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

Edmonton Oilers Talk: “It was clear he was thinking about the business of his contract”

August 8, 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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The Cult of Hockey (David Staples)

“Locked and Loaded. Let’s Go”: Twitter reacts to Darnell Nurse’s new mega-deal

What message are you sending 29 & 97 if you don’t sign the 3rd core member of the Oilers? – Paul Almeida

BLH’s Thoughts: What message is Darnell sending to his fellow core members when they were willing to take haircuts in their most recent contracts? Nurse was very clear in his media avail that he was looking to make bank.

I just feel bad for RNH who probably took the biggest pay cut to stick around for the betterment of the team…

Theory: if the Oilers don’t trade Caleb Jones then Chicago doesn’t get Seth Jones and extend him $9.5M then Darnell Nurse’s number is $8M. – @worldhockeyrpt

BLH’s Thoughts: I never thought about this and it’s very interesting.

I don’t know how Nurse is going to age – some defencemen are really good in their early-to-mid 30s, some are really bad – but I’m always astonished that well-paid NHL GMs sign off on these ‘if the deal goes bad, you’re hooped’ nightmare contract structures. – Jonathan Willis

BLH’s Thoughts: Times have changed with regards to the kind of shape elite players get in and stay in throughout their careers. Gym rats like Nurse most likely will have a more delayed downtrend to their careers and since Darnell’s physical game has tamed down a bit, I see him as a top-pairing defenseman through to the end of this new contract unless Philip Broberg turns into the next Niklas Lidstrom…

Nurse is overrated but he was going to be a UFA and some team was giving him that money ($9.25 mil AAV) anyway. Oilers had to lock him up, especially since neither Bouchard nor Broberg are close to being top-4 NHL’ers.
He may not be your classic No. 1 but he had a good year. – Steve Kournianos
Nurse’s new contract raise eyebrows around the league. He’s a very good defenseman but the overall consensus is the Oilers overpaid to keep him in Edmonton. – Lyle Richardson (Spector’s Hockey)
The minute you start paying players based on them “wanting to stay” is the minute you start to look for new players. Did Nurse want to stay in Edm or did he want a massive overpay? I wonder what it was! If Nurse “wanted to stay in Edm” he would have taken something like 7 mill at 4 years to give the team room to move and then he gets paid once the cap pops again. – @DKingBH

BLH’s Thoughts: Dennis makes a really good point, did Nurse want to stay in Edmonton or did he want the big ticket? There’s no doubt in my mind, even if Nurse saw some regression in his game on a 4yr deal with $7M/yr, he would’ve made at least that if not more on a deal he could’ve sailed into the sunset on because the salary cap would be more.

One year where he shoots double his previous full-season mark and plays 58% of his minutes with 97 and here we are… – @JFreshHockey
I acknowledge he’s not a perfect player, that he’s got significant holes in his defensive game that he still needs to address, most notably his defensive reads in his own zone. – David Staples

BLH’s Thoughts: A player who still has significant holes in his game to work out CANNOT be paid $9M/yr. That is ELITE money and aside from his time on ice, Nurse doesn’t do anything at an elite level right now. That said, he’s still quite young and I believe he can develop into an elite defender akin to Alex Pietrangelo.

We can’t overlook one huge intangible — that to keep a team together in Edmonton, the stronger the ties between the top players, the better. Nurse, Draisaitl and Connor McDavid are said to be a tight group. Having them all on long-term deals gives hope that the Oilers will stay together long enough to reach their full potential as a team. – David Staples

BLH’s Thoughts: Is it me or is there an overabundance of fear permeating out of Edmonton? I feel like a lot of people are afraid of things happening three or four years down the road, like Leon Draisaitl leaving or Connor McDavid walking away. So what? Who cares if that happens? That is their choice and the circle of life will continue, will it not?

Let’s concentrate on what’s happening now and leave the future to itself. No sense in creating anxiety when it doesn’t need to be created.

