Edmonton Oilers Rumors: Dillon, Manson, Barrie, Ceci, and More!

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!

From The Athletic (Daniel Nugent-Bowman)

Oilers come under the microscope after passing on Jesper Wallstedt in first round of NHL Draft

Though they appear to have a clear need for a goaltender of the future, the Oilers passed on arguably the best one available with their pick at No. 20.Jesper Wallstedt, an 18-year-old who posted a .908 save percentage in 22 games with Lulea in Sweden’s top league, tumbled down the draft board and was right there waiting to be plucked.
Instead of selecting Wallstedt, who was 10th on colleagues Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler’s collective big board, the Oilers opted to move down in the draft.
The Oilers got the 22nd and 90th picks in the deal. They selected forward Xavier Bourgault, a six-foot, 178-pound forward from QMJHL Shawinigan, with the first of those selections.
It came down to two factors for the Oilers — not having another draft choice until the fourth round this year and some players they really coveted were selected just ahead of their original No. 20 spot.
This is the type of move that won’t be forgotten, for better or worse.
The Oilers might have simply opted for a safer choice.
Bourgault’s ability to play both centre and wing was appealing.
The Oilers aren’t exactly brimming with forwards in the pipeline and very well could have picked a useful one on Friday.

BLH’s Thoughts: I was so jacked when I saw that Wallstedt was going to drop to Edmonton and in a moment’s notice my dreams were dashed. I’ll say it flat out, this is not an organization decision I support. Wallstedt’s been spoken of in the same breath as other elite netminders like Spencer Knight (FLA) and Yaroslav Askarov (NSH) over the last few years and I thought Edmonton would finally get their guy…

That said, my belief is that they passed on the ridiculous potential in Wallstedt because they believe they’ve got a good chance at securing themselves an NHL goalie who’s on the younger side. We’ve been hearing the names of Linus Ullmark, Joonas Korpisalo, Elvis Merzlikins, etc. lately and given the urgent nature of things in Edmonton, I think the club passed on a goalie they thought would take three to five years of development before he arrived on the scene with the Oilers and they’ve got three netminders in the system who’ll be battling it out for a spot in Edmonton sooner than later.

So, if you’re in the “win now” camp, this is a move you probably shouldn’t mind. I’m not in that camp, so it annoys me mildly. The team hasn’t had an “elite” netminder in its system since the early 80s and I suppose my ego really wanted the Oilers to get one this year.

From The Athletic (Scott Wheeler)

2021 NHL Draft winners and losers: Ranking every team’s first round

Overtime winners – Teams I believe did well with where they were slotted, even if they might not have picked the exact player(s) I would have.

Edmonton Oilers

Pick: 22. Xavier Bourgault
My ranking: No. 21 (change: -1)

Bourgault just felt like an early 20s guy. He ranked there on my board all year. He was never one of the can’t miss forwards in this draft but he’s just a darn good prospect who is equal parts scorer and playmaker. He’s not likely ever going to be the primary offensive focal point of a top-six line, but it’s not hard to imagine him as the second-best player on a top-six line and a consistent 50-something point guy at his ceiling.

BLH’s Thoughts: From my gathering, the Oilers took the safe pick in Bourgault instead of somebody more risky like Aatu Raty or Jesper Wallstedt (depending on how you feel about taking goalies in the first round).

He reminds me of a bit of Jake DeBrusk. A thick body, long stick, good puckhandler, great shot, gets in the muck, and is a really good complimentary player. Wow… I don’t know if that description could have any more innuendo in it…

Anyway, I think the club has plans to move him to center since he has some history playing there prior to this season. I wouldn’t be surprised if next season he was playing down the middle for his junior club. Maybe the Oilers see some Nick Suzuki in him?

