Tag Archives: Brandon Davidson

Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Oilers Updates on Bieksa, Davidson, Lucic, and Who Needs to Step Up in 2018/19.

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I had a nice long chat with one of my North American sources last night and we got talking about everything from the players rumored to be joining the Oilers on a PTO, to Milan Lucic, to Darnell Nurse’s agent, to where The Hockey News has Cam Talbot ranked going into the 2018/19 season.

I’d like to share some of that conversation with you today and I’d also like to comment on a few players who need to step up their game in order for the Oilers to make a return to the playoffs.

*Disclaimer*

What you’re about to read is my interaction with a person I happen to know is close to the Oilers organization. I’m not asking you to believe what you’re about to read nor am I claiming it to be fact. It’s just what I’ve been told and what I have permission to share.

I always tell you to treat this like any other rumor you hear online, like water cooler banter. If it comes true, awesome. If it doesn’t, men…

PROFESSIONAL TRYOUT CONTRACTS

I asked my source about his opinion on the following players and their chances of being asked to come to Oilers camp:

  • Kevin Bieksa – Not their first choice but he IS an option for the Oilers. Toronto likes him as well as another Eastern team. Footspeed concerns the Oilers.
  • Brandon Davidson – Top of the Oilers list. 5 or 6 teams interested. SJ and Vegas in that group. He wants a 2yr deal and has demands that are shortening that list of teams like he wants assurances (and equivalent pay) that he’ll be a top-6 defender.
  • Alexei Emelin – Little interest. Emelin wants a top-4 role but Oilers don’t believe he’s good enough for that and don’t want to gift that to him but may circle back to him depending on what shakes out.
  • Luca Sbisa – Haven’t even discussed Sbisa. Bad wheels.
  • Slava Voynov – He’s been talked about because he IS a good dman. Can move the puck well, has a shot, and has 2 Stanley Cup rings but the Oilers feel that they’d lose a lot of fan support if they did bring him in. From a PR standpoint, it’d be disastrous for him. He’ll probably end up in a place where the fans support isn’t as strong.

I followed that up by asking if the Oilers would try to mend the hole left my Sekera internally and was told players like Ethan Bear, Evan Bouchard, or Joel Persson COULD be brought in to fill the void but in an ideal world none of them make the team. Not unless they blow the doors off of training camp.

They’re (Oilers) not going ot do anything spectacular unless it falls in their laps. They’ll look at a defender for a PTO but that’s about it. Fans expect way too much out of Chiarelli. This is real life NHL. Not NHL on the Xbox. 

My source also passed along that Chiarelli is still looking at Faulk but IF anything happens on that front it’ll be closer to the beginning of the season because of cap implications and LTIR. I was told that PC could’ve acquired Faulk last year for RNH and the brass would’ve understood the move but Chiarelli would’ve been fired this summer had he done it.

CURRENT OILERS

I wanted to switch gears a bit and talk about current Oilers, so we chatted about Jesse Puljujarvi and I was told this;

Management is VERY happy with what Puljujarvi has done this offseason. He is going to have a big year. He’s going to beat out Ty Rattie IMO and take his place beside Connor. 

Glad to hear that the organization is still high on Pulju. I love that kid!

If that prediction does come true, Rattie is S.O.L… And that’s predicated on him making the team out of camp. Something that isn’t guaranteed either…

We then talked about Milan Lucic and I was gifted with some info that shocked me.

The game is changing and fighting is less and less. Looch isn’t a fighter like he once was. He’s trying to get quicker. He really is. He’s just a big boy. 

He was asked to get down to 220lbs for this season and he was nice about it and said he didn’t know if he could but that he’d try.

I believe he’s down to 228lbs now.

That’s not the shocking part. The part that floored me was the answer to when I asked how heavy he was at the end of last season…

I think he weighed around 245lbs. He was a biiiiig boy. That’s a big man coming at you in the corner. 6’3″ 245…

WTF! I can’t wait to see him at training camp. He’ll look so skinny. lol.

Milan is really working on getting his weight down this summer and getting his foot speed up. Apparently, Lucic is in the best shape of his career.

So what is going on with Darnell Nurse I enquired.

