Tag Archives: Alex Galchenyuk

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, Kieron Vick, NHL, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects, Rumors

BLH’s NHL Trade Rumors and Ramblings PLUS 2020 Draft Talk w/@Keithfries

The Latest on Tayor Hall

Chris Johnston from Sportsnet is saying that it could take 3-4 pieces to acquire Hall and that the Colorado Avalanche appear to be the front-runners for the former league MVP.

“The feeling in the industry … is that the Colorado Avalanche are the favourites right now pushing to try to get Taylor Hall; perhaps as soon as the Christmas break, which starts Dec. 19,” Johnston said.

Scribes out of Colorado are split on the idea of bringing Hall in. Mike Chambers (Denver Post) said Hall would be the perfect addition to Nathan MacKinnon’s left-wing but Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater reckons re-signing Hall could offer problems when it comes time to re-up the Avs’ other big guns like MacKinnon, Gabe Landeskog, and Cale Makar.

BLH’s Thoughts: The Oilers have just recalled defenseman Caleb Jones and sent struggling Swedish dman Joel Persson back to Bakersfield (AHL). It’s odd because Jones and Persson had just swapped rosters very recently, this tells me that Jones is possibly being showcased for the Devils. Is that for a Taylor Hall trade? Possibly. I think that there’s a different line in the sand for each team that is asking about Hall and Edmonton’s is the one that Chris Johnston is talking about above since they’re unwilling to include Philip Broberg or Evan Bouchard in a trade. If I had to guess what those pieces might be, I think that Jesse Puljujarvi, Caleb Jones, a conditional first-round pick, and a player who is on a larger contract but is expendable (Gagner, Manning, Chiasson, Russell?), would be who the Oilers are content to send over for Hall with 50% retention on his salary. 

Long-term, is Jones in the Oilers plans? We know Puljujarvi isn’t and what are the odds that the first-round pick becomes a better player than Hall? This sort of deal clears out a bit of space for Ken Holland to continue his re-vamping of the Oilers roster and I am of the belief that Hall would sign a contract with the Oilers that would be considered “team-friendly” and at a discount. Think what Leon Draisaitl makes which is $8.5M last I checked. 

Galchenyuk Soon to be an Ex-Penguin?

Elliotte Friedman has reported that Nail Yakupov’s BFF is on the outs in Pittsburgh and the Buffalo Sabres are interested. The upcoming UFA has absolutely hit the skids since being dealt from Montreal for Max Domi last year and even playing him on the wing with mega stars like Sid Crosby and Evgeni Malkin hasn’t helped.

“I do think Buffalo was one of the teams that looked at him,” Friedman said during the Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada. “I’m sure there’s more. But Galchenyuk is someone who could be finding a new home.”

BLH’s Thoughts: Some might say that if you can’t score on Sid’s wing, who can you score with? It’s not easy to play with elite players, even for skilled wings like Galchenyuk but this player is on his third team in a year and that leads me to believe there’s something else going on. When his own GM is saying that there isn’t a fit for him on Malkin’s wing and that he’ll have to work very hard just to get into Pittsburgh’s top-12, that’s a good indication that things aren’t working out. Might they send the former 3rd overall pick to Buffalo for former Pen, Conor Sheary? 

Could the Rangers move Buchnevich and/or Howden?

In the post below, Rangers beat writer Larry Brooks muses about the futures of forwards Pavel Buchnevish and Brett Howden.

Buchnevich is a taffy-pull for Quinn. The winger is simply not physically engaged consistently enough to warrant the minutes and assignments his skill-set would otherwise merit. It has been a year-plus of cajoling from the coach and a year-plus of intermittent responses from the player. If the 24-year-old Russian cannot get top-six and power-play minutes, then it is probably better for all concerned that he play elsewhere.

And if Howden is going to continue in a fourth-line role in which he can expect a ceiling of 10 minutes a night, it is probably best for both the center’s development and the organization that he join Andersson in Hartford. Howden has three assists in his past nine games and five points (one goal, four assists) in his past 20 contests.

BLH’s Thoughts: This is a scene from a movie Oilers fans have witnessed far too many times before. Rushing young players before they’re ready and/or not putting them in a position to succeed. 

