Edmonton Oilers Rumors: “I expect, and it’s good to be prepared, for a wildly unpopular trade involving one of the youngsters.”

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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Lowetide.ca

SIXTEEN SHELLS FROM A THIRTY-OUGHT-SIX

One of the things that came out of draft weekend is the sense Xavier Bourgault (32.1 NHLe) is not a strong first-round pick. I ran NHL equivalencies for the last three Oilers drafts, and as you can see, Bourgault’s offense in his draft year is the most promising in the group. Anything over 30 points NHLE in a draft year is a strong showing.
Philip Broberg gets no respect at all from many Oilers fans, but has in fact progressed. At the same age, Oscar Klefbom’s NHLE was 13.3, meaning Broberg (14.4) is right in the range offensively.
The RH side of Barrie, Bear and Bouchard has the feel of too much puck mover and not enough suppression. I expect, and it’s good to be prepared, for a wildly unpopular trade involving one of the youngsters.
Edmonton could try running two righties on a third pair, and I looked at adding Brenden Dillon from the Washington Capitals (Caps need cap relief) but it doesn’t work. I did like the idea of Dillon playing with Bouchard, though.
Anyway, I’m not sure what Holland will get for a young RH blue and wish he wouldn’t, but you can see it coming like a wild prairie storm building on the horizon.

BLH’s Thoughts: Craig Button is comparing Bourgault to JG Pageau and to a lesser extent, Patrice Bergeron. The feeling I get from the club is that they might be looking at this guy as the next Nick Suzuki and if he turns out as competitive and skilled as him, I’ll forget all about the fact they passed on Jesper Wallstedt.

I have been told that the team is definitely looking at Brendan Dillon but also they’re working on something big, possibly involving a goaltender AND a defenseman. I wasn’t told any more than that though.

That said, could they be looking at the Penguins for this blockbuster? Kris Letang is on the last year of his deal and they want to move Tristan Jarry, right? Edmonton has a player they covet in Zack Kassian and I wonder if something could be worked out with James Neal and another prospect/pick going to Pittsburgh for some retained salary on Letang’s deal? However, the veteran dman would need to waive his NMC to make it happen.

The Athletic (Thomas Drance)

Buyout watch: 8 players to monitor ahead of NHL free agency

Mikko Koskinen, Edmonton Oilers
James Neal, Edmonton Oilers
As it stands, the Oilers are poised to have about $7.5 million in salary-cap space once they sign the Hyman deal on Wednesday. They’re still relatively well-positioned cap-wise overall…
With Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl at the peak of their powers, the time is now for the Oilers. Every move they’ve made this offseason backs that up.
If the Oilers buy out the pair, they’d add nearly $7 million in cap space ahead of free agency. It would allow them to continue big game hunting on both the trade market and in free agency in the weeks to come.

BLH’s Thoughts: I’ve been talking to sources all week and the chatter out there is that Ken Holland is still trying to trade the contracts of Neal and Koskinen as opposed to buying them out. The last thing he wants is to have more dead money on the books going forward despite intimating that he’ll be using the CBA to his advantage in prior media avails. Now, with that in mind, that decision is time sensitive and other GMs know this. If I’m not mistaken, I think Holland has to figure out whether or not to pull the trigger on a buyout by Tuesday.

Back on the 27th of June, somebody I know wrote that the #LetsGoOilers were being connected to Jordan Martinook. I see the whispers from back then are growing louder today. https://t.co/xYZ6IPyKxv https://t.co/TpTwZpP20h

— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) July 26, 2021

The Fourth Period

TOP 30 UFAs: 2021

Philipp Grubauer, G – Grubauer is the best goalie in the free agent market and Colorado appears focused on trying to re-sign him. If the Avs can’t lock him up, a few teams will come calling that need a new No.1.
Frederik Andersen, G – Andersen is looking for a salary north of $5 million and that’s, so far, priced him out of Toronto. Teams will be calling and he should have a number of options once the market opens.
Tyson Barrie, RD – The Oilers will try to re-sign Barrie, but he’s looking to cash in on a big contract after proving his worth with Edmonton in 2021. He wants term and a solid paycheck and he’s proven his offensive abilities can be valuable.
Zach Hyman, LW – All signs point to Hyman signing a seven-year contract with the Oilers. After Edmonton and Toronto weren’t able to work out a trade to give him an extra year on his deal, the Oilers are the expected destination, regardless.
Blake Coleman, LW – Coleman is looking to cash in this off-season, following in the footsteps of former linemate Barclay Goodrow, who signed a 6-year deal with a $3.6M AAV with the Rangers. Coleman will surely generate a larger deal somewhere and should see his cap hit come in well north of $4M.
Linus Ullmark, G – Ullmark was set on seeing what options are ahead of him after rejecting a contract offer from Buffalo during the season. He hasn’t closed the door on the Sabres, but he wants to see what’s out there.
Nick Foligno, C/LW – Foligno’s season didn’t end exactly how he hoped, but Cup contenders know what he brings to the table. There will be plenty of interest in him this summer, with the Leafs still in the mix.

BLH’s Thoughts: Of this group, I think that Barrie, Hyman (duh), Ullmark, and Foligno are the most likely targets Edmonton could hit. Foligno being the least realistic option and Hyman the most.

I’m torn on Barrie though. I love the idea of having him on the team because he brings something nobody else on the team can right now. Now, you might say Evan Bouchard could do anything Barrie can and in time I think that’ll be true. What you have weigh out though is even if Bouch can produce points at the same rate Barrie can, there’d still be growing pains.

If I was the GM and Barrie was willing to come in on the same contract or slightly more that what he was paid last year and for three years, I’d do it and deal Ethan Bear for Adam Larsson’s replacement. The built in hedge on that bet is Barrie could transition down the lineup or traded because who can’t use a good right-shot point producing defenseman?