His agent, that c*nt, wants 5/6 years at $5.5M per year and Nurse said that he’s cool with $3M per year for two years. 

Nurse is willing to sign right now but his agent is saying that they can get more. 

I asked what my source thought of The Hockey News saying that Cam Talbot was the 4th worst goalie in the NHL heading into 2018 and this was the response:

That’s just cause of last year. I don’t pay attention to that crap. Just bloggers and writers flapping their gums. 

Talbot will have a bounce back year. Koskinen will prove that he belongs in the show. Oilers will be alright. We’re back baby!

I love the enthusiasm! Don’t you! I share that opinion as well. I was watching one of the Oilers wins over Minnesota yesterday and Cam Talbot was making ridiculous saves in that game. That was the one where Draisaitl came down the right wing and whipped it past Dubnyk to win the game for Edmonton.

WHO’S STEPPING UP IN 2018

Cam Talbot – It’s a contract year for Dadbot and the Oilers won’t be going anywhere unless Talbot returns to his 2016/17 form. He’s arguably, apart from McDavid and Leon, the most important player for the team.

To add to that, he’s got Mikko Koskinen breathing down his neck because he’ll want that starting job as well.

Oscar Klefbom – The highest scoring defender on the Oilers last year was Darnell Nurse and he didn’t even hit 30 pts. We need Klef to reach 40pts or more this season and repay some of that patience the fans have shown him.

The Oilers don’t have a PP threat from the point and that’s why I think the PP was so poor last season. Teams simply cut off all of the other options and forced Edmonton to make shite decisions under pressure.

A healthy and confident Oscar Klefbom could be scary.

Matt Benning – Benning is going to be tasked with an increase in TOI this season. Last season he didn’t fare that well with the extra time. I feel like Benning could be a wildcard for PP QB on the Oilers 2nd unit because he’s got a slapshot that was registered at over 100mph last year.

I’d like to see more consistency in his game but being consistently good rather than consistently poor.

I’ve seen Matt Benning absolutely cream opposing players and I want to see more of that.

Ryan Strome – When Strome decided he was going to make an effort at being a better defensive centre and was placed on the PK, a little bit of magic occurred. The Oilers PK got better somehow and Strome gained a bit of confidence.

If Strome never scores 4opts in a season I won’t care but if he can be one of the league’s better PKers and defensive centres, I’ll be so happy for him. I don’t think he’ll ever be a Kadri-like centre but if he can even get close to that for Edmonton in 2018, I think that’ll push the Eberle/Strome trade closer to even than ever before.

Zack Kassian – I’ll always be of the belief that Kassian got “dinged up” after a game 1 fight with Tanner Glass last season and that’s why he couldn’t get back into the groove that we saw the previous year where he was an absolute beast.

We need him to become that beast again. His fearlessness, speed, and physicality are a rare combination of skills in the NHL today and when a player has that and applies it to the forecheck, he/she can be devastating.

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Oilers PTO Targets Revealed!

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Plan the parade! The troops are coming!

Today I was contacted by one of my sources with regards to the players that Edmonton is looking at offering PTOs to. They aren’t really huge surprises and if you’ve had your ear to the ground you probably know who they are already.

But before we get into who those players are I have to tell you first that the information I receive is just as likely to fail to materialize than come true. Treat it like water cooler talk at home or forum rumors online. If it comes true, great! You heard it here first and if it doesn’t, meh!

I was informed that the Oilers are looking for a veteran winger and a right-shot defender or a left-shot one that can play the right side.

SCOTTIE UPSHALL

The Alberta native is a left-shot right winger who brings a ton of NHL experience, defensive acumen and a gritty style. Upshall can help on the penalty kill, and formed a dangerous fourth line with new Oiler Kyle Brodziak when the duo was in St. Louis. (source)

It’s hard to put it any more plainly and clearly than Alex Thomas has above. I agree with near everything he’s said there about Upshall and if you’re a long-time reader of mine, you’ll know I have a thing for veterans on young hockey teams. Especially veterans who have been part of successful organizations. St.Louis hasn’t won any Stanley Cups but they have been part of the Stanley Cup playoffs in six of the last 7 seasons.

Last season Upshall started on a PTO with Vancouver if I’m not mistaken before signing a deal to go back to the Blues in St.Louis. While with the Blues he posted 7g 12a for 19pts in 63 games played.

