Long-Time Oilers Beat Writer: “A Barrie Signing Almost Assures a Bear Trade.”

Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with excerpts from the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation from all of the internet’s best sites including Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, The Athletic, TSN and more!

From Sportsnet (Mark Spector)

Larsson’s departure leaves Oilers questioning how to proceed on defence

Perhaps it was just time for an Oilers career that began as the disappointing return for Taylor Hall to come to an end. Time to leave a city where Larsson had experienced some personal success, but also tragedy when his 50-year-old father Robert passed suddenly on a visit here three years ago.
Here, players experience the same fishbowl as Toronto, but without the location or amenities of The Big Smoke. It’s cold, it’s far away, and outside of hockey the winters are long.
Whatever the reason, Edmonton just lost their best shutdown defenceman, a year after losing Klefbom. Those are two major blows to the program.
A Barrie signing almost assures a Bear trade.
Maybe you leave Barrie alone and go after UFA defenceman David Savard, a straight-up replacement for Larsson who would pair nicely with Keith on a second unit
Or spend less money and term on Travis Hamonic, with the idea that Bouchard will be able to play second-pairing minutes halfway into the coming season.
Either way, the hole left by Larsson can not be filled by an offensive-minded defenceman. Bouchard is too young and inexperienced to project into that role, and Bear simply is not that player.

BLH’s Thoughts: So for all those analytics types that are always harping about how much skill the Oilers don’t have in their lineup, adding Tyson Barrie and not trading away Ethan Bear should have them as hard as rocks, right?

I think if it were me, I’d pivot off of Zach Hyman and move to replace Larsson ASAP. I’d contact the Buffalo Sabres and the Dallas Stars to see what the asking prices on Rasmus Ristolainen and John Klingberg are and then find somebody else for McDavid’s LW.

Bob Stauffer says that somebody is going to shake loose in Boston now that the Bruins are set to sign Taylor Hall to a 4yr deal. Maybe that means Craig Smith or Jake DeBrusk, but those two I’d definitely consider as targets for the Oilers first line.

From The Cult of Hockey (David Staples)

Top 10 consolations for Edmonton Oilers fans jilted by Adam Larsson choosing Seattle

10. The Islanders lost John Tavares and haven’t skipped a beat.

9. At least the Dallas Stars also lost Jamie Oleksiak to Seattle.

8. Hey, Tyson Barrie still loves Edmonton.

7. Alex Edler, Jani Hakanpaa, Travis Hamonic, Mark Pysyk, David Savard are all free agents and defensive d-men, right?

6. At least it wasn’t Chris Pronger asking for a trade today.

5. Plenty of ice time and opportunity for Evan Bouchard, Ethan Bear and Dmitri Samorukov.

4. At least the Calgary Flames also lost Mark Giordano to Seattle.

3. It’s about time for Larsson’s wonky back to start acting up again, right?

2. Hey, Mike Smith still loves Edmonton.

1. At least it wasn’t Wayne Gretzky sold out of town today.

BLH’s Thoughts: Expect the unexpected, right? I mean, when one door closes, another opens up and it wouldn’t shock me in the slightest if Evan Bouchard and/or Dmitri Samorukov made us all forget about Adam Larsson next season. I feel very good about both of these young defenders and if I’m not mistake, I think they’re both 22yrs old, so they should be about ready to step in and make an impact.

Personally, I’m disappointed that The Iron Swede has decided to leave the Oilers, but from that I’m hearing, I’m really glad for him that he’s landed in a spot that he feels will make him a happy human being because that’s what’s the most important thing.

From Oilersnation (Jason Gregor)

What Does Losing Larsson Mean?

It clearly wasn’t about money as he signed a four-year deal with a $4m AAV. That was fair market value.
Money wasn’t the main motivator, nor was playing closer to home as he is from Sweden. So why did he leave? There are many factors.Weather.
A new challenge.
Living by the Ocean.
His best friend Oscar Klefbom won’t be returning.
His father, Robert Larsson, died in Edmonton while visiting Adam in 2018. His mother has only visited once since. It was tough.
How did he feel in the organization? He was well respected by his teammates. I was told as late as yesterday he was in communication with them and said he still might re-sign.
I’ve had players leave Edmonton and tell me how their new team did little things that mattered, like car services, arranging things for their family, making players feel important and welcome and overall communication.
when a player opts to leave and money isn’t the main focus the organization needs to look within to see if it could have done anything different.
Losing Larsson will hurt, but if his departure crushes this team then they weren’t that good to begin with.
They have the cap space to sign Dougie Hamilton. It is worth taking a swing, albeit unlikely they land him. David Savard would be the best option as a top-four defensive-minded RD. They will look at Travis Hamonic. They’ve been in communication with Tyson Barrie who is still under contract with them until next Wednesday.
Dmitri Samorukov is training in Edmonton. He’s 22 and has played one season in the AHL and another in the KHL. He will come to camp and push for job on left defence. Don’t sleep on him making a strong push to make the team.

BLH’s Thoughts: What I was told was that Larsson wanted to get away from the pressure cooker fishbowl that is Edmonton. He loved playing for the Oilers and he loved his teammates and coaches, but Edmonton wasn’t an easy place for him to be in.

That said, I did have a source from the west coast wonder what the hell he was thinking. So some people get why Larsson would move on to a new experience with the Kraken and some are truly miffed at his decision.

The way I see it is that the fanbase and the media in Edmonton can really be a bunch of evil mother f*ckers and there’s no escape once you’re there. Larsson didn’t have a choice about going to the Oilers, he was part of an unfortunate trade and he put on a brave face the entire time he was there. So you’ve got to give credit where it’s due and I will place blame where it’s due too.

When a player leaves a team Jason Gregor thinks placing some of the blame on the market and its media is a cop out and I’ll tell you straight out, that’s a bunch of bullshit. If he doesn’t think that the media and the fans of a team can drive a player out and/or prevent a player from coming in, he’s not been paying attention and he’s delusional PLUS he’s absolving himself from any sort of accountability as well as his peers in the scrum, how convenient.

And if you don’t believe me, find out how many NHL players have Edmonton on their no-trade lists even though the club has the two best forwards in the NHL on its team and is clearly on an up-trend. Not convinced? Go over the annals of Edmonton’s recent history and count how many players have asked to be traded.

Now, don’t get things misconstrued, I’m not saying the fanbase and the media are the sole reasons for these things because they aren’t. Edmonton as a locale can’t compete with the majority of other NHL cities, it’s not even close. So that factors in too and that means it takes a special soul to agree to come and spend multiple years with the Oilers.

Who wants to help me welcome Zach Hyman to the club?

Seattle Karen — The new NHL franchise in Seattle already has their AHL affiliate worked out! Click the pick and grab a Karen shirt today!

Give us a follow on the socials!