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Edmonton Oilers Rumors: Latest NHL Speculation feat. DeAngelo, Mete, Honka, Parayko, and More! (9/13/2020)

Today’s NHL news, rumors, and speculation feature the likes of Anthony DeAngelo, Victor Mete, Julius Honka, Colton Parayko, and many more!

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The News and Rumors

  • Larry Brooks (New York Post) believes the Rangers could attempt to trade Tony DeAngelo rather than re-sign the restricted free agent defenseman. That’s because a contract of longer than one year for the 24-year-old DeAngelo would all but ensure losing promising Nils Lundkvist to unrestricted free agency on June 2, 2022 without the 20-year-old rearguard having played a game for the Blueshirts.

BLH’s Thoughts: My question is, if DeAngelo is going to continue to be a 40-60pt defender, why not move Lundqvist? Defensemen who produce at that rate do not come along every day… Plus, right-hand shots tend to be more of a premium on the trade market.

  • TVA Sports’ analyst Mike Bossy wondered if more moves are coming with the Montreal Canadiens, suggesting perhaps Victor Mete’s days with the Habs might be numbered due to the additions of Joel Edmundson and potentially Alexander Romanov. Mete is a restricted free agent in October and due for a raise.

BLH’s Thoughts: The Habs shouldn’t be dealing Mete because Romanov could “potentially” earn a spot on the roster next season. Romanov is a rookie coming over from Russia and should probably get a little bit of time in the AHL to start off with. In the meantime, that would give GM Marc Bergevin ample time to find a new home for Mete should the need arise. 

  • Matt Larkin (The Hockey News) feels it would be a bad idea to move Philip Danault and suggests the Habs should learn from what happened to the Buffalo Sabres when they traded away Ryan O’Reilly to the St. Louis Blues. Larkin doesn’t want the Habs to risk repeating that mistake with promising Nick Suzuki. He believes Danault would be difficult to replace.

BLH’s Thoughts: Larkin couldn’t have said it better. Elite two-way centers do not grow on trees and are hard to come by as they don’t become available too often. If the Canadiens plan on doing some winning in the future, they should consider keeping Danault and possibly moving Kotkaniemi for help elsewhere. 

  • Sportsnet’s Luke Fox recently listed Aaron Ekblad, Matt Dumba, Colton Parayko, Brett Pesce, Mattias Ekholm, and Mackenzie Weegar as intriguing options for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

BLH’s Thoughts: All of these names being available is kinda shocking, no? With all of the talk about the Oilers having a serious interest in Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Aaron Ekblad, Colton Parayko is a name that fans in Edmonton should keep in the back of their minds. The Blues need to move out some cash to fit Alex Pietrangelo back into the fold there and Parayko might be the odd-man-out.

  • Former NHLer Anson Carter (NHL Network) is saying that if the Vegas Golden Knights buy out goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, the Pittsburgh Penguins may be a team that could take a look.

BLH’s Thoughts: If this future hall-of-famer is bought out, there’s going to be a line around the corner for his services and there’s no doubt in my mind that that Oilers will be near the front of it. I don’t know if Pittsburgh would be though. They’ve got Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith ready to go there. 

  • Jeremy Rutherford (The Athletic STL) is reporting that the St. Louis Blues could re-sign defenseman Vince Dunn to a one-year extension worth $2.5M to $3M this offseason.

BLH’s Thoughts: #BargainDeal

  • Postmedia’s Michael Traikos believes Senators dman Mark Borowiecki would be an affordable option for the Maple Leafs this offseason.

BLH’s Thoughts: This is the kind of veteran I’d expect Ken Holland to sign in Edmonton on the cheap. Especially with the number of young defenders coming up. 

  • Dallas Stars holdout defenseman Julius Honka will return to the club once their postseason concludes according to the Dallas News’ Matthew DeFranks.
  • Tarik El-Bashir (The Athletic) reports that the Washington Capitals will be active in free agency this offseason. They will pursue a backup goalie and some defense.
  • The agent of Canadiens’ forward Charles Hudon believes that a change of scenery could be a good thing for both parties. Hudon is a free-agent this offseason.

BLH’s Thoughts: I believe the Oilers do want to shake things up in their bottom-six a bit and they had some interest in Hudon a couple of years ago. I’m not sure what happened in Montreal with him. I thought he was trending well until this past season. Anyways, he’s fast and gritty and he plays his role well. 

  • On Saturday Headlines (HNIC), Elliotte Friedman said word is leaking out that the Calgary Flames are leaning towards keeping Geoff Ward as their next head coach.
  • Friedman also mentioned that former Islanders GM Garth Snow was interviewed for the general manager’s position in Florida and that former US Olympian Angelo Ruggiero was also contacted.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have begun calling teams around the league on player moves and will be a “cap team” if necessary according to Friedman.
  • Josh Yohe (The Athletic) is reporting that Penguins GM Jim Rutherford wants to clear out more cap space before October 9th and be active on the free-agent market from day 1.

BLH’s Thoughts: Bryan Rust and Patric Hornqvist are available right now and most likely at a very affordable price if a team is willing to take on some salary. Both of these players should be on Edmonton’s radar. Hornqvist’s role is pretty similar to Chiasson mind you, so perhaps the Oilers would need to send him out in that sort of trade but the Swede brings the kind of net-front presence that hasn’t been seen in Edmonton since Ryan Smyth retired. 

The Oilers Speculation

I really enjoy the analysis and insider news that Kurt Leavins brings to the Oilogosphere but the one thing we do not agree on in nearly every facet is Jesse Puljujarvi.

Where’s the motivation in smearing a young man’s character publicly when he’s doing what he feels is best for himself? There has to be more to this story that what’s being portrayed on the surface, no?

Here’s the thing, in a normal world, at 22yrs old, Puljujarvi would just be at the start of his NHL career and most likely beginning to become an impactful player at that level. He’d have gone through two more years in the SM-Liiga, dominated (as he is doing now), and then 1-2 more years in the AHL as a top-liner (as he was as an 18yr old on the “small ice”).

So, instead of taking that development time earlier in his career as a teenager, he’s taking it now in his 20s. What’s the problem with that? Now, he’s bigger, stronger, more mentally prepared, and he’s going to light up Europe this year. All positives in my opinion.

As a GM of a hockey team or a coach or even a teammate, wouldn’t you like to have your player ready when he’s asked to come and join your club?

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