Edmonton Oilers Rumors: “…the team that would make the most sense but lacks salary cap space is the Edmonton Oilers.”

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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The Athletic

Should the Oilers move Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to the 3rd line?

Edmonton’s five-on-five goal differential on the third line has been a problem for many years, and the early positive signs this season did not last.
Nugent-Hopkins plays big minutes in all situations (averaging 20:52 a night, almost 14 minutes five-on-five) but would sacrifice even-strength time moving to the third line. That’s a big consideration for Tippett: Is Nugent-Hopkins playing fewer minutes a night at even strength worth it?
The key to moving Nugent-Hopkins to No. 3 centre is five-on-five outscoring, and that means an ability to produce goals without McDavid and Draisaitl.
The numbers since Nugent-Hopkins arrived (and that’s a decade) confirm over and over again the gifted forward cannot push offence against the other team’s best. As a complementary player, he’s brilliant (as shown against the Blues on Sunday)…
If Nugent-Hopkins were to become the No. 3 centre, he would need plenty of support to make it successful. He is a more talented player than Derek Ryan or Ryan McLeod, but that won’t turn Edmonton’s depth wingers into outscorers.
A third line featuring Foegele and Jesse Puljujarvi would have a great chance to succeed, but that’s borrowing a tremendous amount from the feature line for a trio that by definition will be the third option most nights.
…as tempting as it might be to move Nugent-Hopkins, as much as fans might want to see it, he’s in the right spot.

BLH’s Thoughts: The other thing is, Dave Tippett cannot help himself but throw Draisaitl and McDavid out together when the waters are choppy. That would mean everybody moves up a slot and the Hart Foundation’s TOI rockets to the moon. The other team simply has to endure the minutes that McDavid and Draisaitl are on the ice for and lay the pressure on thick when the rest of the team gets their ice.

It’ll be a lot easier to tinker with the bottom-six than to muck about with the top-six, I reckon. Acquisition costs are much lower as you go down the roster and teams are more apt to move 3rd and 4th liners.

That said, in the not too distant future, the Oilers 3rd line is going to feature Zach Hyman and RNH as their careers wind down. Maybe by then Edmonton has some legit top-six wingers to replace those vets with.

Now, what kind of boost will the 3rd line get when Zack Kassian returns this week. It sounds like he’ll be coming in on Tuesday against the Jets, a really heavy team that works extremely hard in the muck.

Oilersnation

Monday Mailbag

Mike Smith was sent back to Edmonton after a setback in his recovery and my question is how long does he have to be out before Ken Holland goes looking for help? Would Marc-Andre Fleury actually be a fit?

“When I think of Marc-Andre Fleury, I just don’t even know how the Oilers would be able to make the math work unless Chicago is retaining half and they’re sending Koskinen/Kassian/something like that the other way. And if you’re the Blackhawks, would you want to make that trade anyway?” – Baggedmilk

BLH’s Thoughts: Unless Smith is out for the year, Holland will stick with the current duo. The one caveat being another injury.

Oilers fans have to keep in mind that Ken Holland is one of the most patient GMs in the league and there’s a reason he’s mentored some very famous execs in the league, because he’s one of the best at his job, ever.

Darnell Nurse signed two bridge deals before eventually signing his monster contract this past summer. Knowing that, do you think they should take a different approach when it comes to Jesse Puljujarvi who will be needing a new deal when the season is over?

“Puljujarvi likely won’t sign a long-term deal for what the Oilers would want to sign him for. I don’t see Edmonton giving him a $6m deal on a long-term, and he and his camp likely feel he can become that type of player, so a bridge makes the most sense. Also in two years Duncan Keith, Milan Lucic and Andrej Sekera are off the books. The only Oilers who could garner big raises then are Evan Bouchard and Puljujarvi.” – Gregor

BLH’s Thoughts: From the whispers I’m hearing through the grapevine, it sounds like the AAV on Pulju’s next deal will start with a five… Most think it won’t be a max-term deal, but I’m also wary of those saying it’ll be a short bridge contract too. If the agents work for the player and the player wants a four or five year deal, then in theory, that’s what he’ll likely end up getting.

Will Ken Holland want JP’s next contract expiring in two year as Gregor points to? I don’t know that he will.

Pulju might still be rep’d by Markus Lehto but Wasserman (McDavid’s agent’s agency) is overseeing things too and I wonder if that fact alone might change the outlook a bit.

What can the Oilers do about the refs refusing to call penalties in favour of Connor McDavid?

“It is a league-wide issue. It is a bigger problem than just McDavid, but I understand why Oilers fans are frustrated because a lot goes uncalled on McDavid. At the very least the Oilers brass should be calling the league privately.” – Gregor

BLH’s Thoughts: #TaketheFine…

I don’t think after playing two seasons without fans and incurring THAT financial difficulty that a itty bitty fine from the NHL for expressing some concern for the quality of officiating with regards to the league’s best players is a deal breaker for the Edmonton Oilers organization…

C’mon…

I mean, in the event that it is a deal breaker, why doesn’t the team simply go out and hire some of the hockey community’s most powerful online influencers and get the message out that way?

I suppose another thing they could do is hit the league in its wallet and refuse to make their stars available for certain league events like the all-star game or charity outings. The Winter Olympics is a massive global advertisement for the NHL and nobody watches it if the stars aren’t playing. Although in those scenarios, the players and their agents would have to go along as well, but I’m just saying, there are ways to protest without going the Brian Burke route…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XBXJtiQw-o

Assuming the Oilers will be buyers at the trade deadline, where do you see upgrade opportunities in their lineup through the first 14 games?

“This team isn’t even settled in and set yet in the bottom six forward mix and the defensive pairings, so it’s a bit early… it’s worth keeping an eye on the left side of the defensive group. Right now, the Oilers are outscoring some of their question marks on the back end.” – Brownlee

BLH’s Thoughts: A lot of people talking about upgrading the left side of the defense… Makes sense, but I don’t see it being touched until March at the earliest IF it gets addressed at all via trade.

NHLTradeRumor.com

Jonas Siegel of The Athletic writes, “If GM Kyle Dubas can somehow swing it — with cap space still at a premium — the Leafs could certainly use another legitimate threat in their top six.”… Siegel went on to say, there are not many guys on the Leafs roster that can pot 20 goals besides Matthews, Tavares, Nylander and Marner.
James O’Brien of NBC Sports states with GM Bob Murray stepping down, maybe the Ducks can finally truly embrace a rebuild… O’Brien went on to say, the Ducks should consider this in their rebuild: whether Gibson is elite or not, he’s most likely to serve the team best in a well-timed, sell-high trade.
- The Colorado Avalanche could make a move closer to the NHL trade deadline. The Penguins have shown interest in the past and the team that would make the most sense but lacks salary cap space is the Edmonton Oilers.
Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports New York Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello is looking to bolster his blueline and could target the Leafs Dermott as Dermott’s cap hit works for the Islanders… The only way Dermott stays with the Leafs is if the Leafs receive an offer they can’t refuse for Justin Holl.

BLH’s Thoughts: It’s been said that if the Oilers want to get in on John Gibson it’ll take a 5-piece offer consisting of Philip Broberg, Mikko Koskinen, Kailer Yamamoto, a 2022 first-round pick, and another draft pick.

That be a hefty price for the Oilers to pay right now and there’s no guarantee Gibson would waive his 10-team NTC to play in Northern Alberta…