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

Edmonton #Oilers Talk: Can Ceci and Keith Fill the Gargantuan Hole on Edmonton’s PK Left by Adam Larsson?

August 12, 2021 Beer League Hero

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!

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Copper N Blue (Agnihotri)

Killer minutes

The Edmonton Oilers are currently entering the 2021/22 season with a weaker defence core than they had last season. And one specific area they’ll probably take a hit on is their penalty kill, unless they address their blue line prior to training camp.
Two of Tippett’s go-to penalty killers are gone, with Bear and Larsson having each played over 34% of the team’s total penalty kill time. Klefbom isn’t likely to return and another handful are signed to play elsewhere.
At this point it’s pretty safe to assume that these vacancies will be filled by Cody Ceci and Duncan Keith…
The problem I see is that based on their history they probably won’t be able to post the same penalty kill numbers as Larsson who had been excellent for the Oilers the last two seasons.
Ceci does have some potential considering last season in Pittsburgh he led the team in penalty kill ice time among defencemen and had a positive impact.
- Ceci played an important role there as the team allowed a lower rate of unblocked shot attempts against and goals against with him on the ice.
With Keith on the ice last season, Chicago’s penalty kill allowed an additional 14.96 unblocked shot attempts per hour and 13.50 shots against per hour.
- With Keith killing penalties next season, expect the rate of shots against to go up.
Unless they’re expecting one of the youngsters like Lagesson or Bouchard to play a bigger role on the penalty kill next season, the Oilers should probably continue looking to add depth to their defence core.
- One player that the Oilers could potentially look at as a low-risk, low-cost option is 34-year old defencemen Jordie Benn who is currently an unrestricted free agent.
Among 119 defencemen who have played at least 150 minutes since 2019, Benn ranks quite highly when it comes to shot metrics relative to team numbers.
- Fenwick against per hour relative to team: -11.56 (9th)
- Shots against per hour relative to team: -11.26 (3rd)
- Goals against per hour relative to team: -3.14 (4th)

BLH’s Thoughts: The Oilers have done an interesting thing this offseason in that they’ve really bolstered their PK from the forward’s perspective with the additions of Hyman, Foegele, and Ryan. I never really considered that something like that would be considered a weakness on the club considering over the past three years they’re only averaging about 4 penalties per game and killing 80% of them.

Maybe it’s worth while digging into there’s some sort of correlation between styles of PK and overall success? Hyman, Foegele, Ryan, and Duncan Keith are all pretty aggressive checkers and I would think they’d be asked to utilize that attribute when Edmonton is a man down and they’re on the ice, no? Will an aggressive penalty kill bring Edmonton’s PK% up another 3% to be on par with the #1 team over the previous three years (Tampa)?

Yet one more aspect of this overhauled Oilers team to keep an eye on in 2021-22…

Oilersnation

The Hometown Kid

Is Edmonton Oilers’ prospect Stuart Skinner ready to make a serious bid for more time in the blue paint with the Oilers this season and script a hometown boy made good storyline?
Without much of a market for Koskinen, GM Ken Holland will be hard-pressed to move him even if somebody like Skinner can push the issue this coming season.
At the very least, Skinner is at the front of the line in a young trio with Olivier Rodrigue and Ilya Konovalov looking to inherit the crease in Edmonton.

BLH’s Thoughts: I love the story of a local lad getting his chance with the Oilers but if you hear how players born in the area who’ve played for Edmonton spoke about their times with the club, you’d know it’s not as glorious as one would think… People always bothering you for tickets, there are certain expectations from the locale of you since you’re from the city (or nearby), and if things aren’t going well… Times can get dark…

That said, after Skinner’s current deal is up, he’ll have had five years in Edmonton’s system and if he’s not ready by then, he’ll probably never be ready. On top of that, the Russian… Konovalov is a real wildcard here that some are comparing to Anton Khudobin…

Cult of Hockey (McCurdy)

Edmonton Oilers ink Tyler Benson to one-year, two-way extension

Benson was a Restricted Free Agent without arbitration rights and with little track record at the NHL level, so this was always going to be a club-friendly deal. He’s now re-upped for one year at the NHL minimum of $750,000, with an AHL component of $100,000 as reported by PuckPedia.
That’s considerably lower than the figure on the qualifying offer the Oilers tendered last month, which by my math would have been $913,500.
The best chance for players on the fringes of the roster to actually make the NHL squad is to be as cost-effective as possible.
Both Benson and Marody (who received a qualifying offer but hasn’t yet signed) have run out of waiver exemptions, meaning both should receive a serious shot at an NHL job this fall.
In Benson’s case, the battle for jobs on the port side just got a lot tighter with the recent additions of Zach Hyman and Warren Foegele who along with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (or Leon Draisaitl) are all slotted for the top nine.
That leaves a spot on the fourth line, where Benson’s primary competition consists of veteran LWs Devin Shore and the recently-signed Brendan Perlini, both of whom recently signed low-cost contracts of their own.