I like Upshall because he can be a bit of a pest on the ice with his physicality. He stirs things up out there and I dig that. I also like the idea of the Oilers sending out a line of Upshall-Brodziak-Kassian.

BRANDON DAVIDSON

Is the third time a charm?

My source did say that the Oilers would be happy with a lefty who can play the right side and Davidson has done that for the Oilers in the past.

https://twitter.com/NHLbyMatty/status/1029518948184743936

Ol’ Matty isn’t one to part with his money so easily. So it’s a good indication that this rumor is probably close to true than not but don’t take it to the bank so fast. This is what Brandon Davidson said himself in an interview with the Lethbridge Herald recently,

“There has been some interest, for sure, from three or four teams at this point,” said Davidson. “We’re moving into August and you kind of want to have some security and know where you’re going. I’m at the point right now with a few teams that we’re going to start making some commitments and hopefully start a new chapter in my life. I’m really excited and ready for a new opportunity and ready to make this my own.” (source)

The portions I highlighted should be telling. Just because he’s training in Edmonton doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to sign there. He talks about a “new chapter” in his life and being ready for a “new opportunity”. To me, that sounds like things aren’t as sure as you’d think…

But let’s say that Davidson does sign a PTO and subsequently a contract with the Oilers. How would that affect the defensive pairings?

I didn’t have Andrej Sekera playing above Darnell Nurse this season so that would’ve made him the 3rd pairing left-shot defender with Kris Russell as his partner.

Klefbom/Larsson
Nurse/Benning
Sekera/Russell

That would’ve been a pretty tight group to go into the new season with. Now there are a few more questions but only on the bottom pairing, in my opinion, and I’m actually fine with there being questions at the no.6 spot on defense as that skater’s TOI shouldn’t have a massive impact on the game itself.

Could Brandon Davidson play there? Absolutely! In that article I linked to above he also said he’s working with a new skills coach and a new skating coach. This is good! You might remember Lowetide saying that he thought Davidson had a “hitch in his giddyup” last year and that’s why he didn’t play as well. Hopefully, the new coaches this summer sort that out for him. Especially if he’s to be an Oiler for 2018/19…

I asked about a timetable as to when these PTOs will be announced but I was told to closer to September, that nothing is happening right now, and that the Oilers are in “Study” mode, so to speak.

BONUS

I was also told that the Oilers might circle back to Justin Faulk but closer to the regular season. If you listened to Oilers Now today, Bob Stauffer explained that Faulk is due $6M this season and we know that the new owner is a bit frugal with his cash. I guess Oilers AGM Keith Gretzky is making more than the ‘Canes GM if that’s any indicator.

I inquired as to what the Oilers could be willing to pay to get Faulk and my source indicated that it wouldn’t be Nuge and that they might get away with giving up picks.

Now, given what Buffalo paid to get Skinner, draft picks seem more realistic. Also, it’ll depend on how badly the Hurricanes owner doesn’t want to pay a 3rd pairing defender $6M…

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!

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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

Pre-Free Agent Frenzy Thoughts on the Oilers

Happy Canada Day everyone! Hopefully this post won’t be too late for some of the signings!

Last season the big UFA signings for the Oilers were those of Jussi Jokinen and Yohann Auvitu. If it weren’t for the MEGA RFA re-signings last season, the shat ton of AHL signings, and the trade for Strome, one might call it a quiet off-season.

Jokinen had promise based on past performance but it became very clear that he wasn’t NHL caliber very quickly and Peter Chiarelli quickly atoned for that mistake by dealing him for Mike Cammalleri.

Auvitu is an interesting story because you could see quickly that the way that he was being deployed, or lack thereof, that there was a disconnect between GM and coach. Personally, I thought the Frenchman started slowly but got better as the year wore on. He should’ve been used on the PP for more than a shift or two and it’s a shame that Todd McLellan and the coaching staff at the time couldn’t see the positives in using him in certain scenarios on the ice.

But enough about last season, let’s talk about what’s going to happen later today and perhaps this week.

FREE AGENT FRENZY (OR FLOP?)