Look, if the Rangers don’t want Buchnevich, I’m sure they’d find a trade partner in the Oilers. The big Russian would look wonderful alongside one of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. He had over 20 goals last year and Edmonton is starving for offense aside from 97 and 29.

Quick Hits

  • Sizing up the backup goalie market. Oilers fans will probably want to read this. (source)
  • Are Sami Vatanen (NJ) and Andreas Athanasiou (DET) available? (source)
  • Should the Islanders be in on Taylor Hall? (source)

2020 NHL Draft Talk with Keith Fries

Breaking Down Craig Button’s Top-5

(1. Alexis Lafreniere, 2. Quinton Byfield, 3. Cole Perfetti, 4. Yaroslav Askarov, 5. Hendrix Lapierre)

I’m not going to completely obliterate Button’s recent top-5 ranking as 3/5 prospects listed are also in my own top-5. But, I will say I am 100% certain that neither Cole Perfetti nor Hendrix Lapierre should be in this conversation.

There seems to be a consensus top-3, in Alexis Lafreniere, Quinton Byfield, and Lucas Raymond. Then, when you factor in elite-level talents like Anton Lundell and Yaroslav Askarov, that top-5 fills up rather quickly. So why does Button feel like Perfetti and Lapierre are in that discussion? First off, I can’t answer for the man. However, my educated guess is that he’s leaning toward the market he’s selling to – Canadians. One gripe I have with Canada-based scouting services and/or pundits are their leanings in-favor of homegrown players, rather than simply ranking the best prospects in their rightful spots. Such is the case, here, as both Perfetti and Lapierre are (realistically) more mid-to-late first-rounders. What further baffles me about this list is how Button was one of the first analysts to jump on Lucas Raymond and Alexander Holtz as premiere, international, prospects, well-over a year ago, yet they’re both completely absent from his list.

Rankings that Make Sense; Rankings that Don’t

I thought listing Tim Stutzle (7) and Jamie Drysdale (8) in the top-10 – and notably in the back end of the top-10 – was really accurate. They’re definitely in that draft stock category of, ‘’Ok, now that the first wave of talent has been selected, who’s the best available prospect on the board?’’ Additionally, having Justin Sourdif at 18 was reasonable. His high-end skating should keep him in the running for a pick within that range.

Where Button lost me was, as I mentioned above, having Hendrix Lapierre (5) in the top-5 and not Lucas Raymond (6). But, what’s even more whacky is seeing Anton Lundell at 13 and Noel Gunler at 28. Lundell, as my rankings show, is a highly-regarded prospect in most circles and seen as a guaranteed top-10 selection. Some might even make the same claim for Gunler. But, no one – and I mean NO ONE – will let Lundell slip to 13. Getting back to Gunler… If a team snagged him at 28, we’re talking about one of the biggest steals in NHL Draft history!

“He has Dylan Holloway at 12, do you see him creeping into the top 10?

Holloway isn’t in my top-10 but one could certainly the argument as to why he should be. When you look at how well he’s performed on such a talented U. of Wisconsin team, especially as an underager, it’s easy to see why he’s in that 10-20 range. 12 actually isn’t a bad place to be for Holloway, as a team selecting there may be a consistent playoff bubble team who could use his services sooner-than-later to make that push into the post-season. Furthermore, I think NHL clubs are really seeing the value in sending a high-end prospect to the NCAA for a year-or-two. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him crack the top-10, though, as anything really is possible.

Who the Oilers Should Select from Button’s List?

With Edmonton currently as the third-best team in the NHL standings, at this point, it looks like the Oilers won’t be selecting until late, on night one. Button currently has Ottawa 67’s’, Jack Quinn, at the 29th-overall spot, but, I’m going to include the players from 27-31. These would be Lukas Reichel (27), Noel Gunler (28, as mentioned above), Yan Kuznetsov (30), and Ryan O’Rourke (31).