BLH’s Thoughts: Jason Strudwick was saying on the radio yesterday that it’s fair to question whether or not Benson has the quickness and the speed to play in the NHL but intimated that his skill level and hockey IQ are very high.

So are we looking at another Anton Lander? The Swede was a very successful minor league player but didn’t have that extra step in his giddy-up and at the NHL level he was always a step behind, chasing the game, if you will.

For me, it would be a shame if Benson didn’t come to camp with that extra gear because this skating thing has been an issue for many years now and if it’s not sorted by now, either he thinks it’s not a problem for him or he’s topped out physically and it’s simply not possible for him to get any faster than he is. Then, at that point, the story’s been written, right?

NHLRumors.com

Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal: Would expect the Oilers to bring in at least one more veteran defenseman on a deal around $950,000. Two options could be Slater Koekkoek and Jordie Benn.

Andy Strickland: (on Frank Seravalli’s tweet that Kirill Kaprizov has a $10 million-plus KHL offer) “One of the worst bluffs in sports history! CSKA budget has been spent plus there’s a cap that comes in around $12 million U.S.”

Larry Brooks of the NY Post: The New York Rangers will likely have some salary cap maneuvering to do for the 2022-23 season as they have $40.2 million committed to seven players, will need to pay Adam Fox $9 million or more and pay for a first- or second-line center.

Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now: Boston Bruins UFA center David Krejci told the team at the end of the season that he was going to head back home to the Czech Republic and that his stay could extend into next season.

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

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

Edmonton #Oilers Talk: The 2016 Draft Class, Remember Nail Yakupov?, and What’s Up with Josh Archibald?

August 11, 2021 Beer League Hero

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Lowetide.ca

LAST CHANCE FOR RASANEN

THE CURRENT STATE OF THE 2016 DRAFT

No. 4 overall RW Jesse Puljujarvi. Edmonton Oilers winger coming off his best season (15 goals) and one year away from his first significant contract.
No. 32 overall LW Tyler Benson. Bakersfield Condors winger is waiver eligible this fall, that could be the difference in what looks like a competitive battle for No. 4 LW and extra forwards. Among Devin Shore, Brendan Perlini, Dylan Holloway and Benson, it’s not clear from here who (or how many) makes the club.
No. 63 LHD Markus Niemelainen. He appeared to be a coin flip for an entry deal, finally signing his on April 30, 2020 (almost four years after he was drafted). Not much was shaking for him until he arrived in Bakersfield for the 2020-21 season. Now his arrows are headed in a good direction and he appears to have a shot at some NHL games. An absolute late-breaking 6.03 defenseman.
No. 84 LHD Matthew Cairns. He was an unusual choice on draft day, I wondered how many CHL talents were still on the board when he was picked. Answer: Josh Mahura (41 games), Victor Mete (199), Riley Stillman (56), Max Lajoie (62).
No. 91 RHD Filip Berglund. A two-way talent who probably spends 2021-22 in Bakersfield, but there’s a clear path to the NHL if he can play.
No. 123 G Dylan Wells. He posted a .909 save percentage in his first full pro season for the Condors, but in just 12 games and his ECHL totals (.912) were about the same. In 2019-20 when injuries hit the AHL farm club, it was Stuart Skinner who landed the big job in Bakersfield.
No. 149 LW Graham McPhee. Signed an AHL deal when he turned pro, but is now a free agent.
No. 153 RC Aapeli Rasanen. He had a similar early trajectory to McPhee, but last season in the Liiga he blossomed. I don’t think they’ll sign him. He’s an interesting player though. RHC, wins faceoff, scored well in the Liiga.
No. 183 RHD Vincent Desharnais. As crazy as it sounds, I could see him signing an NHL contract. He is a substantial part of the Condors defence, Eric Rodgers estimated his 2020-21 icetime in Bakersfield at 17:45 (fourth on the team among regulars).