It looks like the Oilers are going to go the same route this year in regards to the UFAs they sign as they did last year. Bottom-6 players on the cheap and this is a plan in endorse. I don’t think they should blow their loads on one player because this is a team that could use a veteran or three to help smooth out those in-season highs and lows.

So who’s on the docket?

Well let’s first talk about who’s NOT on the docket.

Matt Calvert is out. Tobias Rieder is out. Austin Czarnik is out.

I asked right around draft time if the GMs are going to overdo it on the little guys and have it come back to bite them in the ass. At the time I was speaking more to the sub-6-foot defenseman but I think it’s going to apply to every player now. I really think that the GMs are going to put too much of an emphasis on smaller skilled players and they’ll come to regret it come playoff time.

Speaking of playoff players, let’s have a chat about some who could help the Oilers next spring in their drive to Lord Stanley’s cup.

Kyle Brodziak (C) – Grit, leadership, right-handed, PK capable, willing to be used on the 4th line, and will most likely come in under $1.5M

*UPDATE*

Blake Comeau (RW) – two-way winger, PK capable, bottom-6 compliant, plays an old school brand of hockey, and MIGHT come in under $1.5M.

Jason Chimera (W) – Speed, speed, speed. Leadership and experience out the wazoo, a coach’s delight, a former Oiler that knows the lay of the land, and definitely will come in under $1.5M.

Brandon Davidson (D) – perfect no.7 dman, does everything well but nothing horrible/amazing, is a team player, loves to play for the Oilers, a player who’ll play for less than $1M.

These four gentlemen are, in my opinion, most likely to sign with the Oilers in the upcoming days.

I can’t feel any more strongly about how much the Oilers need to have strong-willed veterans on the roster. Matt Hendricks wasn’t great at playing hockey when he was in Edmonton but dammit he was a fine locker-room presence by all accounts and It’s my belief that the Oilers are aggressively pursuing more of these kinds of players.

Listen, the Oilers roster has the skill to compete. There’s no arguing that. But does it have the compete as a whole? As a collective/group/team, do the Oilers have what it takes to get to the next level? Is the glue there to keep them united at the moment? If it isn’t, Chiarelli needs to bring it in.

There are other players who’ve been tossed in the Oilers tumber as well by local media types like Joe Colborne (Dustin Nielson), Lance Bouma/Nick Holden (Stauffer), and Scott Hartnell (Leavins) but I’m hard-pressed to think any of them will be Oilers. That being said, I’ve got lots of time for Hartnell and Bouma.

WHO’S COMING OUT?

With all of this roster speculation, we often forget that when the Oilers add a player to their NHL roster, that means someone may have to come out and at the moment there’s only 1, maybe 2, spots available. Meaning third line right wing and left wing. The Cult of Hockey has those spots occupied by Pontus Aberg and Kailer Yamamoto.

Do you think that Pontus Aberg is actually going to get a fair shot next season after what happened last year? Veteran coaches have memories like elephants and there’s no doubt in my mind that if Todd McLellan can get Chiarelli to sign Kyle Brodziak so that they can move Jujhar Khaira to 3rd line LW, he’ll happily punt Aberg to the press box.

Kailer Yamamoto is going to show us he deserves to be on the roster this fall but I don’t think it’s in the Oilers best interests to have him on a line with Strome and Khaira, he’s a top-6 player and should be playing those kinds of minutes and earning that type of experience under Woodcraft in Bakersfield until Ty Rattie or Jesse Puljujarvi has shown they cannot perform in the top-6. Blake Comeau would be a great fit for 3rd line RW alongside JJ and Strome.

IF Tavares signs in SJ and Karlsson goes to Vegas, the Pacific is going to be a bitch of a division to get through this upcoming season. Kovalchuk has already given LA a bump and Calgary has lots of cap room to bring in a James Neal if they wanted. SJ re-signed Kane too, let’s not forget about him. I’m curious to see what Arizona does, they’ve got lots of cap room too, and not that Vancouver is going to be competitive next season but they could be a thorn in the Oilers side given that Edmonton usually has a bit of trouble with teams worse than them and a bit better versus teams that are better.

I’m not saying that Chiarelli needs to go out and make a splash of his own. Not at all. This is on the players, they’ve got to step up and rise to the challenge in 2018/19.

