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
What I believe and what I know about the Oilers through their first 10 games
- What I believe: The Oilers will upgrade their top nine before the trade deadline.
- At worst, they could use more depth in the event of injury or underperformance down the stretch. An upgrade is another way of thinking.
- What I know: Aside from in net, and possibly a depth blueliner, this is the target area management wants to address.
- This comes from an industry source. Again, replacing Yamamoto in the top six is the most obvious play. Though he’s only 23 and a recent first-round pick (2017), the offensive output hasn’t been good enough. Then there’s that whole issue of the Oilers being in a salary-cap crunch and Yamamoto and Puljujarvi needing new contracts. If they have to prioritize one, the smart money is on the bigger and more productive Puljujarvi.
BLH’s Thoughts: Holland is going to have to play this one very carefully. If he does decide to move on from Yamamoto, that’ll give Pulju’s camp a lot of leverage to use over the summer and as it stands, Markus Lehto is already sitting pretty.
If I had to prognosticate, I think Jesse is going to get a very handsome raise on his next deal and Tomas Hertl’s most recent contract looks especially ripe to choose from.
In 2018-19, the Sharks’ Czech forward signed a four year deal worth $22.5M with an AAV of $5.625M as he’d just come off of 22g 46pt campaign.
From the way things are trending right now, I think JP is going to produce close to that or eclipse it.
As for trading Yamo, there are some really good wingers going UFA this summer and the Oilers need to get more scoring 5v5. Reilly Smith from Vegas is in the top-20 for 5v5 goal scoring in the past three years (26 goals) amongst RWers and the Golden Knights will be looking to get rid of that contract to fit Jack Eichel in.
Lowetide.ca
- I’m seeing comments about signing Jesse Puljujarvi and I understand it from the fan and team side, but if I’m JP’s agent this thing is going down to the wire next summer. The player has arb rights, an offer sheet is possible and all the cards are in the player’s hands. Why would the agent pursue an early settlement, no matter the offer? I can see an offer sheet, and Edmonton matching, but I can’t see an early conclusion to the negotiation. Ken Holland will need to work some real magic to get this solved with the current cap pressures.
BLH’s Thoughts: Lowetide, as usual, is making too much sense here.
I think Jesse loves playing in Edmonton but I’m not sure if he’ll be willing to cut the Oilers a deal seeing as the organization has put him through quite a bit. I reckon Holland will offer him term in exchange for a lower AAV though and if the Stanley Cup-winning GM can get Pulju signed to a contract similar to Hyman’s, I think that would be a win for all parties involved.
That said, the offer-sheet is a real thing and it seems like Jesse’s peers are not afraid to walk that line. Holland has some experience with offer sheets though, just ask Sergei Federov and the Carolina Hurricanes about that.
The Daily Goal Horn
- So, what are the Avs up to? Secondary scoring is something this team needs to find and may look to acquire it by the trade deadline… One player they should probably set their sights on is Phil Kessel in Arizona.
- Interim head coach Derek King picked up a win in his debut on Sunday. Prior to the game, interim GM Kyle Davidson stated that the team will not look for a new coach in season. That process will begin in earnest in the offseason.