For myself personally, seeing Lukas Reichel as a first-rounder (in Button’s eyes) puts a huge smile on my face. I absolutely love this kid and would be ecstatic to have him in the Oilers organization – largely so I could watch him during his stint with Bakersfield. However, as I said earlier, if Gunler’s still sitting on the board you’d be hard-pressed not to pull the trigger on drafting him. Either would be a solid pick, but I’m going to lean toward Gunler simply for draft stock reasons – a prospect I feel should be in the top-10.

Antonio Stranges to Edmonton

Start pounding this drum, now, Oilers fans, as Stranges has solidified himself as one of this draft’s best skaters available. The Oilers could definitely stand to add some more speed to their depth chart and Stranges certainly fits that bill. In fact, his offensive success is largely from his pace of play. He can quickly hit the jets and separate from trailing defenders, much in the way that Connor McDavid does. If both were to play on the same line, we’re easily talking about the fastest 2-on-none breakaway in the league. Fortunately for Edmonton when it comes to Craig Button, Stranges doesn’t appear AT ALL in his top-62 ranking. Meaning, if Edmonton really has their eye on him, they could grab him in the second-round, even while picking at #60.

If the Oilers could walk away from the 2020 NHL Entry Draft with both Noel Gunler and Antonio Stranges, it doesn’t matter who they select in rounds 3-7 as these two will give Edmonton a high draft grade on their own.

Thanks for joining me, Heroes. Until next time, cheers!

Fries TOP-20 

  1. Alexis Lafreniere
  2. Anton Lundell
  3. Quinton Byfield
  4. Lucas Raymond
  5. Yaroslav Askarov
  6. Tim Stutzle
  7. Noel Gunler
  8. Alexander Holtz
  9. Marco Rossi
  10. Jamie Drysdale
  11. Cole Perfetti
  12. Jaromir Pytlik
  13. Justin Barron
  14. Jeremie Poirier
  15. Alexander Nikishin
  16. Kasper Simontaival
  17. Lukas Reichel
  18. Antonio Stranges
  19. Justin Sourdif
  20. Hendrix Lapierre
Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors, Trades

Two New Names Enter the Oilers Rumor Mill

1 Comment

A good friend of mine, we’ll call him Dave, sent me a message on Twitter the other day and offered me a scenario regarding the Oilers and the Islanders. Now, I know that’s not a rumor per se but this Dave contacted me about the Oilers signing Ryan Mantha last year months before he was signed and I trust him. We’ll get to why this is a rumor later on in the post.

But first I’ve got to ask you to listen to this clip from The Jason Gregor Show and tell me what you think they’re talking about.

Here’s what my friend Dave sent me:

Arthur Staple, the NYI writer, said this in an interview: “I would not be surprised if Beauvillier and de Haan are packaged in a deal for a top 6 F.” Stauffer dropping hints that the guy coming back for Eberle is a player that can play more positions in the top 9. Beauvillier is a C/LW.

Who are the top-6 forwards that have been rumored to be going to the Islanders?

  • Matt Duchene
  • Alex Galchenyuk
  • Jordan Eberle

https://twitter.com/NicholsOnHockey/status/877220734057160704

So there you have the Bobfather (Bob McKenzie) saying that perhaps the Islanders will go ALL OUT and trade for both Matt Duchene AND Jordan Eberle.

Bob Stauffer said on Oilers NOW (June 20th) that he expects the Eberle trade with the Islanders to go down shortly after the expansion draft. He also echoed McKenzie’s sentiments that the Isles may go for both Duchene and Eberle.

THE PROPOSED DEALS

Stauffer thought something like Josh Ho-Sang+Travis Hamonic for Matt Duchene might be feasible and I could agree there. Elliotte Friedman thought that the Oilers would have to pay much more than just Jordan Eberle for Hamonic if they wanted him. Plus, I don’t think that Beauvillier and de Haan would get Duchene out of Colorado.

As for Jordan Eberle, if we go from my friend Dave’s thoughts, that deal would look like Calvin de Haan+Anthony Beauvillier for Jordan Eberle.

On paper, those deals would jack up the Isles forward corps quite a bit but what about the salary cap? At the moment, the Islanders have about $4M available and don’t Duchene and Eberle make $6M or more per year each?

