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Edmonton Oilers Offseason Talk: Seravalli on a Yamamoto Buyout, Stauffer on the RNH to Boston Rumors, 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!

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Daily Faceoff

Oilers’ Kailer Yamamoto headlines five NHL Buyout Candidates in 2023 Offseason
  • “Yamamoto struggled through this season with a lingering neck issue that impacted his production and consistency, suffering from a whiplash-type of hit. At just 10 goals and 25 points, the Oilers can ill afford that little impact next year – particularly on the right side – at a $3.1 million cap hit. They can use the space better this summer.”
  • “…it makes little sense to attach an asset to move him, not when the resulting cap hit from a buyout is approximately half of league minimum pay given that Yamamoto is just a one-third buyout because he is under age 26.”

BLH’s Thoughts: The Yamo buyout, simply put, is the least painful and might be the most “honorable” thing for Holland to do though. He thanks the kid for his time and gives him the ability to sign where ever he wants to. Merry Christmas Killer!

Oilersnation

Seravalli: Moving money key to Oilers landing top available free agents
  • ” It is likely that Kailer Yamamoto, Cody Ceci, and Warren Foegele would likely be involved in trade discussions this summer. All three make north of $2.50 million and roles could be filled with cheaper deals.”
  • “Tyler asked Frank Seravalli from Daily Faceoff if Yamamoto and Ceci hold much value around the NHL…”
    • “With somebody like (Kailer) Yamamoto and the way his production decreased and diminished this year, mostly due to the injury, you are going to have to attach an asset to him. Then, if you wanted to move on from Cody Ceci, it is not a crippling cap hit and the term remaining isn’t so onerous, that you could probably get a late-round pick for him.”
    • “One of the names that Bob Stauffer mentioned on Oilers Now was Damon Severson, and I am intrigued by that… That would be a significant upgrade and really solidify the Oilers top four in a big way.”
  • “Severson is a valuable asset. The fact that he can successfully defend zone entries and move the puck out of the DZ at a high volume instantly makes him a significantly better stylistic fit with Nurse than Ceci. However, there’s a major question mark surrounding him: will Severson’s excellent puck-moving and offensive skills outweigh his deficiencies in his own end?”

BLH’s Thoughts: Yamo, CC, and McLovin’ all dealt with injuries last year and that makes me feel like Holland might not be so eager to trade them unless he’s already got a deal struck or he feels like there’s a team out there that’ll give him what he wants. He’s already got a 100pt team, so there’s no real pressure to make a trade or sign a big free agent this summer, in my opinion. 

Edmonton has trouble defending in their own zone, especially in the areas where Grade A scoring chances exist. So, as Sid asks, is the thinking that Severson’s ability to deny zone entries and move the puck out so good that it’ll make up for his inability to defend his own end? To add, will his $6M/yr long-term deal look that bad when the salary cap is in the 90M range in a few seasons?

Trade Rumors

Spector’s Hockey
  • Chris Johnston reports the recent change in Toronto Maple Leafs management hasn’t adversely affected contract extension talks between the club and superstar Auston Matthews.
  • Nick Kypreos recently suggested that whoever becomes the Leafs new general manager will have to have what would be a difficult discussion with captain John Tavares.
  • Ryan Quigley reports Philadelphia Flyers GM Daniel Briere is throwing cold water on trade rumors about Carter Hart… “It would have to be a crazy load of a haul to even consider trading him,”
  • Mike McKenna believes the Stars must bolster their depth if they hope to be a Stanley Cup contender next season… Unless they can find a way to shed forward Radek Faksa and his $3.25 million cap hit, they’ll have to find some serious value via free agency or trade for a player with a lesser cap hit who’s under contract for several seasons.

BLH’s Thoughts: After what happened in Calgary, do you think Treliving might be a tad gun shy dealing out the Maple Leafs’ big stars? He did well in the Tkachuk trade but shit the bed with Gaudreau. Reckon he’s going to be able to find another team in the same position Florida was in last summer? I don’t. 

That said, a Tavares trade might be easier to make considering the Leafs probably wouldn’t be expecting even player value in return. The cap space created would be the biggest get and I would think there are a few teams out there who need to hit the cap floor that have one or two solid prospects to send Toronto’s way with some picks. The biggest hurdle would be getting Johnny Toronto to waive his no-trade.

I always liked Faksa for Edmonton but his game has deteriorated in recent years it seems. With that in mind, how would he look if the Oilers were only paying half of his $3.5M salary? That, I do not mind. 

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