Edmonton Oilers Talk: How Many 20 Goal Scorers Will Edmonton Have? Perlini’s Big Advantage over Benson and NHL Rumors!

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The Athletic

9 bold predictions for the Oilers in 2021-22

The Oilers will finish within five points of the division leader
Ken Holland will trade for a goalie by the deadline
Connor McDavid will win the Art Ross Trophy
The Oilers will have five 20-goal scorers
Dave Tippett will deploy a dozen defencemen
The Oilers will outscore their opposition at five-on-five
Draisaitl will score 45-plus goals
Oilers will push close to 300 goals this season
The Oilers will win a playoff round

BLH’s Thoughts: I think the Oilers will BE the division leader.

If the Oilers are in a good spot, I think Holland stays with his veteran goalies. Does he have a history of making goalie trades at the deadline?

McDavid winning the Art Ross might be the least bold prediction.

The Oilers will have MORE than five 20g scorers in 2021-22.

If the Oilers have to use 12 defensemen, their season has probably hit the skids… So I’ll say no to this one.

45 goals is well within reach for Leon. What about 55? That would be a proper bold prediction.

300 goals for the club in total? Sure. I can go with that.

The Oilers are going to win more than one playoff round. That’s MY bold prediction.

Edmonton Sun

Perlini waging intense battle for Edmonton Oilers depth spot

With five of Edmonton’s top six spots locked up, and Warren Foegele, Derek Ryan, Zack Kassian and Kailer Yamamoto guaranteed four more, battles for the remaining few positions are heating up already.
Perlini, Tyler Benson, Devin Shore, Kyle Turris, Ryan McLeod and Colton Sceviour are all pushing hard. And who knows what will become of Josh Archibald, who’s sitting out while he decides whether to get vaccinated or not.
That’s all Perlini wanted when he came to Edmonton in search of a spot: A fair fight. He’s getting one, and making the most of it so far.
Perlini, who signed a one-year, two-way contract in August, knows Tippet from his Arizona days and believes the familiarity will help with his quest to be an everyday Oiler. He already knows what the coach expects and the coach already knows what the high end of his game looks like.

BLH’s Thoughts: Like I said yesterday, we’ve seen the pre-season all-star show before from fringe players in the past. So, if you’re new to being an Oilers supporter, don’t get all hung up on a 4th line LW who’s lighting up goalies who are just getting into game shape or are AHL/ECHL/Major Junior caliber.

With that in mind, Perlini has been the better out of him, Benson, and Shore so far.

However, last night vs. WPG, Tyler Benson had himself a VERY good 3rd period on a line with Xavier Bourgault and I think Colton Sceviour. I could be wrong on the Sceviour call though, so don’t quote me there, but Benson got himself involved every time he hit the ice in the final frame. Which is great news for him, let’s hope we see more of that on the weekend.

Speaking of “Go-Go”, Edmonton’s 2021 1st round pick is looking electric! I’ve found his speed and quickness to be NHL caliber and his work in the muck has been really pleasing. The kid’s hockey IQ is right up there too.

In year’s past, he’d be playing for the club on opening night, but that probably won’t be happening this year. All he needs to do is work on bulking up and getting stronger and he’ll be in the NHL as early as next season but more likely in 2023 as a full-timer.

Personally, I think that Bourgault has been better than Yamamoto so far, but it’s early days. That said, if “Go-Go” is still on the roster late in camp… The brass in Edmonton might be seeing the same thing I am…

Spector’s Hockey

THE HOCKEY NEWS: Adam Proteau believes it could take some time, perhaps until the March trade deadline, for the Buffalo Sabres to move Jack Eichel and the St. Louis Blues to deal away Vladimir Tarasenko.

One reason is roughly half the teams in the league have less than $1 million in cap space.

SPORTSNET: During his latest “32 Thoughts” podcast, Elliotte Friedman speculates it could take the NHL stepping in to resolve the impasse between the Sabres and Eichel over which medical procedure he’ll undergo to repair a herniated disc in his neck.