully obvious and I said weeks ago that you can’t be putting him in the top-six if he’s coming back from an upper-body injury. He needed to be put down in the bottom six long long ago and his minutes and deployment should’ve been handled with a helluva lot more care than it was. Now we’re here with Killer on the 4th line. Mark Spector says Jesse Puljujarvi won’t be re-signed this summer if he continues on his current pace, why in the world would they keep Yamamoto if he continues on his?

A 1990’s-era Oiler to bring back? Some say Smytty, some said Doug Weight, others had dmen like Dave Manson, Roman Hamrlik, and Bo Mironov. Nobody selected Mark Messier!!! Nobody said Curtis Joseph!!! What about Vincent Damphousse, Bill Guerin, or Tommy Salo? I’m picking Cujo.

GM13: Oilers @ Capitals

Who to Keep an Eye on for Washington
  • #92 Evgeny Kuznetsov – This guy kills the Oilers every time they play it seems. He’s got 10pts in 13 games when facing Edmonton and he’s not scored even one goal this year so far… 
  • #35 Darcy Kuemper – The goalie that was almost an Edmonton Oiler has a record of 1-2-1 in Washington’s last five games. In that time he’s sporting a 1.73 GAA (nice!) and a save percentage of 0.942 (wowzas!)… He alone might give his banged up Capitals squad a chance. 
  • #8 Alex Ovechkin – Is almost at a goal/game in his previous five. He’s on a massive heater and Edmonton best not be spending a lot of time on the PK with the way Ovie is shooting. 
Who to Keep an Eye on for Edmonton
  • #22 Tyson Barrie – Barrie’s got four points in his last five games, a team high for dmen, and I like betting on players who are already in a groove. He’s doing that whilst playing from the bottom pairing too…
  • #13 Jesse Puljujarvi – All of the JP supporters, like myself, are dancing with joy and collectively saying “FINALLY!” but with that in mind, if Jesse continues to put up goose eggs on the scoresheet, that’s going to be a tough pill to swallow. 
  • #71 Ryan McLeod – Cloudy started the year like a bat out of hell but he’s gone ice cold and I don’t think that adding Derek Ryan to his wing will do anything to solve his scoring woes. He’s scored three goals and added ZERO assists this year, however, all of those goals came in the first six games of the year and since then it’s been a dog’s breakfast. Two shots in his last five… 

BLH’s Thoughts: So… Washington has possibly SEVEN regular roster players who will be out of the lineup tonight. They include, Nik Backstrom, TJ Oshie, John Carlson, Carl Hagelin, Tom Wilson, Connor Brown, and Dmitri Orlov… 

If I said that this is a must win game for Edmonton, would I be talking smack? I mean, they can’t be losing to teams who are this down on their luck health-wise especially when their roster is extremely healthy. 

Now, on the line shuffling. I feel like this team would be better off long-term if they adopted a strategy that saw the team go with the 3-headed monster. Meaning they would stop stacking the top two lines and then sounding all befuddled when those lines are shut out as if that meant the bottom six would pick up the slack… 

Personally, I think these lines would offer a much better challenge for opponents on the road because they’ll have the last change,

  • Kane-McDavid-Puljujarvi
  • Holloway-Draisaitl-Hyman
  • Nuge-McLeod-Yamamoto
  • Foegele-Shore-Ryan

There’s no point in complaining about having a $5M player on the 3rd line and a $3M player on the 4th line because the roster is set now. The lines should be formalized with winning in mind first and foremost and I don’t think that’s been the case so far.

The most interesting things about the combinations above are you’re giving Holloway a shot with Leon so that Bob Stauffer can bring up old references to Taylor Hall and Draisaitl’s “instant chemistry”, you’ve got the power of the Nuge, a veteran who’s having a great start to the year, and you’ve got a “20 goal scorer” on the right flank along with one of the best skaters in the history of the NHL down the middle. 

The team is simply way deeper, full stop. The offense goes down the lineup way more and the defense of the forwards improves all throughout.

What nullifies any moves Jay Woodcroft does with his forward group is the weakness on defense and I’m not going to stop saying it until Ken Holland addresses it. That’s the defense. It lacks a 2nd pairing dman and the absence of Duncan Keith is showing massively. Philip Broberg isn’t ready for that role (and won’t be for at least this season and possibly next.) and Brett Kulak is a 3rd pairing defense. Markus Niemelainen is also a 3rd pairing blueline. The right side of the D is fine but the left side doesn’t mirror the right in terms of talent. They need another Cody Ceci to sort that out and before you say Carson Soucy, he’s not it and I don’t care how good his +/- is… Vladdy Gavrikov out in Columbus is probably him but Stauffer was saying he’ll probably be asking for Ceci-like money but I suppose if you want a Ceci on the left side then you’ll have to pay for it… What do you think?

Trade Rumors

Spector’s Hockey
  • TSN: Pierre LeBrun reports the Montreal Canadiens have been talking about a trade with the Washington Capitals though they haven’t progressed beyond the discussion stage.
  • THE ATHLETIC: Eric Duhatschek recently wondered if Timo Meier will become trade bait at some point in this season.
    • Meier is earning an average annual value of $6 million but he’s earning $10 million in actual salary for this season. That’s how much it’ll cost the Sharks to qualify his rights unless the two sides agree to a new contract with a salary-cap hit.
  • SPORTSNET: Jeff Marek reports “there’s been no moving of the needle whatsoever” in contract extension negotiations between the Vancouver Canucks and captain Bo Horvat.
The new NHL franchise in Seattle already has their AHL affiliate worked out! Click the pick and grab a Karen shirt today!