Lastly, Lucic’s bonus has been paid to him and he’ll only make $4.5M this year, that might make him more attractive on the trade market IF that’s a route the Oilers want to take.

Your thoughts? Leave ’em in the comments below!

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The Draft Day Trade That Never Happened

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Top of the mornin’ to Y’all! Are you getting more excited as July 1st draws nearer? Or perhaps as an Oilers fan, you’re getting more and more nervous wondering what Chiarelli might do.

I think for me, I’m a bit anxious at the moment. I don’t truly feel that the Oilers are done altering the roster. I’d like them to be and the reason for that is their new plan of doing nothing or doing very little is working and I don’t want Chiarelli and his staff to deviate from that plan of action.

Kurt Leavins wrote a piece earlier that leans to the above a bit. I recommend you read it for sure.

BARGAIN SHOPPING FOR FREE AGENTS

So whether you listen to Bob Stauffer or you read Lowetide, it looks like the Oilers are going to have between $3.5M and $5M in cap room. Not a lot mind you but not insufficient enough to prevent the team from adding a few quality vets.

My personal favorites as you’re reading this are:

  • Austin Czarnik – RW – Little guy with skills up the wazoo.
  • Tobias Rieder – LW/RW – Not the cheapest option but an excellent 2-way threat.
  • Curtis McKenzie – LW – Sandpaper galore. A younger version of Matt Hendricks.
  • Marek Hrivik – C/LW – 6’2″ and too good to play AHL. Skilled bottom-6 option?

Reckon any of those players will come in under a million per year? Rieder for sure won’t. I don’t even know why he’d even be an option given they unsavory conditions in which they separated before. I’ve seen Duclair’s name pop up too and I don’t know if he’d be an option either. The kid is going to be on his 4th team before he turns 23.

THE RUMOURS

So as I present these to you, I need to preface this by saying, believe what you believe. I’m only a guy who happens to know someone within a professional hockey organization. I’m not an insider per se but I hear things and I like to pass them on to you. All of this could come true or none of it could and it’s more likely the latter because things change all of the time, as you’re about to read. My advice, treat this like water cooler banter and don’t take it too seriously.

  • The Oilers are looking into bringing Brandon Davidson back.
  • There was a trade on the table for the 10th overall pick… 10th overall to the Hurricanes for Justin Faulk

Man, could you imagine if Evan Bouchard hadn’t dropped to the Oilers? The repercussions of acquiring Justin Faulk could’ve been staggering because they would’ve definitely had to have made more trades just to become cap compliant…

What was the subsequent trade they would’ve to have made to get the cap in order I wonder?

The hockey gods did us a solid last weekend.

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

2018 Oilers Trade Deadline Fallout

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It’s over! It’s all over! The 2018 NHL Trade Deadline is over and f-me, as an Oilers fan, am I glad. Now we can finally go back to watching hockey like normal people. But boy is it going to be weird watching an Oilers team without Mark Letestu and Pat Maroon.

As everybody knew would happen, as soon as the Pat Maroon trade came in the Oilogosphere immediately went up in flames! Bloody Oilers fans eh?… lol

This is what happens when teams with uber deep prospect pools start whispers about upgrading. If you’re truly pissed off, blame the pundits because they are the ones that told us Jordan Kyrou or Taylor Raddysh could be used to acquire upgrades for their teams.

The reality of today’s NHL is that teams aren’t moving those high-end players as often anymore because they need them for their own club. Be that to help cushion the blow of a tight salary cap or simply for talent.

The NHL is getting younger and younger every year. So don’t expect too much out of the NHL draft either. The insiders will sell you on the idea that some big names are going to move in Dallas this summer at the draft but don’t believe them. Some guys will of course move because teams don’t have to worry about the salary cap during the summer and they’ll have that whole time up until the beginning of October to get their financials straight but I would say that TB and STL will be keeping their prized prospects.