Oilersnation (Zach Laing)

A full breakdown of Darnell Nurse’s new contract

Darnell Nurse inked his brand new deal on Friday signing a massive eight-year, $74-million contract that will likely keep him in Edmonton Oilers colours his entire career.
Year 1 – $12-million salary
Year 2 – $10.4-million salary
Year 3 – $12-million salary
Year 4 – $10-million salary
Year 5 – $2-million salary, $6-million signing bonus
Years 6-8 – $1.2-million salary, $6-million signing bonus
The entire length of the contract carries a no-movement clause and in the final three years of the deal, Nurse will provide a 10-team no-trade list.
If Edmonton wished to buy out the final year(s) of his deal in an absolutely worst-case scenario move, they would incur cap hits virtually equal to his current AAV
At the end of the day, the Oilers didn’t have much choice but to sign Nurse to this deal.
It’s worth noting, too, that the NHL’s cap, according to The Nation Network and Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, is expected to see incremental yearly increases of $1-million until 2026-27, when the cap is expected to rise to $91.4-million. That expected jump in the cap lines up directly with Nurse’s fifth year of his new contract when his signing bonus’ kick in and the added flexibility will surely help the team.

BLH’s Thoughts: A lot of folks are claiming that if the Oilers didn’t sign Nurse this summer to that deal that he would’ve left via free agency and “good luck replacing him”, but I don’t know if that’s really true.

Do we really believe that a trade couldn’t be worked out for a guy that we’ve been told for a good six months loves it in Edmonton and “wants to be there”?

I mean, the trade market for top-pairing defenders under the age of 28 would be about 31 teams large and I’d be willing to bet a team like Philly would have some massive interest in Nurse. Reckon they’d be willing to talk about Ivan Provorov?

The Hockey Writers

NHL Rumors: Oilers, Islanders, Blues, Kessel, Chara, More

Darnell Nurse spoke with media after it became official that he’d signed an eight-year, $74 million extension with the Oilers on Friday. When asked if the reports of a four-year deal were accurate, he confirmed that’s where his head was at going into negotiations.
- … it was clear he was thinking about the business of his contract and it didn’t feel likely he was looking to take a team-friendly deal having signed two previous bridge contracts.
Kyle Palmieri, Casey Cizikas Zach Parise, and Travis Zajac are all believed to have handshake agreements done with the New York Islanders organization. Still, the team has said nothing about those contracts.
- The buzz seems to be that he’s (Lamoriello) talking to the St. Louis Blues about Vladimir Tarasenko and if there’s a big chunk of salary retention going on in that trade, it might help if the Blues don’t know how easily the Islanders can actually add Tarasenko to the roster.
Fans have heard this story before, but it’s not clear if Chara will play in the NHL next year and he’s still contemplating his future.
- It’s not clear if he’s looking to go back to Boston, continue with the Washington Capitals or find a team that would give him the best chance to win or the most money on a one-year deal.
Phil Kessel’s agents have requested a trade on the player’s behalf. Speculation is that he’d like to play in Vegas, but the Golden Knights are not reportedly interested because of their current cap space issues. Likely the combination of wanting to win and the exit of head coach Rick Tocchet has Kessel thinking it’s time to go.

This is how Pavel used to tell you who was #1 back in the day! Click the pic and grab a shirt or a mask!

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

Edmonton Oilers Talk: Niemelainen, Edmonton’s Salary Cap in 2022/23, and the NHL’s Top Ten Trade Candidates

August 8, 2021 Beer League Hero

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Lowetide.ca

VALUE DEALS

Management has constructed the roster we’ll see for the next four seasons. What general manager Ken Holland needs to do, has room to do, is find players who can help an NHL team win for less than $1 million a year. Is there anybody out there?
Edmonton’s cap situation is fine for this year, the roster is set. Next year? If there’s a plan to sign Jesse Puljujarvi and get an upgrade in net, there’s going to be some offloading of overpriced veterans. Zack Kassian would be the logical candidate, maybe Klefbom’s contract gets dealt. If we assume Yamamoto is signed for $2 million this summer and everyone else gets $1 million or less, there will be room for extensions next summer.
The Oilers are about five signings behind. I’ve been waiting for activity. Suspect we’ll see Slater Koekkoek, uncertain after that addition. Holland used to be aggressive with college recruitment, and maybe there’s a Euro out there who will get a late summer contract. The cupboard is a little bare at forward.

BLH’s Thoughts: Well, they signed Perlini yesterday, so that leaves four signings behind according to LT. I wonder if they’ll actually go ahead and bring Koekkoek back. The Oilers have a lot of dmen who are right at that age where they should be getting a shot at the NHL level like Markus Niemelainen and Dmitri Samorukov as well as Kris Russell and William Lagesson already on the main squad.

