Keith Gretzky basically laughed at the idea of the Oilers being in on any of the big-name rental players, as he should have. The Oilers are currently 8 points back of a playoff spot with 5 teams to hurdle in order to get into the final wild-card position.
The Oilers have already made two trades prior to this deadline. They traded Cam Talbot for a younger and cheaper backup named Anthony Stolarz. They also unloaded failed experiment Ryan Spooner on to Vancouver for Edmonton’s new favorite former Oiler, Sam Gagner. Stolarz has yet to make his Oilers debut, but Gagner has 2 goals in his 4 games in an Oilers uniform since being acquired, including the game-winner against the Ducks last night.
The team has gone 2-1-1 since making those trades after the loss in Carolina. Gagner represents a clear upgrade in the forward group, and the return of Andrej Sekera has been helpful. Coach Hitchcock has said that they have played well in all but one of their games since the bye week ended. They certainly haven’t been rewarded in kind for their efforts, but the team is playing better than it had been prior to the break.
What might they do on deadline day? Will Milan Lucic get moved? Is Jesse Puljujarvi going to get traded? Will Alex Chiasson and Zack Kassian remain Oilers? Click here to find out
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The Cam Talbot to Philadelphia rumors are getting louder and louder with each passing day. I don’t really expect anything to happen until after the Islanders game this weekend but he’s as good as gone.
At first, I speculated that Brian Elliott would be the return but now I’ve heard from three different people (my source, Friedman, and Dreger) that the return is likely Anthony Stolarz. More on him in a bit.
This is what my source said and following that will be what Elliotte Friedman and Darren Dreger said.
Nope it won’t be Elliotte. Heard that late late last night. Good chance its Stolarz. Makes sense to me. Young guy, RFA after this season, cheap cap hit.
He can back up Koski. Good return imo.
This from TSN’s Darren Dreger,
Oilers and Flyers in a holding pattern on Cam Talbot trade. As mentioned on Insider Trading last night, Anthony Stolarz likely in the return if they close the deal. RFA goalie end of the year.
Friedman on SN960 suggests it won't be Brian Elliott in the Cam Talbot trade & that he's hearing it may be Anthony Stolarz. Earlier on TSN1260, Bob McKenzie had suggested Stolarz or Mike McKenna.
Where there’s smoke, there’s probably fire, right?
It’s early right now and I’m sure there’ll be more details revealed as the day passes on and more radio hits are done but my question is, will the Oilers have to include more than Talbot for Philly to take on his entire remaining salary? It wouldn’t be a problem for them as they have more than $8M to use but if they didn’t have to take on all of the contract, why would they?
Talbot deal to Philly is hung up on money and possibly other pieces being involved. #Oilers
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) February 15, 2019
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Anthony Stolarz
Stolarz has had trouble staying healthy since turning pro. Last season he had TWO surgeries on his left knee and this year he’s already been put on waivers and gone unclaimed. It’s quite apparent that Carter Hart has surpassed him, so there’s no future for him in the Flyers organization.
Fun Fact: Stolarz’s agent is Allain Roy. He also represents players like Kris Russell, Kyle Brodziak, Keegan Lowe, and Mitch Callahan as well as ex-Oiler Mark Letestu. So there’s a working relationship between the agent and team.
Stolarz would make sense given the Oilers would still control the asset next season. They will be in the market for a backup anyways, a job he could compete for, and the Oilers save some money this season on Talbot. https://t.co/d3B9RXVq0E
Here’s a report from Hockey’s Future on the 6’6″ goalie that might interest you,
Stolarz is a butterfly goaltender. He uses his 6-foot-6 frame to makes good use of his size in limiting the choices of shooters, and he isn’t afraid to challenge them. Stolarz generally plays a good positional game that doesn’t leave many options for an opposing shooter. But the goaltender needs to develop in several areas, including his post-to-post coverage. (source)
MORE OILERS RUMORS
So I guess we’ll see what happens by the end of the weekend. I’m hearing that the Penguins have interest in Alex Petrovic and that Edmonton can’t even give away Rieder, Spooner, or Manning… So it’s shaping up to be an eventful trade deadline Oilers fans!
In the meantime, the Oilers have a ridiculously important hockey game to win tonight vs. Carolina. I’m super curious to see how they perform the day after Hitch was sent to the stands again for practice.
Lastly, thank god for Peter Chiarelli eh? Have you seen how well the Oilers’ farm team is playing lately? It’s a good thing he repaired that dog’s breakfast or the team’s future would really be in the crapper. Bakersfield is looking for their 14th win in a row tonight as they take on the Ontario Reign.
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