BLH’s Thoughts: Well, this draft class almost produced a big fat goose egg until Pulju re-emerged, but still, at this point, he might be the only player drafted by the Oilers in 2016 that goes on to have a lengthy NHL career.

If I had to go out on a limb, maybe Tyler Benson’s work ethic will find him a job with an NHL team and Markus Niemelainen needs to have a really good year in Bakersfield this season in order to earn himself another deal with the Oilers.

As for the rest of the names on that list above, Rasanen could be a wildcard but everybody else is a massive longshot to play in the NHL, in my opinion.

Oil on Whyte (Lynch)

Oilers Regular Season Countdown: Nail Yakupov Days Until The Season

From 2012 to 2014 Nail Yakupov wore number 64 with the Edmonton Oilers, the team’s 2012 first overall pick was not the best player to ever skate for the team, but he did put up 111 points over the course of four seasons with the Oilers from 2012-2016.

BLH’s Thoughts: I miss Yak. I remember watching him at the World Juniors that were in Calgary and even though he was ill, whenever he touched the puck he was electrifying. That Russian team also featured Andrei Vasilevskiy and Evgeny Kuznetsov (who was head and shoulders the best player at the tournament that year).

I always thought if the Oilers hadn’t attempted to transform him into a 2-way winger, that they’d have had an excellent goal-scoring winger on their hands, but it wasn’t to be. Dallas Eakins and Todd McLellan simply didn’t have time for him and he washed out of the league after stops in Colorado and St. Louis.

This past year he found himself a champion as his club won the KHL championship.

Oilersnation (Laing)

Edmonton Oilers player review and 2021-22 preview: Josh Archibald

Last year he appeared in 52 games scoring seven goals and 13 points.
In his first year with the Oilers, Archibald got caved in analytically at 5×5 (44.43 CF%, 42.20 xGF%). This, however, saw some improvements this year. His shot attempt share rose to 46.72 percent while his expected goals rose to 47.90. His actual goals percentage rose, too, from 34.55 in 2019-20 to 43.18 this past year.
At even-strength, he contributed offence at a 10 percent rate below league average and defence at a one percent rate below league average.
Archibald is a strong penalty killer for the Oilers and spent the most time there of any forward on the team. With him on the ice, the Oilers allowed 6.36 goals against per hour
He’ll be expected to take on more of a defensive role in the bottom-six, likely starting the majority of his shifts in the neutral and defensive zones, much like has been the case the last two years.
He’ll continue to kill penalties this year but might see a bit of a reduction in that role with the acquisitions of Zach Hyman and Warren Foegele.

BLH’s Thoughts: Barring the worst season of his career, I fully expect Josh Archibald to have a really good year and earn another deal with the team. He’s one of the team’s best PKers and Coach Tippett trusts him enough to have him on the ice every time the Oilers are protecting a lead late in the game.

The Daily Goal Horn

NHL Rumors: Henrik Lundqvist back on ice; Kirill Kaprizov to KHL not an idle threat; and Zibanejad for Eichel?

Henrik Lundqvist appears to be starting his comeback. The 39 year-old netminder was ineligible to participate in free-agency because he had not been medically cleared.
- Where will he land?
- Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev is rumored to be on the trade block. If they trade him, there’s a growing belief the Rangers could bring back The King for one more season and give him the proper send off he deserves.
Rick Carpiniello who covers the Rangers for The Athletic decided it would be fun to tweet and run.
- “Just tossing this out there as I head for some vacation time,” he began. “DO NOT be surprised if Mika Zibanejad is in the deal that ultimately brings Jack Eichel to the Rangers.”
- Mika Zibanejad has a full no-move clause that he will not waive to go to Buffalo. Nor would the Sabres take on a player that will walk next summer in a trade for their franchise player.

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

Edmonton Oilers Talk: “He hasn’t shown enough in the looks he’s had to become a fixture…”

August 11, 2021 Beer League Hero

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Copper N Blue (Chapman)

Forecasting Mike Smith’s 2021-22 Season

A .923 SV% in 32 games would be spectacular, though I think Tippett will move to have Smith play in at least half of the 82 game regular season in 2021-22. There’s always the chance that Mikko Koskinen comes in and blows the doors off in training camp and emerges with the starting gig, but based on what we’ve seen over the last six months it’s clear that Smith has an inside track to being the number one today.
I’ve got Smith starting about 45 games this season, finishing with a SV% near .910 and two shutouts.
I don’t think the defence will be as solid this year as it was last year. Bringing in Duncan Keith for any sort of measurable time on the second pair to be paired with one of Tyson Barrie, Cody Ceci or Evan Bouchard could cause headaches for everyone involved, and that includes the netminders.

