Today’s news and speculation from the NHL includes notes on Aaron Ekblad, Loui Eriksson, Evgeni Malkin, Chris Tanev, Mike Hoffman, and much more!
"I'm hearing Aaron Ekblad might be available." – Bob Stauffer (630CHED)#Oilers fans be like: pic.twitter.com/vHod6p0RFf
— B.L.H. (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast) (@BeerLeagueHeroe) September 23, 2020
The News and Rumors
- James Mirtle (The Athletic): Two names to watch as hockey ops targets for new Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong: former Sabres Department of Amateur scouting head Ryan Jankowski and Brian Daccord who was a consultant with the Maple Leafs.
- Rick Dhaliwal (TSN): No offer from the Vancouver Canucks to Chris Tanev. Other teams are going to be after him including the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins.
BLH’s Thoughts: If you’re a GM and you like Tanev, you’ve got to ask yourself, how many more years as an effective NHL defenseman does he have and tailor your offer according to the answer of that question.
The way I see it is that he’s barely being held together by sock tape and I’d be very wary of my GM offering him a long-term deal. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a warrior and I love hockey players who put it all on the line. It’s just that he’s going to be looking for $5M+ and term… I’d rather give it to Larsson when the time comes.
- Dhaliwal cont: “Here’s a Loui Eriksson update – no trade. What a shock. JP Barry isn’t a miracle worker. Canucks won’t retain salary or add any sweeteners.”
BLH’s Thoughts: The Canucks are stuck with this guy until his contract expires in two seasons. That being said, he had a game or two in the playoffs where he wasn’t terrible. I mean, could Vancouver simply find another team with a player making $6M-ish and look to make a swap? Maybe Buffalo for Okposo or the Islanders for Ladd? Surely, Eriksson has to be tired of all this drama by now.
- Rob Rossi (The Athletic): The Pittsburgh Penguins are operating as though talks with Evgeni Malkin’s camp on a new 3-year deal will begin as soon as the CBA allows. Malkin wants to retire with Pittsburgh.
- TSN 1040 Radio: The Canucks and Jacob Markstrom’s camp have been negotiating for 16 months and are no closer to getting a deal done. They have 17 days left…
BLH’s Thoughts: It would be good to see Malkin retire a Penguins. I feel like that sort of one-team career doesn’t happen so much anymore.
What are the Canucks trying to squeeze Markstrom for right now? Personally, I reckon Vancouver should go with Demko and a veteran backup going forward. It might be a little recency bias but if those playoff games are his ceiling, that’s pretty damned good.
- Arther Staple (The Athletic): Matt Martin likely won’t get close to $2.5M on his next contract, Derick Brassard will go elsewhere, and Leo Komarov’s deal is a cheap buyout to save cap.
BLH’s Thoughts: Brassard and Komarov could get some interest from the Oilers. Brassard was “this” close to signing in Edmonton last summer and if Uncle Leo does get bought out and is willing to sign a friendly contract with the Oilers, he’s got a ton of fight left in his game and lots of professional experience for Edmonton’s bottom-6.
- Pierre LeBrun (TSN): Florida Panthers GM Bill Zito hasn’t talked to the Mike Hoffman or Evgeni Dadonov camps yet. He might want to see how the market looks closer to October 9th before making a decision.
BLH’s Thoughts: I don’t think we’ll see either player back in FLA next season. The mandate from ownership is to cut massive salary and now!
- More LeBrun: The Maple Leafs, Golden Knights, and Flames are looking like the three most likely destinations for Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo.
BLH’s Thoughts: Riddle me this Batman, how can any of those teams afford to sign Pietrangelo when they’re not exactly in a position to financially to do so? Calgary has the most cap room at $16M but they’ve got to get Andrew Mangiapane re-signed as well as Oliver Kylington AND find a goalkeeper. That’s also forgetting about the fact that they may want to sign other depth players and perhaps have a little buffer room on the cap.
I think somebody said Edmonton was also an option… What are these guys smoking?
- Even More LeBrun: Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss is not expected to stay in Long Island this offseason and will likely test the free-agent market.
BLH’s Thoughts: Definitely the kind of veteran I expect the Oilers to look into. I wonder if Holland looks to increase the German speaking quotient within the organization at the draft also seeing how JJ Paterka and Lukas Reichel are on Edmonton’s radar.
- Lyle Richardson (Spector’s Hockey): It is believed that the Ottawa Senators have been in trade talks regarding Penguins goalie Matt Murray.
- Dan Kingerski (Pittsburgh Hockey NOW): Some pieces the Sabres could move for goalie Matt Murray include: Casey Middlestadt, Brandon Montour, or Ryan Johnson.
BLH’s Thoughts: I don’t know how Buffalo is expected to compete next season. They’ve got maybe eight players signed for 2020-21 and they want to stay under an internal cap too. How does Matt Murray fit into that equation.
I guess that question also applies to Ottawa, oddly enough. Although, they need a goalie much more than Buffalo does. The Sabres at least have Ullmark and Johansson, Ottawa are pinning their hopes on Anders Nilsson and Magnus Hoberg.
- The Athletic: Teams have inquired for Penguins forward Bryan Rust. GM Jim Rutherford isn’t shopping him but would consider it for a significant return (roster player + top prospect).
BLH’s Thoughts: Weeks ago, Bob Stauffer brought Rust’s name up in a conversation with Sportsnet’s Mark Spector and Rust has been connected to Edmonton in rumors going back to last summer with Puljujarvi (plus) going the other way.
The Pens winger was a point-per-game player last season and only made $3.5M… I would think that’s the kind of player you keep on hand.
Would you move a Kassian (plus) for him if you were Oilers GM?
- Sara Civian (The Athletic): Goaltending options for the Carolina Hurricanes include; Marc-Andre Fleury, Jacob Markstrom, and Anton Khudobin.
- Chris Johnston (Sportsnet): The Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs have intentions on making pitches to Jacob Markstrom.
BLH’s Thoughts: Anybody else getting sick of all the goalie talk?… For what it’s worth, I wonder if James Reimer is the first domino to drop that sets everything else in motion.
The Oilers Speculation
I’ve been told that aside from Sasha Barkov, the entire roster is available in Florida. Even Aaron Ekblad.
Now, I would think that if Edmonton is going after Ekblad, it’s going to cost them one of Philip Broberg or Evan Bouchard and one of Darnell Nurse or Oscar Klefbom. That only gets the conversation started.
Still interested?
Just myself, I think that if I’m Bill Zito, I want to keep the spine of my club solid. That means Barkov, Ekblad, and Bobrovsky (contract) are untouchable unless someone offers me something that blows my mind. Meaning, for example, of Ottawa phoned me up and said they’d give me the #3, #5, and Colin White for Barkov. That would be hard to say no to.
But coming back to reality, if Edmonton wants a good middle-six winger, why not make a call on Brett Connolly? The Panthers are looking to toughen up, so offer them Zack Kassian. Connolly isn’t a tough guy but he’s no shrinking violet either. He can score and he plays a good brand of North American hockey with a dusting of skill that would please the blue-collar fans in Edmonton.
Frankie Vatrano is another hard-working skiller that might tickle the Oilers’ fancy a bit. He could be helpful in providing some speed and scoring on the lower end of the lineup.
Of course, there’s Henrik Borgstrom too… I think we’ve talked enough about him though.
