Tag Archives: Connor Brown

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

Edmonton Oilers Trade Rumors: Holland About to Make a Sens-ational Trade?

The trade dominoes are starting to fall as we edge closer to the Feb.24th trade deadline. Tyler Toffoli is off to Vancouver, Marco Scandella is a Blue, and Brendan Dillon is going to try and win a Cup with Ovechkin in Washington. Dylan DeMelo will now be flying with the Jets and Julien Gauthier WASN’T traded for Jesse Puljujarvi! He was dealt to a team that’s long been in the Puljujarvi rumor mill though, the New York Rangers!

But what are the Edmonton Oilers planning on doing here. Well, I want to address a few things here that have been published in the media or said on sports talk radio point-by-point just to try and keep things brief. But there’s quite a bit…

  • If the Oilers are looking to add some skill to the middle of their forward lineup, Tyler Ennis and Connor Brown from Ottawa might be a couple of targets to keep an eye on. Ennis would bring a lot of what Kailer Yamamoto does plus a metric ton of experience to go along with it. I wonder how he would react to a trade out of Ottawa though? Rumor has it, he wanted to play for the Sens because of their new coach DJ Smith… As for Brown, he’s been in the Oilers sights for a long time given his junior connection to Connor McDavid and his speed/power from the wing. There was a Benning/Brown deal being worked on last year that failed to materialize.
  • There seems to be an Oilers scout at every Leafs game recently and a Leafs scout at every Oilers game. I don’t really think that Dubas is looking to move Alex Kerfoot in a deal for Matthew Benning plus picks/prospects. I’m sure the Oilers would love to, but I just can’t see it. However, I do wonder if Dubas would trade Jason Spezza. The Oilers are looking for a right-handed center who is good on the dot and can provide some offense to their bottom-6 and Spezza has 23pts in 49gp as well as a 53.3% winning percentage on the dot.
  • Two quotes from Jonathan Willis’ latest post stand out for me regarding Andreas Athanasiou, “He’s a pure rush player, of the one-and-done variety in a league where keeping the puck in the attacking zone is the key to both good offense and good defense.” and “No doubt that he’ll use that incredible speed to score flashy goals wherever he plays out his next contract. What is far less certain is whether he’s going to help his line outscore the opposition, which is ultimately what wins games.”
  • To add to that, yesterday, Bob Stauffer (630 CHED) and Mark Spector (Sportsnet) were talking about him on Oilers Now and Stauffer mentioned that he thought that Athanasiou is a bit of a “lone wolf” and the Oilers were playing like a team at the moment. Cap space and asset cost also came up as reasons why the Oilers might take a pass on AA.
  • What I took from that was that perhaps the market is a bit soft on the speedy Red Wing because he’s too much of a defensive liability. Sure he can skate like the wind, but there are two ends to the rink and in a Tippett-lead team, you’re going to need to be able to play at both ends of the rink.
  • Continuing with the Stauffer theme, he also said this on his show yesterday, “I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point between now and Monday if the Oilers added a bottom-6 forward that can play multiple positions.”
  • Chris Johnston (Sportsnet) made this comment about the Oilers’ deadline plans, “The Oilers have had extensive talks with teams over Jesse Puljujarvi. New York Rangers showed lots of interest. The New Jersey Devils and Tampa Bay Lightning inquired. Expect Edmonton to be more active and bring in a forward”
  • I maintain the belief that there’s a better deal for the Oilers that includes Puljujarvi awaiting them at the draft in Montreal this summer. I don’t believe he’ll be moved in a deadline deal but if Detroit came calling and were offering Darren Helm, a player that is very responsible defensively and has spent time on Dylan Larkin’s wing, would you make that trade?
  • One more from the Stauffer files. Last week he and Mr. Spector were talking about a couple of Russians, Anton Slepyshev and Konstantin Okulov, as possible summer targets for the Oilers… If they’re playing at the Worlds this summer, it wouldn’t shock me if some news regarding this emerged.
  • There are only a handful of players that come to mind. I’ve got four for you, Curtis Lazar (BUF), Colton Sissons (NSH), and Melker Karlsson (SJ), and Noel Acciari (FLA). All play both center and right-wing.
  • I’m not as confident on Sissons and Acciari becoming available, but Lazar and Karlsson should be.