Hamonic – $3.85M per year till 2019/20
Ho-Sang – $1.075M per year until 2018/19
de Haan – RFA
Beauvillier – $894k per year until 2018/19

I’d expect de Haan to be signing anywhere from $3.75M to $5M if you take his comparables like Mattias Eckholm ($3.75Mx6), Danny Dekeyser ($5Mx6), Chris Tanev ($4.45Mx5), into consideration. I mean he made a shade under $2M last season, so

I mean he made a shade under $2M last season, so it’s likely he’ll double that depending on the team?

So when we bring it all together, Duchene+Eberle’s salaries are around $12M and the four players mentioned above combined are about, let’s say, $10M because we’re not sure what de Haan signs for. That leaves the Islanders with approximately $2M to play with but with no 2nd pairing on defense

Right now their defense looks as such:

Leddy/Boychuck
XXX/Seidenberg
Mayfield/Pelech

If they really wanted to, they could move Dennis Seidenberg to his native left side and move Ryan Pulock into that vacancy but that’s an awfully inexperienced bottom three defenders.

Bob Stauffer had another suggestion, he suggested that the Islanders move Mikhail Grabovski’s rights (and salary $5M) plus the Islanders first round pick (16th OV) to the Vegas Golden Knights for one fo their 1st rounders that they are likely to pick up from another team. This would open up some cash for the Islanders to play with and if Grabovksi goes on the LTIR next season, the Golden Knights are only on the hook for $1M because the other 80% would be paid by insurance.

That is only for 1 season as well and if they can move Kulemin to Vegas as well, that’d be a dream scenario for Garth Snow.

WHY BEAUVILLIER/de HAAN TO THE OILERS IS A RUMOR

Bob Stauffer has been touting Eberle to the Islanders for a very long time now but he’s only let it be known the return would be for someone that is,

“Cheaper and less established. That might give them (the Oilers) a few more options with regards to where you could move him in to the lineup”

Naturally, myself included, I jumped directly to Ryan Strome but that’s too easy when I think about it and I am of the belief that the Islanders new head coach Doug Weight (DOOOUUUUGGGGIIIIEEEE) is a fan of Strome and would like to work with him. Ryan Strome was nearly .5pts per game after Weight took over coaching duties.

Anthony Beauvillier is cheaper and less established and can play multiple positions and hardly anybody is talking about him, unless you type in “beauvillier isles” on twitter, there you’ll get all sorts of commentary as he’s being connected to the Canadiens (of course he is) and the Alex Galchenyuk rumors. Hence, why his connection to the Oilers is now a rumor. Yes, if Twitter is talking about it, it’s a rumor… lol.

Here’s what McKeen’s had to say about Beauvillier in his draft year and pay attention because a lot of Beauvillier’s character attributes are things that Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli really values.

Anthony Beauvillier has only turned 20 years old and deserves to be on a team that can shelter him and bring him along slowly. Having Milan Lucic, Pat Maroon, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (maybe), Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid will certainly do that. He was a whiz on the faceoff dot in junior (not at all in the NHL yet) and perhaps that (3C) is where Peter Chiarelli could see him eventually. And wasn’t Beauvillier one of the pieces of the Griffin Reinhart trade? He was.

I think you’re probably asking, why would the Oilers need ANOTHER small forward? Didn’t we just go through years and years of trying to play with small forwards? And you’d be right in saying that but I’d have to say that the focus of such a trade wouldn’t be Beauvillier, it’d be De Haan.

I feel like I’ve oversold you on Anthony Beauvillier a bit and not even focused on the best part of that deal, Calvin de Haan.

In de Haan you’ve got a better and possibly cheaper player than Kris Russell.

Fenwick Against per 60 Relative to Teammates:
Russell: -.017
de Haan: -1.59

Shots Against per 60 Relative to Teammates:
Russell:-1.50
de Haan:-2.36

I like those statistics because they tell me how the other team is doing against said player. I like to look at a defenseman’s defensive stats if they are a more stay-at-home dman. And if we look at their “FOR” stats in both of the cases above, they are in the minuses, so that doesn’t help me much.

