Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Edmonton Oilers Talk: Bouchard, Puljujarvi, Holloway, Savoie, Which of these Players Will Be a Star?

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!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

Oil on Whyte (Pankiw)

Oilers: Jesse Puljujarvi Could Be in Store for a Major Breakout in 2021-22
  •  All signs point to him starting the season on Connor McDavid’s wing once again, and he will likely not have to worry about a revolving door on the left wing side this year, as free agent acquisition Zach Hyman is expected to man that position.
  • One very impressive thing from that Puljujarvi’s 2020-21 season was that nearly all of his production came at even strength, as just two of his goals and four points came on the man advantage.
  • With the departures of both Neal and Chiasson, Puljujarvi should get plenty more reps on the power play this season, which could help skyrocket his production.
  • Despite others around the league not yet realizing how much better of a player he has come, it wouldn’t surprise many Oilers fans to see him score roughly 25 goals and be north of 40 points next season. His $1.18 cap hit has a chance to be a major bargain in 2021-22.

BLH’s Thoughts: I think that Pulju should get more time on the PP now that Neal and Chiasson have moved on, but I don’t think he will. Hyman plays the net-front very well and honestly, I reckon Jesse is better served on the 2nd unit as in the Ovechkin spot because of his shot. 

JP will be a year stronger, wiser, and faster. There’s no doubt in my mind that he is due for about 40pts next season. 

I wonder, would it kill Tippett to try Puljujarvi on the PK?… 

Lowetide.ca

PRESENCE

HOW MANY young players, drafted 2016 or later, have the potential to be a star? How many have the potential to be a skill player? If the prospect isn’t capable of those levels, and projects as a checker/role player, were they drafted late enough to justify the selection?

Star Potential

  • RHD Evan Bouchard
  • LW Dylan Holloway
  • RW Jesse Puljujarvi
  • LW Carter Savoie

Skill Potential

  • LW Tyler Benson
  • RC Xavier Bourgault
  • LHD Philip Broberg
  • G Ilya Konovalov
  • F Raphael Lavoie
  • RW Kailer Yamamoto

Role Potential

  • LC Ryan McLeod
  • LHD Dmitri Samorukov
  • RW Tyler Tullio

BLH’s Thoughts: You’ll have to head over to LT’s site to read the justifications for each player being slated where they are because Lowetide did a fantastic job in that regard, but for me, I think that I’d have Benson down as a potential role player and Savoie in the skill bin. Everybody else is slotted in the right spot, more or less, in my opinion. 

That said, I think that Yamamoto might sway between skill and role and Rafa Lavoie may end up being a role player. “Go-Go” Bourgault and Broberg have the potential to get up to the star potential bucket though. 

The Daily Goal Horn

  • The Carolina Hurricanes appear to be on the verge of signing young star forward Andrei Svechnikov to an 8 year extension.
  • The City of Glendale informed the Arizona Coyotes that they must vacate the Gila River Arena at the end of the season. After a breakdown in talks and money owed, the City will not renew their lease.
  • The New York Islanders are one of the rumored teams that could be in on Vladimir Tarasenko.
    • …a deal may for Tarasenko may have defenseman Scott Mayfield going back the other way.
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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Edmonton Oilers Rumors: Could the Sabres Target Leon Draisaitl?

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!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

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Oil on Whyte (Lynch)

How long is the Edmonton Oilers championship window?
  • I think the championship window would be the next three years. If the team does not win a championship during the next three seasons this team will definitely be undergoing some major changes.
  • Getting out of the first round and into a conference final needs to happen. If the team doesn’t win a championship next season some playoff success needs to occur.

BLH’s Thoughts: Yeah… So it was a short post from Lynch… As long as Connor McDavid is on the Edmonton Oilers, there will be a window open to win a Stanley Cup. Even if he leaves, the club will still have Leon Draisaitl and I’d venture to say that they’d even have a very good chance at winning a championship with Leon leading the team. 

Now, should both players leave, after their contract expires, all bets are off. 

I don’t think I’m saying anything you, as a seasoned follower of the club, doesn’t already know. I do think it’s humorous that some think there’s only a three year opportunity though. Look out how long it took Tampa and Washington to win their Cups. If the Islanders win one in the coming years under Trotz and Lamoriello, that will have taken much longer than seven years, no? What about Colorado, how long will their build have taken if they win a championship in the next year or three?

If the players see that the team is competing, they’ll stick around unless they’re completely disillusioned. 

