Did Philipp Grubauer Ruin the Oilers’ Chances at Having Both Darcy Kuemper AND Ryan Murray on the Roster This Year?

Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with excerpts from the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation from all of the internet’s best sites including Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, The Athletic, TSN and more!

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Tippett Has Offensive Options (Jason Gregor)

This past season Connor McDavid led the NHL in 5×5 scoring and Leon Draisaitl was fourth, but despite their dominance at five-on-five the Oilers top-six wingers did not produce very much. That shouldn’t be the case this season as head coach Dave Tippett has more offensive options to choose from than he, or any Oilers head coach, has had in 15 years.
I sense Tippett will use preseason to try multiple combinations, and because he has more proven wingers, he could revisit his most deadly combo of McDavid and Draisaitl. Kassian produced incredibly well playing with those two in 2019, and Yamamoto is also an option to play the right side with them.
- Then he could run a second line of Hyman-RNH-Puljujarvi and a third line of Foegele-Ryan McLeod-Kassian.
For the first time since 2006, Edmonton will have legitimate competition in the top six, and even the top nine. I wouldn’t write off any of the 11 skaters I mentioned. Another name to watch is Kyle Turris. Turris has been working incredibly hard off the ice and I suspect Tippett will try him on the wing this season.
(Dylan) Holloway will be given an opportunity to show he is ready. Many scouts I’ve spoke with feel he could step in and play right away. But, unlike in previous seasons, the Oilers won’t have to give him a young player top-nine minutes if he isn’t ready.
With the new additions and high probability RNH and Yamamoto can produce more this coming season, Edmonton won’t have to rely on its defense to score as often. But if the D-men continue to score, the Oilers should be a top-five team in 5×5 offence.

BLH’s Thoughts: Dave Tippett doesn’t seem like the kind of coach who likes to experiment with his forward lines all that much. I feel like once he sets his mind on a combination, that’s what we’ll see on the ice. I mean, aside from Leon and Connor getting thrown out there in crucial situations from time to time.

So with that said, we’re already hearing that Zack Kassian could get a shot in the top-six and that Kyle Turris may get a shot on the wing. I suppose that would mean that Kailer Yamamoto may start the year on a line with Warren Foegele and Ryan McLeod.

Lowetide.ca

ALL THE YOUNG PUNKS (NEW BOOTS AND CONTRACTS)

I always look at five on five scoring first when evaluating forwards. If a player is on the No. 1 line, it’s proper to expect 2.00 pts-60; second line 1.70+ and the final two lines should have a 1.50 pts-60 player or more in order to assure secondary scoring.
For defensemen, I look at Corsi five on five. You need the top two pairings to be at or over 50 percent.
Goalies? Five on five save percentage. Have to have a starter who is inside the top 15 among staring goalies across the leagues.

Line 1: It will be interesting to see if Tippett runs Kassian up here, I don’t see it working.
Line 2: Both wingers were unable to reach a satisfactory total. In both cases… A repeat from either man would force management to reassess.
Line 3: Foegele gives the team a winger who can score at five on five, plus move up the depth chart. Ryan had a season that isn’t likely to be duplicated (Khaira had the same issue) but he can help on the PK, faceoffs and hopefully aid the third line in not getting caved. Archibald needs to score more points, this line gives him a better chance.
Line 4: No one listed on the fourth line or as an extra had much going on offensively last year, but that has to change. Could Tippett run eight defenseman all year? I believe he might, as it takes care of the PK problem.
Pairing One: Nurse has a strong number overall, propped by McDavid minutes. Without 97, his Corsi five on five (44.6) is low. Tyson Barrie is also above 50 percent overall, but 45.9 away from McDavid.
Pairing Two: Keith has some strange Corsi totals, including a higher number (45.2) away from Patrick Kane than with him (44.3) last year. The most striking stat of all Corsi totals is Keith away from goalie Kevin Lankanen: He has a 61.5 percent Corsi away from him. Ceci played very well with Mike Matheson, a big puck mover with chaos in his game, don’t know what it means (49.1 percent Corsi) but Matheson is very mobile in case that becomes an issue.
Pairing Three: Evan Bouchard is the key here, he is likely to have several defensive partners over the year. Russell is going to play more than most believe, and Lagesson is in no-man’s land at this moment.
Goalies: Among goalies who played more than 1000 minutes in 2020-21, Mike Smith ranks No. 9 in five on five save percentage. Mikko Koskinen ranks No. 39 (.903). I will tell you there’s a larger than you think chance Koskinen will outplay Smith next year.

BLH’s Thoughts: Bouchard is training with Darnell Nurse this summer according to Bob Stauffer and one has to wonder why other young Oilers defensemen aren’t doing the same. It’s very clear that Nurse’s offseason efforts have paid massive dividends over the years and Bouchard is doing himself a real solid by accepting the opportunity to train alongside a specimen like Darnell.

My optimistic predictions are that Evan Bouchard is on the 2nd pairing by Christmas, Mikko Koskinen will have better metrics than Smith but Smitty might have more wins, Zack Kassian will regain his old form playing alongside Leon Draisaitl, and Edmonton’s third line is going to surprise a lot of people (in a good way).

Stauffer also said that if Philip Grubauer had signed in Colorado, the Oilers would have both Darcy Kuemper AND Ryan Murray on the team right now. https://t.co/h0i6Mkv0mO

— B.L.H. (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast) (@BeerLeagueHeroe) August 4, 2021

Spector’s Hockey

NHL Rumor Mill – August 3, 2021

NBC SPORTS: Adam Gretz examines which teams can actually afford to trade for Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel. That means being able to absorb his $10 million annual average value for the next five seasons and possess sufficient young assets to meet the Sabres’ asking price.

The New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks top Gretz’s list. While the Kings have less cap space following the acquisitions of Viktor Arvidsson and Phillip Danault, Gretz feels that’s never stopped a team from dealing for a player it badly wants.

SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW: Sheng Peng cites Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman quashing a rumor linking Sharks winger Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils. “Those were flatly denied to me,” said Friedman. “Someone said you’re way off, don’t go down that road.”

Peng also noted Friedman indicated the Sharks are believed to have an interest in Christian Dvorak. The 25-year-old Arizona Coyotes center has four years left on his contract worth $4.45 million annually… He also linked the Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers among those interested in Dvorak.