Oilers to Prioritize Winger Over Starting Goalie This Summer

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 Spector’s Hockey

UPDATES ON KANE AND DUMBA

SJHOCKEYNOW.COM: Sheng Peng cited Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli’s inclusion of Evander Kane on his list of offseason trade candidates. Seravalli reported friction between the 29-year-old Sharks winger and several teammates this season.

An NHL executive told Peng he doubted the Sharks would get much of a return for Kane. Despite his consistent production, he’s difficult to move because of the locker-room drama that’s dogged his career, his ongoing bankruptcy proceedings and hefty contract.

BLH’s Thoughts: One has to wonder if the financial problems Kane is experiencing will smarten him up a bit or if he’ll continue to let his ego write checks his playing career won’t be able to cash. If he could get things under control, I can’t think of a better winger for the Edmonton Oilers to have on their team and he reminds me of a forward they used to have way back in the day…

NBC SPORTS: James O’Brien suggests teams interested in a trade for Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones should instead consider Minnesota Wild blueliner Matt Dumba. He pointed out Dumba has better underlying numbers at even strength over the last three seasons plus he’d cost considerably less to acquire in a trade.

BLH’s Thoughts: If I had the choice, I think I would go with Jones. My feeling is as soon as he’s with a new club, those numbers will come back up to where they were previously. No disrespect to Dumba either because I love his brand of hockey. He’s gutsy, physical, has a heavy shot, and takes no shit. That’s a guy you can get behind when all the chips are on the table. All around, Jones is better I feel.

From NHL Trade Talk

Oilers Most Obvious Trade is Not For a New Goalie

Tom Gazzola, who covers the Oilers closely, is a former employee of the team and now does hits on podcasts and radio shows for TSN, suggests the left-wing position might be where Holland focuses his trade efforts. Calling it the easier position to fill, teams that have to move salary or are handcuffed heading into the NHL Expansion Drafts are also organizations that might try to dump salary in a position where they have a perceived surplus of options. It’s a ripe opportunity for Edmonton to grab a strong player on the cheap.

A Few Potential Options for the Oilers

Jake DeDrusk (BOS)
Jakub Voracek (PHI)
Evander Kane (SJ)
Rickard Rakell (ANA)

BLH’s Thoughts: I do concur with Holland that finding a LWer is a much easier problem to solve. Teams tend not to let all-star goaltenders walk for anything less than a King’s ransom and signing one on the FA market costs an arm and a leg.

I don’t think we need to get into the merits of each of those wingers listed, but if I had my choice, I’d go with Kane for the reasons we’ve already talked about above.

Now, that said, sometimes the hardest choice to make turns out to be the best one. Getting a goaltender the Oilers can count on for the next five years couldn’t be more important in my opinion. I will so that with the right defensemen and middle-six, Holland probably wouldn’t have to find the next Patrick Roy…

From The Athletic

Jean-Gabriel Pageau ‘likely’ needs surgery, Islanders veterans want to return and ‘the best fans in this league’

‘He’s an Islander’

That was how Trotz put it when asked about Casey Cizikas, the longest-tenured Islander whose contract is now up.

But there will be a slew of teams lined up to talk to Cizikas once free agency opens a month from now. Any number of teams who either missed the playoffs or bowed out early have declared their intention to get deeper and heavier; the Rangers are among them, though Cizikas’ decade on the Island would seemingly knock them out of the running unless their offer was too big to ignore.

Cizikas’ hometown Leafs need more depth. The Oilers, Wild, Bruins, Avalanche and Jets are playoff teams who need to get more playoff-ready. Of the attractive, grinding-type forwards who could hit the UFA market, Cizikas is the only true center, which boosts his attractiveness even more.

BLH’s Thoughts: Do journeymen like Cizikas often move on from the team they’ve been with their entire careers just as their club is on the brink of becoming a Stanley Cup contender? I’d love to have him on the Oilers but I believe he’ll sign a deal to play out the rest of his career in Long Island (or Brooklyn or where ever this team resides in New York).

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