Oilersnation (baggedmilk)

Let’s talk about ads on jerseys
  • On Tuesday, Sportico’s Eben Novy-Williams and Scott Soshnick broke the story that the league’s Board of Governors had unanimously approved the idea of teams starting the process of negotiating potential jersey ad deals with interested sponsors. The report states that patches will measure 3 inches by 3.5 inches
  • For many, NHL jerseys are sacred and should not be tarnished by corporate logos, but for a league that’s likely hurting for cash because of the pandemic and having to play through what was mostly a fanless season, this is an easy way for teams to try and recoup some cash in the easiest way possible.
  • As much as we may not like the idea of ads on our beloved Oilers jerseys, it’s no secret that money talks and I don’t know that the NHL is really in a spot to be turning down easy revenue.
  • When I see a number like $4-6 million dollars earned from sewing a small patch on the front of a jersey, I can’t help but imagine rich billionaire owners smiling widely as they picture a dose of corporate cash coming in for doing next to nothing. Slap a patch on for millions of dollars? Giddy up, baby.
  • Personally, I don’t think adding a small logo to the front of the sweaters is that big of a deal provided that they keep it at one, especially since I’ll be able to buy one without the logos anyway.

BLH’s Thoughts: Look, I could give two shits if the Oilers roster looks like it should belong on the NASCAR circuit. I don’t have to buy that uniform IF I shell out the $300 dollars to get one, I can buy one that is stripped of the ads. My concern is the quality of the team and its results, not the visual quality of their uniforms. 

What I would like to see if the ad revenues moon is that the money is reinvested into the local minor hockey associations of each market. I still believe that the sport is quite expensive to get into and that’s not just talking about the equipment, the ice and ice time is ridiculously overpriced and that shouldn’t be the case.

NHL teams should be footing the bill to develop its market’s hockey players. Build rinks and arenas and provide opportunity to those who wouldn’t normally have it once the debts from the COVID seasons have been paid. 

Hell, move into untapped markets in Asia where there’s unknown amounts of potential and partner up with the local hockey organizations there and reap the benefits of that massive demographic. 

Spector’s Hockey

THE ATHLETIC: Jeremy Rutherford reports New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield has surfaced as a possible trade target for the St. Louis Blues. A St. Louis native, the 28-year-old Mayfield could be a fit on the right side of the Blues’ third defense pairing.

NHL.COM: Mike G. Morreale believes the New Jersey Devils still need forward depth. They recently signed Tomas Tatar. Promising Alexander Holtz could bolster their production but he’ll need time to adjust to the NHL pace. He feels they’ll need another veteran forward to provide support for Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes.

NHLRumors.com

  • John Vogl of The Athletic:  Buffalo Sabres’ UFA targets from one to several years out abound. The prominent players are Auston Matthews in 2024, Patrick Kane in 2023, and even Leon Drasaitl in 2025.
    • Kevyn Adams is putting the Buffalo Sabres in a position to spend as soon as the summer of 2022. At least, that is the plan. The problem with that future is in a year, who wants to go to Buffalo?
  • 2024 and 2025 appear to have more value or have more realistic targets. If Patrick Kane were to come home though, that might change things.
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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

#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!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

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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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

#NHL22 Edmonton Oilers Talk: Could We See Regression from Nurse, Draisaitl, Barrie, and More 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!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

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Lowetide.ca

A SOBER TRIP TO REASONABLE
  • One of the interesting conversations that came out of yesterday’s post was what ‘reasonable’ might look like for a player like Raphael Lavoie. 
  •  Some fans immediately think “Alex DeBrincat” when looking at Lavoie’s numbers and I think of Brad Isbister and still others land in between.
  • I used Isbister (over Ethan Moreau) because his skill set is a little closer to Lavoie. Both are big men, love shooting the puck, scored some goals and were willing to go to the front of the net. I think this is a good way to look at comparables, in this case using NHLE for goals.
  • Right wing would be the clearest path, and honestly it isn’t impossible to project Lavoie for a cup of coffee in 2021-22. But nine or 10 goals? That’s a distant bell.

BLH’s Thoughts: Lavoie’s NHLe from his draft year according to LT was 16.1 and Brad Isbister’s was 15.5. 

I’ll continue saying what I’ve been saying and that is that I believe Alex Chiasson to be a good comparable to Lavoie. Both a big bodied wingers with sneaky mean streaks who have elite shots but skating is their weak point. Both players dominated their respective junior leagues in scoring in their draft years as well.

Chiasson’s NHLe in his draft year was 19.8 according to the one calculator that I found online. 