From the Edmonton Sun (Jim Matheson)

Oilers take forward Bourgault rather than goalie with first pick

The scouts say he plays through bigger opponents, like Kailer Yamamoto, also a right-winger. He’s only at 178 pounds now, but he’s six-feet, so he’ll grow.
Bourgault, who has been invited to Canada’s under-20 world junior team development camp later in July, checks all the usual first-round forward boxes.
They had enough viewings of that league, but Bourgault, who turns 19 in October, has played three years in Quebec, so he didn’t just pop up in their soup.
- “We’re projecting him as a top-six forward,” said Wright. “Really good offensive player, excellent vision and skill, student of the game and very competitive. He can play with elite players and that was very attractive for us. He’s got his priorities off-ice in terms of training. Very impressive to talk to.”
They were also very high on winger Brennan Othmann, who plays a Brendan Gallagher type game, but he went to the Rangers at No. 16. They liked centre Chaz Lucius who went to the Jets before them, also Zach Bolduc, picked by St. Louis before their original No. 20 slot.

BLH’s Thoughts: The word is that Bourgault is the analytics pick, so that doesn’t make me feel more comfortable that the Oilers picked him over Wallstedt.

Remember Marco Roy? Edmonton picked him way back in 2013 in the 2nd round, he was also a selection the Oilers made via the fancies according to Bob Stauffer and that was a considerable disaster given the players that were picked after him (William Carrier, Tyler Bertuzzi, Zach Sanford, Jake Guentzel, Pavel Buchnevich)…

Look, here’s the thing, I’m not impressed with the pick but I’m going to be a good supporter and wish this young man all the luck in the world because that’s what he deserves. I think it’s ridiculous that not even 10 minutes after his name was announced that the fans and media in Edmonton were already looking for ways to slight the kid.

From Spector’s Hockey

NHL Rumor Mill – July 23, 2021

TSN: Darren Dreger reports contract discussions are ongoing between the Edmonton Oilers and winger Zach Hyman but some believe the Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t out of it yet. If the Oilers want that eighth year in Hyman’s contract it will have to be a sign-and-trade with the Leafs.

Dreger also reports they’re continuing to discuss a possible re-signing with defenseman Tyson Barrie.

DAILY FACEOFF: Frank Seravalli wonders if the Oilers could be a dark horse candidate for Carolina Hurricanes free-agent defenseman Dougie Hamilton. They’re expected to clear cap space by buying out James Neal and there’s talk of moving winger Zack Kassian. He’s also not sold on Ethan Bear being in Edmonton for the long haul.

BLH’s Thoughts: I don’t think for one second that the Oilers are in for Dougie Hamilton. The fishbowl that is Edmonton would not be a great landing spot for him and I’m not sure the club is looking to add his personality to the locker room. There’s a reason he might be on his fourth team soon.

Ethan Bear’s consistency and conditioning getting called out by Seravalli is very interesting… If it were me, I’d try to move him in a package for a better RHD, but I think it would be fair to give him a chance to show the club that last year was an anomaly and that by training in Edmonton with Kyle Turris, Dmitri Samorukov, etc. he’s actively attempting to put that season behind him.

The Oilers did pick up an extra 3rd rounder this year by trading down in the first round yesterday, will Holland use that to acquire Zach Hyman’s rights? I hope not, but it does sound like something he’d do this year as he’s been very proactive in getting his man despite a high price. The extra 400k saved per year on the deal, I’d be willing to eat that to keep the 3rd round pick.

If Edmonton brings back Tyson Barrie, something I’m not against by the way, it could mean that Ethan Bear gets moved and Bob Stauffer did tweet out recently that the Oilers have been contacted by numerous agents who have clients who feel they’d be able to fill Adam Larsson’s old spot and only cost in the $1.5M to $2.5M range.

If I had to guess, I would think names such as Jason Demers (who the Oilers courted back in 2016), Travis Hamonic, and Cody Ceci would fit into that range. I asked a source about Zach Bogosian and it looks like he’s going to try to sign with a team in the states on the East Coast.

So ask yourself this, could you see the Oilers running Barrie, Evan Bouchard, and Cody Ceci down the right side next season and producing better results or should they aim higher and spend more futures to get a guy like Josh Manson and then run him, Bouchard, and Bear?

One more name to give you something to chew on, Brendan Dillon. I’m hearing the Oilers like him.