Wouldn’t it make a little bit of sense to see what they could squeeze out of Russell and Lagesson and then add at the trade deadline instead of spending every available penny before the season starts?

That’s this season, what about next season? It’s too early to tell. Russell and Turris probably move on, Josh Archibald could earn himself another contract since he’s yet to turn 30yrs old, Koskinen and Stalock most likely will find employment elsewhere, and so that should open up around $8M to re-sign all of the RFAs and to bring in a goalie. In theory.

Oilersnation (Cam Lewis)

ON’s 2021 Prospects Countdown – No. 20: Markus Niemelainen

“Markus Niemelainen has really been an unheralded story this season. He’s fantastic in his own end, he can skate like the wind for a big man, he’s chipped in offensively which is a bonus for his game… He’s a guy who has come in and really opened some eyes. His skating is really exceptional, I think, and defensively he’s been rock steady back there. He’s learning from guys like Gravel and Stanton who have been around the game for a long time, especially what it takes to get to the next level, I think it’s going to benefit him… I think Niemelainen has a chance, I don’t know if it comes this year or into next year, but he’s on that cusp. He’s a solid defenceman who’s going to grow here in the American Hockey League, and you can put him in the William Lagesson bucket if you will.” – Bakersfield Condors’ PxP man Ryan Holt (TSN1260)

Position: Defence
Shoots: Left
Nationality: Finland
Date of Birth: June 8, 1998
Drafted: 2016, No. 63 overall (EDM)
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 203 lbs

Niemelainen has gone from a forgotten draft pick overseas to a legitimate contender to earn a call-up to the big league squad in 2021-22.
Niemelainen has never produced much offence at any level, either in junior or as a professional, so the upside here is realistically a bottom-pairing shutdown defender at the NHL level. Given his physical package, a large body with strong skating ability, and his stable, physical style of play, he could thrive in that role.
In the event of an injury, Niemelainen’s name will be in the mix for a call-up, along with Dmitri Samorukov, Filip Berglund, and Philip Broberg.
That’s quite the swing for a prospect who most of us had forgotten about a little over a year ago.

BLH’s Thoughts: Niemelainen broke his arm near the end of last season and that’s why he didn’t play out the year. Quite a tough way to end such a promising debut in the AHL. That said, he opened up enough eyes that some local pundits are comparing him to Toronto Maple Leafs defender Justin Holl.

However, management has a guy up in Edmonton who was excellent in the AHL, just like Niemelainen, but has run into wrist problems in the NHL and that’s Wild Bill Lagesson. So, I think it would be fair to say that there’s a modicum of caution present and the big Finn is going to have to show the club that his arm (or any other body part) won’t be presenting any problems now or in the future.

The Oilers are moving into a phase in their build where they need impact players on the cheapest contracts moving forward. Is Niemelainen a candidate to be one of those all-important pieces?

The Daily Goal Horn

NHL Trade Bait Tracker: The latest buzz surrounding the top names on the block

Jack Eichel (C), Buffalo Sabres
Trade Status: Available
Destinations: Rangers, but who really knows
Notes: All that is known is he will be traded. Buffalo overplayed their hand here.

Vladimir Tarasenko (F), St. Louis Blues
Trade Status: Available
Destinations: Capitals, Islanders, Golden Knights, Devils, Hurricanes
Notes: He wants out, but there is no one wants to give anything up for him unless the Blues retain salary.

Alexandar Georgiev (G), New York Rangers
Trade Status: Available
Destinations: Sabres
Notes: His agent denies he requested a trade to be starter, but apparently the Rangers are ready to move on.

Phil Kessel (F), Arizona Coyotes
Trade Status: Available
Destinations: Golden Knights
Notes: Kessel has asked for a move to Vegas, but they can’t take him on right now.

Christian Dvorak (C), Arizona Coyotes
Trade Status: Available
Destinations: Bruins, Rangers, Devils
Notes: Arizona is still cutting costs and Dvorak is wanted.

Evgeny Kuznetsov (C), Washington Capitals
Trade Status: Available
Destinations: Rangers, Kings, Blue Jackets
Notes: The Caps are walking back talk that they want to trade him.

Evander Kane (F), San Jose Sharks
Trade Status: Available
Destinations: TBD
Notes: Some Sharks players don’t want him back. SJ is trying to move on as Kane deals with gambling accusations.