BLH’s Thoughts: I’m not as optimistic as Chapman with Smith, I think he’s going to end the year with something closer to .905 SV%, but he’ll have more than two shutouts and I’ve noticed a more emotional Oilers team play in front of him when he stats, so I reckon he’ll have a lot of wins but the GAA and SV% won’t be pretty.

It’s not very nice, but he was playing for a contract last year and unless he’s the reincarnation of Dominik Hasek from 2005/06 (40yrs old, 43gp, 2.37gaa, .925sv%, 28-10-5), I think he’ll come back to Earth a bit.

The Athletic (Mitchell)

Lowetide: The Oilers and value contracts. Three now, two later

Best value players for 2021-22

RW Jesse Puljujarvi ($1.175M): A full season should result in 20-plus goals and could bring more if things break right.
RHD Evan Bouchard ($863k): …his 1.27 points per 60 at five-on-five ranks No. 2 among Oilers defencemen and No. 10 among all skaters, meaning Bouchard can be expected to easily clear 20 points at five-on-five in a full season… if the young defender gets on the No. 1 power play he could clear 40 points in his first full NHL season.
RW Kailer Yamamoto (RFA): In spite of two false starts to his NHL career when he was a teenager, and a terrible slump to end the 2020-21 campaign (two goals in the final 26 games) his NHL scoring numbers are 19-28-47 in the last two seasons (79 games). If he can duplicate those numbers and come in under $2.1 million (he’s currently a restricted free agent) Yamamoto will be a value deal.

Best value players for 2022-23

LW Dylan Holloway: …can play centre or wing but hasn’t played one game of pro hockey. There are three seasons of entry-level dollars ($925,000) straight ahead for Holloway and he’s likely to be a value deal in two of them.
RC Xavier Bourgault: Bourgault will turn 20 in October 2022, meaning a possible early exit from junior hockey, plus his shooting percentage suggests he could emerge quickly from the pack as a first-shot scorer.

BLH’s Thoughts: I really believe that Ryan McLeod is going to be a revelation for this team. His size, speed, and hands are going to cause opposing clubs fits. I wonder if he gets some time on the PK just because of those skills and the fact that he could be a very dangerous scoring threat too.

Oilersnation (Brownlee)

At Random: Housekeeping

With the big names signed and the big money spent, we’re into the period of the off-season when Edmonton Oilers’ GM Ken Holland and his counterparts are taking care of housekeeping items on their to-do list.
Inconsistency has been the name of Perlini’s game as a pro. He’s shown he can skate. He’s shown he can score, but that comes and goes. Not knowing what they are going to get from a player game in and game out drives coaches up the wall.
When Holland looks at adding a veteran depth player to the blueline, we keep hearing Slater Koekkoek’s name come up.
- Koekkoek, 27, had barely settled in last season when a busted collarbone knocked him out of the line-up. Simply put, Koekkoek is a meat-and-potatoes guy – he’s a defender first and foremost who gets in the way of pucks and people.
…we wouldn’t even be talking about Koekkoek as an option if William Lagesson was further along the development curve.
- Lagesson is 25, but he’s only got 27 NHL games on his resume. He hasn’t shown enough in the looks he’s had to become a fixture in Tippett’s third pairing, and I don’t think you can put him alongside Bouchard to start this season.

BLH’s Thoughts: Wild Bill’s always been a bit of a late bloomer, but when he’s found his stride, he’s really become an excellent contributor. Would it make sense for the Oilers to give him 30 games this year to see if he can work things out? I mean, how much difference is there between Russell and Lagesson skill-wise? I mean, I’d go as far as to say that the Swede is much more skilled and has as much gumption as Russell but hasn’t the experience quite yet and the Oilers need cycle breakers on their defense pretty badly after the departure of Adam Larsson…

