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#NHL22 Edmonton Oilers Rumors: One Oilers Pundit Believes Ken Holland Will Make Some Deals Early On in 2021-22

This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post 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 (Mitchell)

Lowetide: Why Oilers fans should expect more trades and a deep playoff run this season

  • Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland rarely makes trades outside of the offseason and trade deadline.
  • Going back to when he was GM of the Detroit Red Wings, it’s rare to see a move in November, December or January.
  • The usual pattern is: Holland does his business in the summer, watches the roster coalesce through the first half of the season, then makes tweaks at the deadline.
  • This is the year that changes… I expect Holland to make them sooner than later.
  • What does a GM who has made the decision to go all-in in an effort to win the Stanley Cup do when flaws appear on the roster?
    • …acts decisively to improve the team during the season, sending away future talent for significant immediate help.
  • Right wing is a concern, mostly due to an ineffective second half from skill forward Kailer Yamamoto and an 18-month run of poor play from veteran Zack Kassian.
    • this is an area Holland might look to address during the season.
  • Left defence has turned into a giant risky bet due to the long-term (and career-threatening) injury to Oscar Klefbom.
  • Holland could be shopping for a lefty defenceman during the season.
  • Goaltending is perhaps the most uncomfortable position for the Oilers as the team prepares to enter training camp.
  • I see possible holes at right wing (which could be solved internally), second pairing left defence, shutdown right defence and in goal.
    • logic dictates the goalie and shutdown defender are most likely to be the priorities based on the proximity to Edmonton’s net.

Targets

  • Anton Khudobin
  • Jaro Halak
  • Colton Parayko
  • Hampus Lindholm
  • Vladimir Tarasenko
  • Phil Kessel

BLH’s Thoughts: Hmmm. Colton Parayko eh? I feel like somebody brought his name up not too long ago.

I’m not sure if the Oilers’ cupboards are packed with enough draft picks and prospects to start to go all-in on trades yet. They’ve only got so many albatross contracts to move in the event that they want to bring in a substantial name, right? And I feel like the club has to continue to build up the prospect base for a potential future without Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl… 

That said, It shouldn’t be hard for the team to find a defenseman (right or left shot) who can come in and play the role of cycle-breaker. I do agree with LT that the team does need one pretty badly though, I’m just not sure they’ll need one right away.

Ken Holland must give the team some time to gel and become acclimated with one another before making any big moves and that’s another reason why I don’t think he’ll do anything noteworthy early in the year that will come as a surprise.

The Cult of Hockey (Leavins)

It may be now or never for prospect Cooper Marody with the Edmonton Oilers
  • It is a critical juncture in the career of the pending RFA. And since Marody is not waiver-exempt, it is doubly so.
  • I wonder if player and club will follow a path similar to the one trod along with Tyler Benson: A league-minimum, 1-year deal.
  • He posted 21-15-36 in 39 AHL games played for Bakersfield in 2020-21.
  • I’m not sure you can class that a “breakout” season when the player in question is 24 years old. But it was certainly a “bounce-back” performance after an injury-pocked 2019-20, including some after-affects from a nasty concussion.
  • The eyes say Cooper Marody is a talented play-maker more than a dangerous, pure scorer.
  • …it is fair to say that the key aspect keeping Cooper Marody out of all but a half-dozen NHL games in his career to date is his speed or lack thereof.
  • he deserves some credit for upgrading his average wheels over his career to-date, he is still not what you would consider a plus-skater at an NHL level. He might not even be average. And that’s a problem.
  • Expectations for 2021-22: Fluid. I’d project that if he signs but clears waivers at the end of camp, he could be a mid-season call-up.

BLH’s Thoughts: If Cooper Marody had even average NHL feet, he’d be an NHL player. I say that because the dmen in the big leagues have ZERO problems edging out a winger who isn’t fast or quick enough on a team who’s main tool for scoring is using its speed and catching the opposition on the counter. Edmonton is an “off the rush” scoring team and Marody’s lack of NHL wheels prevents him from being as effective as he could be if they were a lot better. 

If I were him, I might consider Europe just as a stop gap and in an attempt to build up some currency. He’d be a terror over there with his skillset and depending on the team, he could make some fat cash. 

NHLRumors.com

  • Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now: After the Boston Bruin signed Linus Ullmark to a five-year deal when free agency opened, most assumed Tuukka Rask days with the Bruins were over. That may not be the case.
  • Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic: The Blues could still be looking to add a veteran defenseman and a source said for the second consecutive offseason have shown some interest in Zdeno Chara.
    • Potential Blues trade targets have been limited this offseason. New York Islanders defenseman and St. Louis native Scott Mayfield has come up. He’s right-handed and is not the left-handed second-pairing defenseman the Blues could use, but could be an upgrade over Robert Bortuzzo.
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