Ryan Strome (F), New York Rangers
Trade Status: Available
Destinations: Senators, Kraken, Sabres
Notes: Strome will only get moved if the Rangers trade for Eichel

Joonas Korpisalo (G), Columbus Blue Jackets
Trade Status: Available
Destinations: Oilers
Notes: Elvis Merzlikins appears to be their #1, Korpisalo now expendable.

Rickard Rakell (F), Anaheim Ducks
Trade Status: Available
Destinations: TBD
Notes: He was wanted at the trade deadline, but the price was too high. Maybe it will come down now.

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

Edmonton Oilers Talk: Perlini, Kassian, Line Combos, and the Latest NHL Rumors

August 8, 2021 Beer League Hero

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Copper N Blue

SIGNED: Oilers Sign Forward Brendan Perlini

Perlini is a winger that can play on either side. His last NHL action was 2019-20 when he split time between Chicago and Detroit. He suited up for 35 games with the Red Wings, picking up four points (1-3-4) while playing a little less than eleven minutes a night. Most recently he was a member of the Switzerland club Ambri-Piotta, where he scored 17 points in 21 games.
Perlini’s deal is a two way contract, his cap hit is a tiny 750K when he’s on the big club, he will likely compete with Devin Shore for ice time.

BLH’s Thoughts: I think some are expecting Perlini to come in and compete for a spot out of camp but I don’t see it that way. I think he’s a signing for Bakersfield to give them some scoring depth on the wing since Tyler Benson will either be in Edmonton or on another team and in the event there there’s an injury, he’s the best option for a call-up.

Not to short change the guy, he’s only 25 and he’s 6’3″ and 210lbs and he looks like he can skate at an above average NHL rate. It’s hard not to like any of that, but he landed himself in Switzerland for a reason, right? Whatever that reason was, he’ll need to work that out with Jay Woodcroft in Bakersfield and I don’t think it’ll take long for him to make an impact at the AHL level with that speed and shot. That said, there’s a big jump from the “A” to the “Chel” and often a player’s role changes with the switch, can Perlini handle that?

The Athletic (Jonathan Willis)

A resurgent Zack Kassian could be an important part of the Oilers’ scoring

Kassian doesn’t shoot the puck much by NHL standards. He is a good finisher and a better playmaker than he generally gets credit for.
Kassian’s lines tend to outperform their expected numbers.
Kassian looks like a third-line five-on-five player. Sometimes he’s better than that and sometimes he’s worse, but what he gives up in possession he makes up for in scoring. If we ignore for a minute the chance that he’s gone off an age cliff, history suggests he can be a helpful NHL depth scorer.
The most successful Edmonton team of Kassian’s career was the 2017 club that went to the second round of the playoffs, and like a lot of Oilers players, Kassian had a good year. The weird thing is that he did it without the benefit of high-end linemates: mostly he played on the third line with Benoit Pouliot or the fourth line with Mark Letestu.
Edmonton invested in its forward depth this summer, in the form of Hyman, Warren Foegele and Derek Ryan.
- Vintage Kassian could be a pretty good complement to that line. He’s a selective shooter who finishes well, which makes him a nice match opposite Foegele, a volume shooter who doesn’t. Both bring size and speed, and Foegele is likely to be even better on puck retrievals than Pouliot. That Foegele and Ryan are both intelligent two-way types also make them a nice match for Kassian, who at his best gets a little bit of freedom to get in and hit.
If Kassian can score 1.5 points per hour while hitting everything that moves, he’ll be contributing to Oilers wins and the team will be more than happy to have him, even at $3.2 million.
..It’s easy to look at a player who had a down year and chalk it up to circumstances. However, Kassian is 30, and many a player has lost his game at that age — including Justin Abdelkader, to whom we have compared Kassian before.

BLH’s Thoughts: The way I’m reading the tea leaves is that Kassian is going to get a shot in the top-six. Be that with Hyman and McDavid or RNH and Draisaitl, I don’t know. With the fans being back in the stands (right?) and teams taking liberties with Edmonton’s stars, Kassian should be able to slide his foot right into that slipper one more time if not for his own good but also his trade value as the club will eventually need to move him.