It wouldn’t shock me if it took Rafa Lavoie a few seasons to get his feet under him. He’s got a temperament about him that may not jive with some coaches and like I said, his skating, might slow down his journey to the NHL. 

That said, there’s massive potential in this player if he can sort out his shortcomings. He’s lucky to have a coach like Jay Woodcroft guiding him right now because I don’t think a hard-ass coach would be the right mentor at this point in Lavoie’s career. 

I like this player a lot, but I do hope the Oilers do him right by slow playing him. 

Oilersnation (Yaremchuk)

Bouncebacks and Step Backs
  • I would throw together a list of a few players who could be primed for bounce-back seasons while also mentioning a few players who could potentially take some steps backwards in 2021-22.
Yamamoto
  • He’s a young player and has shown that he’s capable of scoring at the NHL level before. Combining that with the fact that he should get plenty of opportunities in the Oiler’s top six this coming season and his work ethic, I like Yamamoto’s chances of bouncing back next season.

BLH’s Thoughts: I like Yamo’s chances of bouncing back IF he starts on the third line. It was clear that he lost confidence in the latter half of last season and Coach Tippett wasn’t comfortable putting Zack Kassian in the top-six until the playoffs when it was painfully obvious that Yamamoto was getting checked out of the game in the top-six. 

But I’m not convinced that Killer will have a rebound year in the sense that we’ll see the kind of production that he was putting up in his rookie season. Will he score more than eight goals? He’d better… Ken Holland has a history of moving on from young players who don’t produce in favor of veterans… 

Kassian
  • I’m not as sure we’ll see a bounceback season from Kassian. He only scored 2 goals in 27 games last season and for him to get back in the top six, he’ll have to take away a spot from either Yamamoto or Jesse Puljujarvi. I don’t think he’s a better fit than either of those two with Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl.

BLH’s Thoughts: It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Kailer Yamamoto is moved down the lineup. Let’s keep that in mind because we know that Dave Tippet is open to that now. At this point, I wonder if he has to win that spot in the top-six back after the season he just had… 

I have a good feeling about Kass. The fans will be back and I reckon he’ll get more time in the top-six where he tends to play a bit harder. I feel like Leon and Nuge could use somebody with a bit more muscle alongside them too and we know that Zack can play alongside elite talent. 

The other thing is, if Kassian can produce, it might open up a window for the Oilers to make a trade… 

Smith
  • …the Oilers are banking on Smith having another magical season and it’s a pretty big risk in my opinion.
  • If his numbers end up somewhere in the middle of what they’ve been the last two years, then the Oilers will be in fine shape.

BLH’s Thoughts: I’m hesitant on Smith recreating last season’s stats too. They were pretty fantastic, weren’t they? But who knows how he’ll do behind a more experienced defense…

Health is the name of the game here with him. He really needs to stay as fit as possible because if he does and this team goes deep, his name will be spoken of in the same breath as Dominik Hasek, Dwayne Roloson, Johnny Bower, Jacques Plante, etc. as netminders who played very well into their 40s. 

Barrie
  • A step back is possible production-wise, but I’m actually going to say that it’s not exactly likely…
  • The concern with Barrie is that his defensive zone play will slip and since Adam Larsson isn’t around anymore…

BLH’s Thoughts: I’ve got zero concerns over Barrie’s production. He’ll be a 50-60pt defenseman next season barring injury. Producing points is what he does.

Yamo, Kass, and Smith are pretty low hanging fruit if you ask me though. Barrie? Fair go there. 

Now, is it not fair to speculate on Darnell Nurse’s season? Last year was a galactic step up in his game and I think that we could see a minor regression there production-wise as the rest of his game rounds out. 

Everything that I’ve seen on Duncan Keith since his acquisition by the Oilers has told me that he hasn’t had a good season in quite a while now. So would it also not be fair to have positive thoughts about him bouncing back in a new environment and being closer to his family?

Why wouldn’t it be wrong to think that Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl taking a step back or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins taking a step forward? What about Kyle Turris? That guy had an absolute nightmare of a year.

The Daily Goal Horn

On Zdeno Chara

  • The St. Louis Blues are still in the market to add a veteran defender to their lineup. In a report by Jeremy Rutherford, he notes that they had interest in adding the 6-9′ Chara.
    • “Told the Blues are not an option for future Hall of Fame Dman Zdeno Chara,” he tweeted. “His focus, if he plays, will be to stay in the East to remain close to his family.”