NHLRumors.com

Lance Lysowski: While including Zibanejad in a deal for Eichel would definitely make the money work, but would Zibanejad be willing to waive his no-movement clause?
- Would think that a third team would need to be involved as it would be hard to see Zibanejad willing to waive his NMC to come to the Buffalo Sabres.
Jimmy Murphy: Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said on TSN 1200 that can he can see goaltender Tuukka Rask playing again.
Jimmy Murphy: Cassidy also said on TSN 1200 that David Krejci could return to the NHL and the Bruins.
Larry Brooks of the NY Post: New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox will be a restricted free agent after next season. He’ll likely be looking for over $9 million and possibly upwards of $10.5 million per season.
Vincent Z. Mercogliano of Lohud: The Rangers may not be targeting any center other than Jack Eichel. Of the remaining players that have come up in the rumors or in free agency, all appear to be lateral moves from Ryan Strome or a downgrade.
- Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov could be available, but he’s recorded fewer points than Strome the past two seasons.
- Offensively Christian Dvorak (Arizona Coyotes) and Sean Monahan (Calgary Flames) have also produced less than Strome.

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

Edmonton Oilers Talk: Holland’s High Offseason Grades, McDavid/Draisaitl Amongst League’s Best Contracts, and More NHL Rumors!

August 11, 2021 Beer League Hero

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The Athletic (Luszczyshyn)

The NHL’s 10 best contracts, 2021 edition: Connor McDavid ascends to top spot

1. Connor McDavid: If McDavid can maintain this level of value (and for the record, he played at a 6.8-win pace last year) he is a $20 million player. The league max is $16.3 million meaning that even at 20 percent of the salary cap, McDavid would still be a bargain.
2. Cale Makar: The model currently expects Makar to be a four-win player for the life of his deal, an extremely high bar based on his age and first two seasons playing at that level. No other defender over the last decade has had a value that consistently high so the model is either a little too high or Makar is here to break the mould as the best defenceman of his generation.
3. Brad Marchand: His expected value given his contract is just 1.6 wins and considering his current height it’s difficult to see him falling that far over the next four seasons. He has a very high probability of living up to his deal considering where he stands now as a four-win player.
4. Carter Verhaeghe: The model is obviously wildin’ out a bit here, not totally sure what to do with a player who literally came out of nowhere to put up elite results. there’s a good chance what he showed last year was enough to consider him at the very least a high-end second-line player. For just $1 million next year and $4.2 million for three years after that, that’s a legitimate steal.
5. Leon Draisaitl: The deal might have looked a little wild at the time, but it’s always better to make those bets on young talent who have room to grow into their deal. Draisaitl did, and then some, and now he’s worth so much more than his cap hit. With four years left, the 2020 MVP is on one of the best contracts in the league.

The Rest: 6. Nathan MacKinnon 7. Shea Theodore 8. Auston Matthews 9. Samuel Girard 10. David Pastrnak

Honourable Mentions: Devon Toews, Mikko Rantanen, Jakob Chychrun, MacKenzie Weegar, Nikita Kucherov

BLH’s Thoughts: I’m hoping that Darnell Nurse will find himself on a list like this someday…

Cult of Hockey (Staples)

Ken Holland and Edmonton Oilers getting a wee bit of love from unexpected places

Most recently in ESPN, Wyshynski, who is known for his critiques of the Oilers, gave Holland a B+ for his work in the free agency period, praising the Zach Hyman signing and the acquisitions of forwards Warren Foegele and Derek Ryan:
- “The Oilers’ offseason had some moves that are going to make this team potentially better in the short term and other moves that were, for lack of a better description, very Oilers.”
Wyshynski said the Oilers signing of Cody Ceci was a “decent fix” for Adam Larsson leaving. “Bringing back Barrie at $4.5 million AAV was a strong move.”
The ESPN writer concluded:
- “They were flirting with an A-minus here if they didn’t run back Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen as their average-at-best goaltending duo, and hand Darnell Nurse a $9.25 million AAV on an eight-year term with significant trade protection, which was a very ‘won’t be my problem’ contract from GM Ken Holland. Speaking of that: Trading Caleb Jones for what’s left of Keith so the Blackhawks can then acquire Seth Jones, hand him a contract that resets the market and jacks up Nurse’s price tag? Very Oilers.”
Sportslogiq also gave the Oilers a B+,
- “The Oilers’ top-nine is much better with the additions of Hyman and Foegele, and Ryan is a good defensive forward who makes their bottom-six better. The defence is… different. A right side of Barrie, Ceci and Evan Bouchard might frighten some Oilers fans but time will tell if Ken Holland made the right moves.”
At the Athletic (Dom Luszczyszyn), has the Oilers as the second most improved team in the NHL to date.
Jackie Spiegel at The Sporting News, who has the Oilers ranked sixth out of 32 NHL teams in her power rankings,
- “There has always been something missing up front in Edmonton, but the Oilers may have finally gotten the missing piece in Zach Hyman… Hyman and the addition of Derek Ryan, who adds depth down the middle and to the penalty kill, were home runs.”