Oilersnation (baggedmilk)

Random Thoughts: Nurse’s new contract, risky business, line combos, and more

Nurse being the second-highest-paid player on the team behind only Connor McDavid is a big ticket to cash, and it means that the pressure will be on Darnell to fill the big shoes he just stepped into.
I’ve got a feeling that this coming October is going to be about as important as any month we’ve ever seen around here. I mean, it’s not exactly uncommon for new guys to take a minute (read: month) to get used to their new team and we’ve got at least two of them in Keith and Ceci that won’t really be afforded the time to figure it out.
I have a hard time believing that this forward group won’t spend more time in the offensive zone than previous iterations.
- … if the bolstered forward group can do a better job of not just holding on for dear life when McDrai aren’t on the ice, then I think that will help to ease the stress on the blueline as well.
Bob Stauffer was talking line combos on Oilers Now and he mentioned that he could see Connor and Leon playing together 30-40% of the time…
- I’m also not sure that I’m as worried about it as some folks seem to be even if I’d absolutely prefer that they centre their own lines. Maybe it’s just that I’m bullish on having Hyman and Foegele as new forward options that it makes me want to what all kinds of different combinations look like.

BLH’s Thoughts: If you take a gander at Edmonton’s schedule in October, you’ll find that they only play SEVEN games in that month and that nearly doubles in November.

The Oilers will play Vancouver (2x), Calgary, Anaheim, Arizona, Vegas, Philadelphia, so if they could come away with 10pts out of an available 14, I would see that as a positive start to their year, wouldn’t you? Ideally, they need to come out of that month over .500 but November they’ll be facing a mishmash of competition too (SEA, NSH, NYR, DET, BOS, BUF, STL, WPGx2, CHI, DAL, ARI, LVG)…

I guess what I’m trying to say is that it doesn’t matter how the lines are made up, the first two months of the year are going to dictate how the rest of the season goes for this club. They’re not going to win every game but we need to be done with the days where the Edmonton Oilers play to their competition. It’s time to beat the teams that aren’t as good and to give the ones who are as good or better a helluva run for their money.

Spector’s Hockey

NHL Rumor Mill – August 7, 2021

SPORTSNET: Luke Fox took a more in-depth look at the top-10 UFA still on the market.

Palmieri, Cizikas and Zajac are believed to have handshake agreements with the New York Islanders but those agreements haven’t been officially announced yet. There’s also talk they’ve signed winger Zach Parise, who was bought out last month by the Minnesota Wild.

Chara is spending the offseason in his native Slovakia with his family. His agent said his client is working out hard and keeping all his options open. During his season-ending Zoom call, however, the big defenseman seemed uncertain about returning for a 24th NHL season.

Fox indicated the Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t fully closed the door on bringing back Galchenyuk. He also said the Montreal Canadiens were said to have some level of interest in a reunion.

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

Edmonton Oilers Talk: Nurse’s New Deal is All the Ammo the Ultras Need to Run Him Out of Edmonton

August 7, 2021 Beer League Hero

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Cult of Hockey

It’s official: Edmonton Oilers sign Darnell Nurse to 8-year extension at $9.25 million AAV

While some will question the wisdom of Nurse carrying a heavier cap hit than Draisaitl, who has Hart, Lindsay and Ross trophies in his cabinet, the circumstances of their signings were entirely different. Draisaitl was signed to an 8-year, $8.5 million pact in the summer of 2017 at the end of his Entry Level Contract, with that term, evenly split between RFA and UFA years.
For his part Nurse signed a pair of two-year bridge deals, with Annual Average Values of $3.2 million and $5.6 million respectively, then proceeded to outperform the first three years of those pacts.
…make no mistake, it’s a huge bite, largely driven by a market that has exploded this summer for blueliners. Nurse is set to become the fifth defender to sign a 6+ year pact for $9+ million in just the last couple of weeks.
With this announcement Nurse has committed the first 15 years of his professional career (2015-30) to Edmonton.

BLH’s Thoughts: I love that the Oilers are drafting and developing some of the most impactful players in the NHL and it’s funny considering they’re all first rounders picked in the top-10. Add to that notion the fact that Philip Broberg, Evan Bouchard, and Dylan Holloway are coming and the core of this team is quite set and by the time McDavid and Draisaitl’s deals are close to expiring, we’ll know where Edmonton’s next wave of players stands.