If you’re a Corsi fella:

Corsi For per 60 Relative to Teammates:
Russell: -7.38
de Haan: -5.13

Corsi Against per 60 Relative to Teammates:
Russell: 5.37
de Haan: 1.32

de Haan wins out here too even though the numbers don’t look great

If we take a gander at some more tradition stats, de Haan comes out on top more often that not as well.

Goals/Assists/Points/PIMs/Shots

Russell: 1/12/13/23/68
de Haan: 5/20/25/36/116

Hits/Shots blocked/Takeaways/ATOI

Russell: 67/213/36/21:13
de Haan: 139/190/24/19:51

It could be said that Calvin de Haan is a bigger better younger version of Kris Russell. They seemingly play the same style. I wonder if de Haan skates as well as Russell though. I’d lean towards no.

A deal like this wouldn’t address the Oilers need of a right-handed defenseman though and it would leave them short on the right-wing. Mark Spector talked about the Oilers signing Tyler Pitlick this summer and Bob Stauffer said that it’d be a shame if Vegas signed Pitlick.

I’m not sure if a RW depth chart of Puljujarvi, Slepyshev, Kassian, and Pitlick would do it? Possibly toss in a Spencer Foo and we know that Drake Caggiula can play across the board. There’s all sorts of potential though and if Draisaitl moves up, then it’s not a problem but only if Nugent-Hopkins stays.

My only problem there is if Duchene is moved out of Colorado, they’ll need another centre, and the Oilers want Tyson Barrie… So maybe you deal RNH for Barrie and you fill that RHD hole but you make another at centre, right? Is that where a signing like Derek Ryan comes in though?

You wouldn’t have to worry about defense again though and a young D-Corps of Klefbom/Larsson/de Haan/Barrie/Sekera/Nurse/Benning would be one of the best in the league.

You can never have enough good defenseman, right?

That said, how do you feel about this new rumor? Let us know in the comments below!

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

Lowetide’s Forward Targets for the Oilers

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Just as I did yesterday with Lowetide’s defense targets for the Oilers, I’ll do the same today with his forward targets for the Oilers but I’ll add one more to make a nice round 30!

So if you haven’t read the previous post on the defensemen, I’ll let you know what I’m doing here.

Basically, I’m taking a list made up by the Legendary Lowetide (you can find that here) and I’m just simply commenting on each player but with the added bonus of another name inserted by myself based on what I’ve been reading or hearing from my sources.

    1. LC Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche. Please please please Baby Jesus.

I’d love me some Matt Duchene as well but he would cost something in the range of RNH+Klefbom, surely.

    1. RC Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche. UFA 2023. Would cost the moon.

Not sure why LT would have this name on his list. Would love him but ZERO chance he gets moved ahead of Duchene or Barrie.

    1. RC Tyler Johnson, Tampa Bay Lightning. RFA 2017. 56 points per 82 games.

An interesting option for 2C if the Oilers decided to move Leon to RW on a permanent basis. Tampa has their work cut out for them. Who stays in FLA? Palat, Drouin, or Johnson?

    1. R Justin Williams FREE AGENT (80gp, 24-24-48). Luxury.

I could see the Oilers having major interest in Justin WIlliams but I have a feeling he’d be happy to stay out East with Ovechkin and the Caps. They’re still a very strong team. Reminds me of the 90’s Red Wings right before they became a Stanley Cup winning powerhouse.

    1. R T.J. Oshie FREE AGENT (68gp, 33-23-56).  Not affordable.

This boy be demanding major skrilla. I’m betting if he’s not a cap in 2017, he might be a Golden Knight. But an Oiler? No, not unless they can find a taker for both Nugent-Hopkins AND Jordan Eberle whilst bringing in minimal $$$ on the return.

    1. R Patrick Eaves FREE AGENT (79gp, 32-19-51). Volume shooter!

Here’s a player the Oilers were in on at the trade deadline. I like that he’s a tad older and I love that he shoots the lights out. He’s got that compete that McLellan and Chiarelli love too. Then there’s the beard… Epic!

    1. LC Martin Hanzal FREE AGENT (71gp, 20-19-39). Has to be high priority.

If the price is right, Martin Hanzal will be an Oiler. But I have a feeling Montreal could get in on this one. Perfect 3C for almost any team.