BLH’s Thoughts: I always take what the “Puck Daddy” has to say with a grain of salt. You never really know if he’s being facetious or sarcastic when it may appear like he’s praising the work of the Oilers.

Spector’s Hockey

NHL Rumor Mill – August 10, 2021

THE ATHLETIC: Michael Russo examined the latest development in the contract standoff between the Minnesota Wild and Kirill Kaprizov. The 24-year-old winger reportedly has a tentative agreement with KHL team CSKA Moscow on a one-year deal said to be worth at least $10 million in US dollars beginning September 1.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: Kurt Leavins expects the Oilers will add at least one more veteran depth defenseman before training camp opens next month. They’re looking for someone around $950K. Two primary names worth watching are Slater Koekkoek and Jordie Benn.

BLH’s Thoughts: I think this is all going to come down to which player the Oilers feel will be more useful in a bit role for them. I think Koekkoek would be better, but maybe Benn will be able to provide more muscle against the Vegas’ and in the Battle of Albertas, for example.

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

Edmonton Oilers Talk: BLH Compares Hyman to Former Dutch Football Great

August 10, 2021 Beer League Hero

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Oil on Whyte (Courville-Lynch)

Oilers: Is Zach Hyman the Winger Connor McDavid needed?

Hyman is beneficial to Edmonton in a lot of ways right now, I believe he will help lead the team to a playoff spot next season, but the team around him isn’t strong enough to compete for a Stanley Cup.
By the time the Oilers have built their strongest roster in years, and have the squad to be a favorite for the championship, Hyman will likely be running bottom 6 minutes, and it will be another contract that Edmonton fans begin to regret being excited about.
The contract just scares me, the fact we’re taking a seven-year risk on a guy who’s already 29, is something I’m not entirely comfortable with.

BLH’s Thoughts: Not often we get the pessimists POV with the Hyman signing, but the fear over that contract is a valid one. Anytime you’ve got a guy getting paid over $5M/yr into his mid 30s there’s going to be an element of risk, however, with the way that athletes are training and where sports medicine is at right now, hockey players are playing later and later into their careers. If Hyman can take care of himself, he should age like a fine wine.

Somewhat related, from 2006-2012, my favorite soccer/football team, Liverpool, had a Dutch winger by the name of Dirk Kuyt and I loved watching that guy play. He was as industrious and hard-working as they come and he’d score goals just from busting his ass to get into the right positions on the field. Rarely did he get anything done by skill like Lionel Messi, but more so with his high work rate. The really interesting thing about Kuyt was that in the off-seasons he’d go to a guy who’d use a mallet to realign his bones and ligaments. The therapist’s name… ” Jan-Jan The Hammer Man”

Zach Hyman reminds is hockey’s version of Dirk Kuyt.

Cult of Hockey (McCurdy)

“Draft and follow” the watchword for Edmonton Oilers’ depth prospects

It’s that time of year again for the Cult of Hockey‘s annual p/review of Edmonton Oilers’ prospects… Here’s the countdown from #35 to #21:

#35 LD Matthew Cairns (last year #33), age 23, 6’2, 203 lbs., drafted #84 in 2016.
#34 RC Filip Engaras (last year #26), age 22, 6’0, 198 lbs., drafted #169 in 2020.
#33 LW Tim Soderlund (not previously ranked), age 23, 5’9, 163 lbs., acquired by trade in 2021.
#32 LW Jeremias Lindewall (last year #24), age 19, 6’2, 183 lbs., drafted #200 in 2020.

