Edmonton Oilers Talk: “Gretz suggests they need to shed some salary to free up the cap space needed to keep…”

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 Hockey Writers

5 Reasons the Oilers Made the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs

You can’t say enough about the play of McDavid and Draisaitl this season, like every other. They are consistently at the very top of the league and prove night in and night out that they are two of the best in the game.
The Oilers have had a complete season turnaround since Jay Woodcroft was hired to replace Dave Tippett on Feb. 10. At the time, the team was 23-18-3 (.557 win percentage). Since Woodcroft’s hiring, the Oilers are 23-8-3 (.721 win percentage). Before the Tippett firing, the team was securely in a playoff spot after a hot start. They dropped 13 of 15 games, both of those wins coming when Tippett wasn’t behind the bench.
The signing of Evander Kane came just at the right time. He gave the Oilers a legitimate scoring winger who also adds physicality to a top-six that lacks that.
The power play, albeit, not where it has been the past couple of seasons since it was seemingly unstoppable, is doing the right thing but getting unlucky… The team has gone from the bottom of the league to 18th on the penalty kill and has almost brought their PK percentage to 80 which is generally the league average.
Their record as it stands right now when scoring the first goal is 29-2-1.

BLH’s Thoughts: It might not be popular opinion and could be a product of Jay Woodcroft being hired, but the Oilers netminding in the 2nd half of the season has been elite, especially as of late, and I don’t use that word lightly. Without Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen, this team would be struggling for a wildcard spot if not gifting themselves a prime place in the NHL draft lottery and that’s despite Connor and Leon’s individual heroics. Ken Holland deserves a lot of credit for going with his gut on this one.

Jesse Puljujarvi has been a revelation (for some) on the first line RW, but for anybody who knows their way around the game, they could see in his first year with the team where he would provide an immense amount of value. That being on the forecheck and in the muck. Back then he was one of the best breakout disruptors on the team, now he’s one of the best in the league at giving opposing defensemen fits.

Could there be something said about this roster having a proper spine? McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, and take your pick of Ryan McLeod, Derek Ryan, or Devin Shore down the middle. Darnell Nurse, Cody Ceci, and Duncan Keith providing stability defensively, and then the Koski, Smitty, and Skinner (to an extent) sharing the duties down the stretch (and prior). The great thing about the club’s strength down the middle is that it’s only getting better with Philip Broberg about ready to take the next step as well as the emergence of Evan Bouchard. And then there’s the complimentary talent in Dylan Holloway, Xavier Bourgault, Carter Savoie, Matty Petrov, Vincent Desharnais, Markus Niemelainen, etc. that are coming very soon.

Cult of Hockey

As the Oilers head to the playoffs, Ken Holland’s report card deserves a fresh grade: 9 Things

Given that Connor McDavid went to bat for Kane, actively helped recruit him and by observation so enjoys playing with him, one can’t help but wonder how hard Ken Holland would work to re-sign him.
With just 4 games left, the Oilers 98 points is the 2^nd highest for the franchise since 1987-88 (99) when Oilers won a cup. I wonder how that sits with the camp who wanted Ken Holland’s job and the roster subsequently blown up?
One of the concerns behind the scenes as the Oilers enter the playoffs is depth on Defence… Slater Koekkoek is away from the club, Dmitri Samorukov and Marcus Niemelainen are both hurt. That leaves Philip Broberg as the next (and practically only other) man up if there’s an injury.
It is difficult to argue that Keith hasn’t turned into the experienced rearguard this team needed deeper in its lineup… Keith is delivering one of his best performances since the 2017-18 season. Where Keith’s combined experience and ability should really have a chance to shine is in the playoffs, where he has 135 games under his belt.
The Oilers expect to have Darnell Nurse in the lineup for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs if not by one of the 28^th or 29^th home games.
(Mike) Smith has at least a .919 SV% in all his last 7 starts and has won 9 of his last 10. Not long ago, I wrote that it’s rare for any team to win in the playoffs with a tandem. That’s no longer an issue in Edmonton, where Smith has clearly emerged as the #1. And that’s no disrespect to Mikko Koskinen, who has been very good in 3 of his last 5.
Is Ken Holland owed an apology?
- Zach Hyman is having a career year.
- As mentioned a few paragraphs back, 38-year-old Duncan Keith is having perhaps his best campaign in 5 years.
- Warren Foegele will just about match his best year in Carolina, while the talented D-man he was traded for is a 6-7D for the Canes.

Is it true that Ethan Bear has been a healthy scratch 2 of the last three and Caleb Jones has been sitting in the press box for 4 of the last 5?

That's so weird if true. Why would the coaches of their teams sit such high quality defensemen like that?#LetsGoOilers

— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) April 24, 2022

- Cody Ceci. Disbelief was the reaction of many to his 4-year, 13-million-dollar contract. But as an Oilers regular? But he’s another guy having a career year.
- Evander Kane. Lots questioned the wisdom of this move. But so far, he has been an impact player on the ice with no sign of an issue off it. Has there been a more successful mid-season acquisition in the NHL anywhere this season?
- The Coach. Holland had never fired a coach mid-season. He gave Dave Tippett longer than many would have. But he ultimately went against a career’s worth of experience with the results being we see in he standings now.
- Mike Smith. Many wanted the struggling veteran goalie gone altogether. But Ken Holland repeatedly cautioned that he wanted to see this team when it’s #1 goaltender was healthy. And Holland was right. It’s very difficult to argue that Smith hasn’t been a major reason for the late season surge.

BLH’s Thoughts: Enough said. AHH! (All Hail Holland!)

Trade Rumors

Spector’s Hockey: (Elliotte) Friedman speculated Dubois’ name could be out there in this summer’s trade market if the 23-year-old center and the Jets fail to reach an agreement on a long-term contract.
- Adam Gretz believes the Minnesota Wild must find a way to re-sign Kevin Fiala, who’s formed a dominant scoring duo with rookie Matt Boldy this season… Gretz suggests they need to shed some salary to free up the cap space needed to keep Fiala in the fold. They could ship out a depth forward such as Marcus Foligno or Jordan Greenway or Tyson Jost, or perhaps a higher-salaried player such as Matt Dumba or Jonas Brodin.
The Daily Goal Horn: “What I can tell you is that there’s been ongoing talk with Kris Letang and the Pittsburgh Penguins, less so with Patrice Bergeron and the Boston Bruins but that’s more or less by design,” Darren Dreger noted on TSN Insider Trading.
- One team that I could see ready to add a player like (Tyler) Bertuzzi are the New York Islanders. After a disappointing year, Lou Lamoriello has already said he’s looking to make hockey deals.
NHLRumors.com: One of the names to keep an eye on with regards to the San Jose Sharks GM search is Kevin Weekes.

BLH’s Thoughts: I’d heard from a source out East that the Bruins are preparing for a scenario that sees Patrice Bergeron announcing his retirement…

Reckon Pierre-Luc Dubois would be more apt to sign long-term if he was told there were going to be some changes around the locker room and the Jets would be building the club around him. There’ve been lots of rumors about Mark Scheifele moving on after this year is done and Blake Wheeler isn’t getting any younger…

If the Wild are going to move Marcus Foligno, that’s one guy I’d love to see on the Oilers. He’d be a tough one to squeeze in though considering all the work Holland has to do to get Kane, Kuzmenko, Pulju, Yamo, McLeod, and a goalie signed this summer. Jordan Greenway is a beast too…

If Kevin Weekes is a serious candidate for the Sharks job, I bet you might hear something on Oilers Now (630CHED) about it at some point.