    1. L Evander Kane, Buffalo Sabres (70gp, 28-15-43). Buy low power forward.

I think if the Oilers were going to buy low and sell him off in the summer, he’d be a good candidate for acquisition. Shoots, hits, fights, and he has rockets on his skates. Just not sure about the “other stuff”.

    1. RC Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers. Averages 46 points per 82gp.

Having just picked him up by the Rangers for Derrick Brassard. New York shouldn’t be moving him on so quickly. He had a pretty strong playoffs I thought.

    1. C-R Ryan Strome, NY Islanders (69gp, 13-17-30). Rumors.

The brother of McDavid’s BFF. Can’t go wrong there. He’d be cheap and he’s still young.

    1. LC Vladimir Sobotka, St. Louis Blues. Signed to a nifty $3.5 million times two.

Sobotka to the Oilers used to be an annual rumor. I dig this player. Skilled enough to be a middle 6 floater. Can play wing or or centre. Doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

    1. R-L Thomas Vanek FREE AGENT (68gp, 17-31-48). Offensive option.

Numbers folks will tell you to look away from the inconsistent production and hockey people will tell you that he’s a tad lazy. 3rd line wing and PP1 option doesn’t sound bad to me if he’s on a cheap ticket.

    1. L Ilya Kovalchuk, New Jersey. Splendid KHL season, he’s coming back.

Pipe dream. Not as fast as he once was and he’ll be expensive but he’s got an epic shot and he put the Devils on his back and took them to the finals in 2012. Personally, I reckon he should just play the regular season out with the Devils, get reaclimated to the NHL, then have the Devils trade him for a better return at the deadline.

    1. R Radim Vrbata FREE AGENT (81gp, 20-35-55). Scorer.

If Vrbata could come in on a cheap deal like he has been doing as of recent, I’m all for the Oilers adding him.

    1. LC Nick Bonino FREE AGENT (80gp, 18-19-37). Two-way C.

I wouldn’t mind having a Nick Bonino filling in at 3C so as long as the Oilers aren’t paying him over $3.5M per year. I’d probably prefer a Brian Boyle to be honest.

    1. R Brett Ritchie, Dallas Stars (78gp, 16-8-24). Shoots the puck a lot.

Big boy. Would be interesting to see him lined up across from his brother Nick when the Oilers meet Anaheim in the playoffs again. I don’t see him as anything more than a bottom 6 winger though and the Oilers sure have enough of them.

    1. R Jaromir Jagr FREE AGENT (82gp, 16-30-46). Now 70, still going.

Jags is probably set to spend the rest of his career in the Eastern Conference if he wants to play until he’s 50. Still effective but slower than molasses. I wonder if Chiarelli would want him again, Jagr had 9pts in 11 games after being acquired at the deadline in 2012/13 and then he added another 10 assists in 22 games in the playoffs as the Bruins lost to Chicago.

    1. R Sam Gagner FREE AGENT (81gp, 18-32-50). PP savant.

Fans love a comeback story and now that Gagner’s role in the NHL has changed, he’s really taken to it. The Oilers could use another bottom-6 forward with some skill. A better option than Pakarinen.

    1. R Kris Versteeg FREE AGENT (69gp, 15-22-37). What he brings has value.

Versteeg would probably not be welcomed with open arms in Edmonton by the fanbase but he’s a veteran player who can float throughout the lineup. The Oilers know what they’d have in him from last year’s training camp. I would not be opposed to Edmonton adding him.

    1. R Ales Hemsky FREE AGENT (15gp, 4-3-7). Still brilliantly creative.

I wonder how much Hemmer has left in the tank. Is he a better option that Puljujarvi?

    1. RC Derek Ryan FREE AGENT (67gp, 11-18-29). Fine utility player.

The Oilers really wanted to pick Grant up at the deadline but Carolina’s ask was too much. He’d be a perfect utility forward.

    1. LC Dominic Moore FREE AGENT (82gp, 11-14-25). PK and FO option.

Excellent veteran option but I believe the Oilers would get even slower by adding Moore and that’s not what they need.