THE TRADES

Pat Maroon to NJ for Joey Dudek+2019 3rd round pick

Everyone thought when the Grabner deal went down that the market was set for Patty but boy were they wrong. I even noticed some asking why Maroon didn’t bring back a 1st rounder or even a 2nd rounder. Well, to explain why here are a couple of tweets I sent out that should explain things clearly:

Peter Chiarelli said the market was tough. Well, you can’t say he was lying. You might say he could work on his negotiation tactics though :p

My Thoughts: Well I wanted to say that this was a clear loss but it’s not a clear one at all. The players that are comparable to Maroon only netted their teams marginal NHLers (Motte/Jokinen) or late round draft picks.

It’s my understanding that Maroon’s lower body injury played a part in the negotiations as well.

I’m going to give this a passing grade. It’s not a win but it’s not a loss either. Fact is, the Oilers traded a 3rd rounder and Martin Gernat to acquire the Big Rig AND they got ANH to retain salary. Now, they’ve dealt the UFA-to-be for a 3rd rounder and a prospect with speed and skill.

This Dudek kid is intriguing though. He’s a former 6th rounder (like Brandon Davidson).

Dudek has elite-level skill and skating. When he is on the attack, he is a team player first. He gets his teammates involved with good vision and decision making with the puck. He needs to get stronger and quicker on the ice, but he has shown in the past his commitment to becoming a better overall hockey player. – Hockey’s Future (source)

Here’s Dudek’s profile over at sbncollegehockey.com

I fully expect the Oilers to re-visit Pat Maroon’s agent this summer and for the Oilers to offer him a contract.

Mark Letestu to Nashville for Pontus Aberg

Letestu has no intentions of coming back to Edmonton this summer and the Oilers need speed and skill from the wings.

Pontus Aberg fits the bill perfectly in terms of what Chiarelli was looking for at the deadline this year and the Oilers needed a real human, not a pick, to put into the lineup for the rest of the year.

I’ve heard that Aberg has the Linus Omark skill but with a much better attitude.

My Thoughts: Straight out win for the Oilers here. Letestu is a UFA and even if Aberg doesn’t pan out, they get to give the Swede a test-run and he’s cheap. I think a shade under 700k if I’m not mistaken. I’m not exactly sure of his waiver eligibility though. If he is okay to go to the minors, that would make this trade even better.

Brandon Davidson to the Islanders for a 3rd round pick in 2019

I hated to see Davy go because I loved his attitude on the ice. He was a tough customer out there and gave it 100%. He didn’t bring much offense to the game mind you but he was a solid bottom pairing defender on this 2nd go-round with the Oilers

My Thoughts: Anytime you can turn a waiver pick up into a 3rd rounder, you do it. This is a clear win for Chiarelli.

Could we have used Davidson next year? I think so but I think he needs to be qualified at $1.6M and that’s too much for a no.6/7 dman I guess.

So at the end of the weekend, the Oilers lose three roster players and add 1 back. They add two more picks to their stable for 2019 which is good because that supposed to be an insane draft. That said, Chiarelli told us that he would like to use those picks to acquire young prospects who are near NHL-ready.

So we’ll have to wait and see what he does with those picks IF he gets the chance.

The Oilers lost three good men at the deadline this year. Players that are your glue and character in the dressing room. Maroon and Letestu were the buffers between the coaches and the players. Now we’re going to see what this group is made of and for me, as long as they show me effort and score some goals, that’s all I can ask for.

Give me effort and give me goals.

RANDOM NOTES

  • Be wary of the upcoming NCAA playoffs starting this week. Some NCAA free agents will become available this weekend and I expect the Oilers to be in on some. Max Veronneau is one to keep an eye on.
  • Those expecting Milan Lucic to start losing all of that cherry TOI now that the deadline is over are going to be disappointed. McLellan will definitely ride that guy until he’s off the schneid. He’ll be McDavid’s partner until then.
  • Jordan Eberle had 13 goals at this time last year. Ryan Strome has 12… Weird.
  • Mike Cammalleri wasn’t being shopped despite playing top-6 minutes. I wonder if the Oilers bring him back for next season?
  • Don’t be surprised if the Klefbom/Krug rumor start to pick up as we get closer to the draft. The Oilers need a PP specialist and Krug is exactly that!
  • Lastly, the best deal is sometimes the trade you don’t make. If you’re feeling down about the deadline just think, the Oilers still have Nurse, RNH, Klefbom, Slepyshev, Puljujarvi, Yamamoto, etc. The future is bright!

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