Oilersnation (Cam Lewis)

The Edmonton Oilers have signed Darnell Nurse to an eight-year contract extension

Nurse’s new deal will put him towards the top of the league in terms of cap hits among defenders. Erik Karlsson is the highest at $11,500,000, followed by Drew Doughty at $11,000,000. After that is a handful of defenders who also inked new deals this summer, Zach Werenski at $9,583,333, Seth Jones at $9,000,000, and Cale Makar and Dougie Hamilton at $9,000,000.
Back before he signed his most recent two-year pact, Nurse’s camp was using the seven-year deal worth $8,000,000 annually that Jacob Trouba signed with the New York Rangers as a comparable for what he was seeking on a long-term contract. Given the season he just had and the contracts being handed out this summer to top-pairing defenders, Nurse’s cap hit of $9.250,000 really isn’t much of a surprise.
The Oilers now have all of Nurse, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zach Hyman locked up for the next four seasons.

BLH’s Thoughts: I’ll be honest, there’s not too much more to say on the Nurse contract. Now all we can do is speculate on whether or not he’ll be able to live up to it. So, we wait and whilst we wait, we enjoy what’s being built in Edmonton.

Edmonton Sun (Rob Tychkowski)

Oilers sign Darnell Nurse to eight-year, $74M contract extension

Darnell Nurse bet on himself during his last two contract negotiations, agreeing to a short-term bridge deal when he could have easily ground the Edmonton Oilers for more money and a longer term.
The $9.25-million annual salary is a substantial bump from the $5.6 million he’ll make this season in the final year of his existing two-year pact. It’s a big ticket, no question about it, but Nurse held all the cards in this hand and, after biding his time with short-term deals, pushed the Oilers all in.
Players like him are hard to replace, which is why they’re pulling down $9-million deals. He’s a big part of what the Oilers are and what they hope to become. His salary pushes the ceiling on where he ranks among the best defencemen in the game, but he played himself into a strong bargaining position and took advantage.
He now has to live up to the contract for the next nine years. It won’t be easy, but being a top-pairing defenceman in the NHL never is.

BLH’s Thoughts: How long until Darnell Nurse goes from fan-favorite to scapegoat. That contract is all the ammo the ultras need to run him out of town. It wouldn’t be the first outstanding hockey player to leave Edmonton because of the extremists in the Oilers fanbase…

The Daily Goal Horn

NHL Rumors: Jack Eichel saga takes some bizarre twists

Yesterday, Jack Eichel started a Twitter account.
Eichel’s agent says it is a fake.
UPDATE: Eichel confirms it’s his account.
Steve Valiquette made wearing a Spider-Man goalie helmet famous with the Rangers caused a stir on the bird app today. The MSG TV Analyst, and close friend of GM Chris Drury tweeted that his spider senses were tingling on Jack Eichel and the NYR.
- “Curiously, Drury has been telling agents this week that Rangers have never been seriously interested in Eichel,” – Larry Brooks (NY Post)
Scott Laughlin of NHL Radio made a great point. The NFL’s Buffalo Bills just extended QB Josh Allen to a monster deal worth $258 million. He mused, wouldn’t it makes sense to make the trade now and minimize the media scrutiny?

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

Edmonton Oilers Talk: Berglund, Yamamoto, Nugent-Hopkins, and More NHL Rumors!

August 7, 2021 Beer League Hero

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Lowetide.ca

TRAINING CAMP HOPEFUL NO. 2: FILIP BERGLUND

What role will he play in Bakersfield? Berglund has played in the SHL for several years, averaging almost 20 minutes a night last year. He’s coming to the AHL, a slightly less impressive league. I expect he’ll play on one of the top two pairings at even strength, and on both special teams. That was his role in Sweden.
What does he do well? Berglund has a wide range of skills. He is mobile, a fine passer, he’s 6.03, 206. He has a large wingspan, can defend, gets pucks through from the blue line. On his draft day, speed was mentioned as a concern but he’s a more mobile defender now and should be a capable player in North America.
What will get him to the NHL? He has multiple skills, best described as a two-way type and unlikely to spent much time on the power play should he arrive in Edmonton.
What will keep him from the NHL? There’s a lot we don’t know about Berglund. I rated him just outside the second round in his draft year, based on some solid numbers. Swedish Poster chimed in and his scouting report was encouraging. And honestly, we’ve kind of been in a holding pattern since. His skating improved, his playing time and offense spiked, but he never did come over and now he’s 24. I think he’ll need to impress right away to get an NHL shot. It may not come right away, but a strong start in Bakersfield would set the stage for greater things.
Do you think he’ll make it? I honestly don’t know. He has talent, and plays a position NHL teams are always casting about to fill. We’ll find out where he is this winter, and go from there. Will he play in the NHL? He’s long in the tooth to ask the question, but he hasn’t given himself a chance before now, either. Terrible answer.