    1. R Drew Stafford FREE AGENT (58gp, 8-13-21). Chiarelli type.

Stafford has been on the Oilers radar for so many years but none of the many GMs have been able to pick him up. I’m not sure why. He has trouble staying healthy and he doesn’t score very much.

    1. LC Brian Boyle FREE AGENT (75gp, 13-12-25). He is on their list.

Another player the Oilers tried for at last season’s trade deadline. He would’ve been very helpful in the Anaheim series when the Oilers centres were getting worked on the faceoff dot.

    1. R Brett Connolly FREE AGENT (66gp, 15-8-23). Inexpensive scoring on RW.

Disappeared in the playoffs and is nowhere near my list of players the Oilers should have an eye on. Good regular season in 2016/17 though.

    1. R Jarome Iginla FREE AGENT (80gp, 14-13-27). He can still shoot the puck.

Iginla is going to be mayor of Calgary someday unless he signs in Edmonton.

    1. L Patrick Sharp FREE AGENT. Depending on health and price.

I wonder what the price point would be on Sharp. I love his experience, he’s grittty, he scores, and he adds more leadership to a young team.

    1. R Tyler Pitlick FREE AGENT (31gp, 8-3-11). Finally emerged, could return.

One more year in Edmonton is what Pitlick deserves. He was playing like a beast before his injury last season. I’d like to see one more year before cutting bait. I wonder if he’s an option for Vegas.

    1. R Jordan Weal FREE AGENT (23gp, 8-4-12). Eastern Pitlick.

I honestly don’t know much about this player. LT says he’s the Eastern Pitlick but I’m not sure if that refers to playing style or injury history or what.

My no.30 is left-handed center/wing Alexander Galchenyuk.

The Habs are trying to deal the 6’2″ 205lb RFA like mad. He hasn’t been able to fit into their system over in Montreal and they feel it’s time to move on from him. He played 61 games last year and put up 17 goals and 27 assists for 44 pts.

I feel like Montreal has had their eyes on Nugent-Hopkins for quite a while and they have around $22M in cap space going into next season, so they’d definitely be able to fit him in.

I’m torn between Galchenyuk and Gallagher as the return I’d prefer from the Habs for RNH. On one hand, how can you not love the way that Brendan Gallagher plays the game? He’s a throwback player in some senses and would really add another element for the Oilers’ opposition to deal with but then we look at Alex Galchenyuk’s production.

  • 2013/14 – 31pts in 65gp
  • 2014/15 – 46pts in 80gp
  • 2015/16 – 56pts in 82gp
  • 2016/17 – 44pts in 61 gp

Compare that with Nugent-Hopkins’ stats in that time frame and keep in mind that Nuge had already played two partial seasons by Galchenyuk’s rookie year. The two aren’t separated by many points…

  • 2013/14 – 56pts in 80gp
  • 2014/15 – 56pts in 76gp
  • 2015/16 – 34pts in 55gp
  • 2016/17 – 43pts in 82 gp

Where would he fit in on the Oilers though?

Being as the Canadiens couldn’t figure out where to deploy him, that could also be a point of bother for the Oilers. He’s brutal on the faceoffs (career FO% of 45.5%), so I’d have to imagine he’d play the off-wing. Perhaps lining up on the right side.

If that scenario were to carry out, the Oilers would need a 3C and they’d need to be committed to having McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on their own lines. This might result in having Eberle beside Draisaitl and Galchenyuk alongside McDavid for a period of time depending on how much the Russian-American would sign for and if Eberle was even on the roster.

I think any scenario where Jesse Puljujarvi can be eased into his role on the Oilers is a good one for me and the one above would do just that.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

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Edmonton Oilers, Kosmic Burrito, NHL

Kosmic’s World Cup of Hockey Team North America Roster Prediction

March 1st 2016
Post Deadline

Well….here I am…I must have done something right, because I’m back to trip with the BLH Universe again! How’d you like Chia Pete’s first go as an Oiler at the ol’ deadline? Do you think that the Oilers made out alright? Me, I don’t really have any complaints, plus, that’s not what my post is about, haha…

As promised, this is my 2016 World Cup of Hockey Team McDavid, errr, I mean Team North America roster predictions/report. Let’s face it folks, this team belongs to the McWizard!