Keep an eye on Jeremias Lindewall. @coreypronman has some good things to say #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/A7jSiSSvKr

— TJ (@tjbahra) May 13, 2021

#31 LW Patrik Siikanen (last year #30), age 21, 6’2, 198 lbs., drafted #195 in 2018.
#30 LC Skyler Brind’Amour (last year #25), age 22, 6’2, 174 lbs., drafted #177 in 2017.
#29 LC Tomas Mazura (last year #34), age 20, 6’4, 190 lbs., drafted #162 in 2019.
#28 LW Shane Lachance (not previously ranked) 17, 6’4, 190 lbs., drafted #186 overall in 2021.
#27 RD Maximus Wanner (not previously ranked), 18, 6’3, 185 lbs., drafted #212 in 2021.
#26 RC Aapeli Rasanen (last year #27), 6’0, 207 lbs., drafted #153 overall in 2016.
#25 LW Ostap Safin (last year #29), age 22, 6’5, 205 lbs., drafted #115 in 2017.
#24 LC Maxim Denezhkin (last year #21), age 20, 5’10, 168 lbs., #193 overall in 2019.
#23 RC/RW Jake Chiasson (not previously ranked), age 18, 6’1, 165 lbs., drafted #116 in 2021.
#22 RW Matvei Petrov (not previously ranked), age 18, 6’2, 181 lbs., drafted #180 overall in 2021.
#21 LD Luca Munzenberger (not previously ranked), age 18, 6’2, 190 lbs., drafted #90 in 2021.

BLH’s Thoughts: The fellas at The Cult of Hockey have a little write up for each prospect that I would recommend you check out here.

One guy on that list that has me curious is Jeremias Lindewall. He was recently included on the u20 Swedish National Team for the 2021 World Junior Summer Showcase and he was on the 2nd line ahead of notable Swedish prospects Oksar Olausson (COL), Simon Robertsson (STL), and Zion Nybeck (CAR). How many guys who were drafted 200th overall find their way to their nation’s national hockey team?

Spector’s Hockey

NHL Rumor Mill – August 9, 2021

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: In a recent mailbag segment, George Richards was asked about how things stand with new contracts for Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart. He anticipates new deals for both could be announced later this summer.

He also acknowledged the trade rumors about winger Frank Vatrano before the expansion draft. While nothing came of them, he didn’t rule out the possibility of a training camp deal.
Richards also predicted Sergei Bobrovsky could be moved out in 2023 “one way or another” but it won’t be a contract buyout.

TORONTO SUN: Steve Simmons took note of young defensemen such as Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse, Colorado’s Cale Makar, Chicago’s Seth Jones and Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen landing long-term deals worth over $8 million. He believes the going rate for a 27-year-old blueliner like the Leafs’ Morgan Rielly is around $8 million per season, which is a big raise over his current $5 million annual cap hit.

NHLRumors.com

Luke Fox of Sportsnet: Looking at the remaining top restricted free agents and some notes on each.

1. Quinn Hughes – Vancouver Canucks – Preliminary talks are underway and he’s not offer sheet eligible. They could be looking at deals that are five years and more.
2. Elias Pettersson – Vancouver Canucks – He has the same agent as Hughes. He’s eligible to sign an offer sheet and the Canucks have cap concerns. They may be looking at five years or less.
3. Kirill Kaprizov – Minnesota Wild – Not offer sheet eligible but has the KHL threat. A six-year plus deal could be over $9 million per.
4. Brady Tkachuk – Ottawa Senators – They don’t have any cap issues to deal with. Elliotte Friedman said last month they could do a three-year bridge deal.
5. Igor Shesterkin – New York Rangers – A two-year bridge deal could be around $4 million. Thatcher Demko‘s five-year, $5 million per could be comparable.
6. Andrei Svechnikov – Carolina Hurricanes – The Hurricanes had to take care of a bunch of things before they planned on turning to Svechnikov. GM Don Waddel said last month that the sides had been talking, there wasn’t any urgency yet, and that it would get done.
7. Filip Hronek – Detroit Red Wings – The Wings have plenty of cap space and he should get some term.
8. Sam Reinhart – Florida Panthers – He’s a year away from being a UFA and will be looking for a multi-year deal. David Dwork tweeted they are working on a three or four-year deal in the $6-$7 million range.
9. Juuse Saros – Nashville Predators – He filed for salary arbitration. Will the Preds want to go long-term or a bridge deal?
10. Andrew Copp – Winnipeg Jets – He could be looking at $4 million a season on either a short- or long-term deal. Ken Wiebe thinks he could look at a four-year deal at around $4.4 million.
11. Rasmus Dahlin – Buffalo Sabres – A bridge deal may be the safest for both sides.

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