BLH’s Thoughts: Unless Berglund blows the doors off of things in Bakersfield offensively and/or the Oilers go through an injury crisis on their blue line, I don’t know if he’ll make it to Edmonton.

He’s 24 already and if he was going to make it, he probably would’ve been in North American by now. To add to the unfortunate pessimism, Edmonton has Kesselring (who’s getting some really good reviews) and Phil Kemp on the right side for competition in Bakersfield. Toss in Tyson Barrie and Evan Bouchard as offensive-minded blueliners already in Edmonton and Berglund has a really difficult road ahead of him if he’s going to make it with the Oilers.

If we’re being completely honest, the club might be better served developing him into a highly valuable trade asset.

Copper N Blue (Jeff Chapman)

A Tip Of The Cap?

The Oilers will be right up against the cap ceiling this season, as they look to win a playoff series for the first time since 2017. What will the Oilers’ cap look like in 2022-23?
For better or for worse, he Oilers are committed for the next few with this roster. Unfortunately for the Oilers, there are a lot of pieces that are missing after this year and not a whole lot of cap space to fill them in.
With 13 million projected in cap space, they’ll need to figure out what they’re going to do on the right side. Not surprisingly, Zack Kassian is the only right winger signed with term. The Oilers will need to figure out what their long term plans are for 2016 fourth overall selection Jesse Puljujärvi and 2017 first round selection Kailer Yamamoto.
If cap space isn’t able to be freed up this season, the club will be counting on at least a few prospects to take steps a bit quicker than Holland would likely hope. Dylan Holloway will be pushing for a roster spot by 2022, Philip Broberg or Dmitri Samorukov will hopefully be ready to take a big step on defence. The club would love it for Ilya Konovalov or Stuart Skinner to become a big piece in the crease.

BLH’s Thoughts: My biggest worry, because I’m a massive fan and totally biased, is that this deal costs the Oilers Jesse Puljujarvi down the road.

I do wonder if Kailer Yamamoto is the one that gets sacrificed though since he’s already getting moved down the lineup in favor of an underperforming Zack Kassian… Remember the coach and the GM prefer vets unless the young player is killing it and Killer didn’t have a great year last season.

Then again, what would stop Ken Holland from using both RWers to recoup futures assets that he lost building today’s roster?

Something to keep an eye on…

Oilersnation (Robin Brownlee)

Getting Paid…

Nurse picked a great time to put together a season that saw him finish seventh in voting for the Norris Trophy. With 16-20-36, he finished 12^th in scoring for defencemen. He was first in even-strength goals with 15, and fourth in even-strength points (29) and ice time (25:38).
The bottom line is what Nurse brings to the Oilers’ core group with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Where would the current group of blueliners be without Nurse? How much better are they with him as the team enters what Holland has called win-now mode and primetime for McDavid and Draisaitl?

BLH’s Thoughts: How pissed off do you think Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is after he took that massive haircut and Nurse is out there near-doubling his contract?

Spector’s Hockey

NHL Rumor Mill – August 6, 2021

ESPN.COM: Greg Wyshynski explored the trade market for Jack Eichel amid his impasse with the Buffalo Sabres over treatment for his neck injury as well as the difficulty of moving the 24-year-old center’s hefty contract.

It’s believed the Vegas Golden Knights are still on the trail. Wyshynski suggested they could free up the necessary cap space by trading Reilly Smith ($5 million) and the sidelined Alex Tuch ($4.75 million). He also believes the Anaheim Ducks are still there but they won’t part with promising prospects like Trevor Zegras or Jamie Drysdale.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are reportedly in the mix. Wyshynski wondered if the Seattle Kraken would get involved given their cap space, though they lack sufficient prospect depth.

THE ATHLETIC: In a recent mailbag segment, Joe Smith was asked if Brayden Point’s recent contract extension increased the likelihood of the Tampa Bay Lightning trading Steven Stamkos at some point.

He doubted any club would be willing to take on the remainder of Stamkos’s contract. The 31-year-old Lightning captain carries an $8.25 million annual cap hit through 2023-24. He also doesn’t see Stamkos retiring before his contract expires.

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