But first, I have to get something of my chest. I don’t even like the inclusion of the 23 and under North American and European teams. Do you really think that Mcdavid wants to be the one who scores the goal that eliminates Team Canada (hypothetically speaking)? Of course he doesn’t!! He wants to score the huge goals for Canada, and party with the big boys!! But….here we are, and that train has left the station.

Too be honest though, as an Oilers fan this team does possess a lot of Edmonton connections. First off, the GM is Peter Chiarelli, and the Head Coach is Todd Mclellan. Plus some key members of the team I might add.

So, just like my last report, we’ll start with the Goaltenders. Speaking of which, I think this is going to be the team’s weakest position. Only due to the lack of experienced ’tenders. There is USA’s John Gibson, who has won both gold and bronze at the World Juniors. Also, Jets prospect Connor Hellebuyck won bronze at the World Championships. So there is some experience there, that can’t be discounted. I do honestly believe that Gibson is on the verge of breaking out huge, and what a scene that would be if he could do it on the world stage.

Potential Goalies: John Gibson, Connor Hellebuyck, Malcolm Subban, Matt Murray, and Zach Fucale

Again, this is just my personal opinion, but you can’t ignore Gibson and Hellebuyck’s international resumes. So I see Chiarelli going with (in this order):

John Gibson – Connor Hellebuyck – Malcolm Subban

The defence is a different story….this is seriously a stacked backend ladies and gentlemen! We’re talking about names like Ekblad, Reilly, Jones, and Hanifin. That’s heavy duty. Baby’s got back! I didn’t realize just how stacked they are until I started to research this story. So let’s get on with it.

Potential Defencemen: Aaron Ekblad, Noah Hanifin, Matt Dumba, Morgan Reilly, Colton Parayko, Seth Jones, Dougie Hamilton, Connor Murphy, Jacob Trouba, Cody Ceci, Colin Miller, and Ryan Murray

Making my prediction for the defence was actually tougher than originally thought, but if I was GM, the defence would like something like this:

Seth Jones – Aaron Ekblad
Morgan Reilly – Jacob Trouba
Ryan Murray – Dougie Hamilton
Extra Skater: Matt Dumba

Ah yes, now the Mcdavid’s, I mean the McJesus’, Errg…Now for the forwards. You thought that the defence was stellar? Shit dude, you haven’t seen anything yet! We’re talking about names like 2 time Cup winner Brendan Saad, Johnny Hockey himself, and that other fellow, what”s his name, oh yeah…CONNOR MCDAVID! Honestly, this team should not be taken lightly at all. There is A LOT of potential firepower on this squad. So let’s get cracking at it.

Potential Forwards: Connor McDavid, Brendan Saad, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nathan McKinnon, Curtis Lazar, Johnny Gaudreau, Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Sean Couturier, Ryan Strome, Sean Monahan, Alex Galchenyuk, Jonathon Huberdeau, Mark Scheifele, Jonathon Drouin, Sam Reinhart, Max Domi, Dylan Larkin, Boone Jenner, Sam Bennett, Robby Fabbri, Anthony Duclair, and Bo Horvat

See, I told you that they’re doing pretty well for themselves….so take this with a grain of salt, but here are my line predictions:

Johnny Gaudreau – Connor McDavid – Nathan McKinnon
Brandon Saad – Sean Monahan – Jack Eichel
Alex Galchenyuk – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Ryan Strome
Max Domi – Sean Couturier – Curtis Lazar
Extra Skater: Auston Matthews

As awesome as it will be for all of these kids to play together, you can’t tell me that they wouldn’t have preferred to play for their respected countries? So hopefully the next inception of the World Cup only includes countries. But regardless, the North American team is an incredibly talented squad and they’re my sleeper pick to win it all. They definitely shouldn’t be underestimated just due to their age, they have a lot of international hardware between them, plus…..McDavid.

Well folks, once again, thanks for tripping with me!! Stay tuned for my next article……an introduction to the future, the man known as Laurent Brossoit….

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