On Jack Eichel

  • One team many believed were suitors, primarily through media reports, may actually be in on the 24 year-old Eichel. Eric Stephens who covers the Ducks for the Athletic said this in a recent mailbag post:
    • “The Ducks, while not publicly talking about their interest in him, haven’t put the kibosh on the persistent rumors that they’re among the teams closely monitoring the situation between Eichel and Buffalo.”
  • It’s also possible that Buffalo would consider Anaheim’s 3rd overall pick in this past draft; center Mason McTavish. However; Buffalo would also want Jamie Drysdale and more to complete a deal.
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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

#NHL22 Edmonton Oilers Rumors: “I have heard Edmonton remains interested in…”

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!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

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Oilersnation (Lewis)

The Oilers are reportedly still interested in Jake DeBrusk
  • Over at The Athletic Boston,Fluto Shinzawa answered mailbag questions from Bruins fans, and one of the topics that came up was the future of Edmonton native Jake DeBrusk.

“I have heard Edmonton remains interested in DeBrusk. Calgary to a lesser degree. Combine that with the cluster of left-shot forwards and the shortness of cap space, and trading DeBrusk remains a possibility. A No. 2 center would be the ideal return. But they are not in a great spot to trade picks. It would have to be someone of DeBrusk’s profile: an underperforming player with potential to play better elsewhere.”

  • Back in February, I wrote about DeBrusk being a possible fit for the Oilers as the team had a hole on the left wing in their top-six. Since then, though, the Oilers have added Zach Hyman and Warren Foegele and they re-signed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, so the need for a player like DeBrusk isn’t quite so glaring.

BLH’s Thoughts: DeBrusk is more effective on the left-side and as Lewis so points out, the Oilers have Hyman, Foegele, and RNH already on the roster. They’ve also got Holloway, Shore, Benson, and Perlini down the line. 

Now, one scenario might open up the possibility for DeBrusk to come to Edmonton and that’s if somebody on the RW is traded like Zack Kassian, for instance. This would allow the team to move Zach Hyman to his strong side and then a spot would open up on the LW, but I’m not sure why they’d do that with Dylan Holloway coming unless they want to play him at center, but they what do they do with Ryan McLeod?

A little bit of a conundrum, you see… 

The Hockey Writers (Couch)

Oilers Should Target These 3 Goaltenders in 2021-22

Anton Khodobin

  • …he is a prime target to be moved after Holtby was signed cheaper.
  • If the Oilers can acquire him and move on from Koskinen, it would save them $1.167 million for the 2021-22 season, and they would have a tandem in net for this season and next at a very reasonable $5.533 million.
  • …with a reliable tandem in net, age and exhaustion might not catch up to them by the time the playoffs come around.

Joonas Korpisalo

  • …at only age 27 and with years of experience, he is just the type of young goalie Edmonton is looking for to fill that void long-term.
  • In the first season after Bobrovsky left for Florida, Korpisalo seemed to shine, posting a 2.60 goals-against average (GAA), a .911 save percentage (SV%), and 19 wins in 38 games to help Columbus into the playoffs.
  • Korpisalo also has a very fair deal in place at only $2.8 million for this season.

Alexandar Georgiev

  • Through almost 100 games in the NHL, Georgiev has shown great promise with a .912 SV% through parts of four seasons.
  • Considering his age, contract, and stats so far in his career, he may be worth a pretty significant haul going back to the Rangers if Edmonton doesn’t retain any salary for Koskinen.

BLH’s Thoughts: I don’t think the Oilers will acquire any of these goalies, to be honest. I’m of the belief that the organization feels like Mikko Koskinen is at the same level as those three. The fact that they’ve been unable to find a taker for Koskinen’s contract is also a factor that plays in here and as convenient as it would be for Dallas, New York, or Columbus to take Edmonton’s Finnish netminder off their hands, I don’t see any of those clubs having an appetite in doing that unless Ken Holland offers up a ridiculous sweetener to do so. 

Spector’s Hockey

Tim Campbell believes the Edmonton Oilers still need a long-term plan between the pipes. They’ll be riding 39-year-old Mike Smith as their starter with Mikko Koskinen and Alex Stalock in relief. Campbell points out a succession plan for the future remains elusive.

NHL.COM: With Shea Weber’s career potentially over, Mike Zeisberger believes the Montreal Canadiens must find a top-four defenseman for the long term. David Savard, Jeff Petry, Ben Chiarot and Joel Edmundson are their likely top four while Alexander Romanov will be expected to step up in his sophomore season.

BLH’s Thoughts: I reckon that Alex Stalock is going to give Mikko Koskinen a run for the backup spot in training camp and force Oilers management into a difficult decision. 

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