  • Is Blake Coleman going to be this year’s Ryan Dzingel? Tampa is a pretty deep team…
  • Speak of the Devil(s)… Not too too long ago Jason Gregor was talking about Kyle Palmieri as a trade target he’d consider for the Oilers and just yesterday Elliotte Friedman said on SN590, “Devils have sent a signal that teams should make offers on Palmeri.”
  • Friedman cont. “Tampa outbid Boston for Coleman, but Edmonton made a real push. A couple of teams said they heard he was the guy the Oilers would give up a first-rounder for.”
  • This is pretty much in contradiction to what TSN’s Bob McKenzie said later on yesterday, “The Oilers would ideally want Pageau or Kreider at the NHL Trade Deadline, but the only problem is that KH doesn’t want to give up a 1st round pick. Plus, the Oilers cap situation with McDavid, Neal, Russell, Klefbom, and Kassian all not on LTIR.
  • I feel like Friedman is doing some work for other GMs here. The story all along is that Holland will not part with a 1st, Evan Bouchard, Philip Broberg, or Dmitri Samorukov. Others (Bob Stauffer/Frank Seravalli) have even gone as far as to say the 2nd rounder could be off the table too… I believe this is only for rentals but if Taylor Hall couldn’t get something as good as a first-rounder and Dmitri Samorukov from Holland, it’s clear that the Oilers are holding on to their draft picks very tightly.
  • But what about a 6th or 7th rounder? The Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson wondered, “Holland has been around block 100s of times. He knows you can never have enough veteran depth on defence. So if he can get rental D for sixth or seventh-round draft pick or prospect he can afford to live without (Swedish D Filip Berglund?), with Klefbom and Russell out why not?”
  • Hockey insider John Shannon said this about the trade market on Twitter, “Talked to 3 GMs this afternoon, about the prices for players right now, ahead of the Monday deadline. All used different terms…but had the same sentiment: “The prices are Crazy!” “Nuts!” “Madness!”

The way I see things is that the team is banking on their top-6 consisting of the following going into the post-season:

  • Neal/McDavid/Kassian
  • RNH/Draisaitl/Yamamoto

Teams who have success in the playoffs have a couple things,

  • Good goaltending.
  • Depth at forward and defense.

I think the Oilers defense has an acceptable amount of depth (it could always be upgraded) but their forward group doesn’t.

  • Benson/Sheahan/Archibald
  • Gagner/Haas/Chiasson
  • Khaira/Cave/Russell
  • Granlund

And of course, Joakim Nygard once he’s off the IR will be added to the team. His speed and hard forechecking is missed right now. So, the solution, for me, is to upgrade the bottom-6 with players like Curtis Lazar, Melker Karlsson, or Colton Sissons. Hell, if all three could be added for a reasonable price, that would be outstanding! Then your playoff forward group would look like this,

  • Neal/McDavid/Kassian
  • RNH/Drai/Yamamoto
  • Nygard/Sheahan/Archibald
  • Haas/(Lazar/Karlsson/Sissons)/Chiasson
  • Russell/Gagner/Benson

That 4th line seems to be the one worth tinkering with eh?

  • Benson/Sissons/Chiasson?
  • Benson/Haas/Karlsson?
  • Haas/Lazar/Gagner?

I dunno, you could probably come up with countless combinations until your face turned blue.

I haven’t worked out the roster move logistics of making something like this happen, but I can trust you probably have an idea or could at least come up with one.

What do you think? Are you gonna be pissed of Holland only makes a minor move or two or do you agree with me that this is probably the best thing to do for the long-term future of the team?

What does Kassian 3:16 mean to you? Click the pic above and get this design today!
Click the image above and get this sweet Leon’s parody shirt!
Grab this sweet Nintendo parody shirt! Click the image above!
Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

Edmonton Oilers Trade Deadline 2020: Insiders Say It Could Be A Quiet One

Yesterday on Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer, noted hockey man and NHL insider John Shannon spoke with the host about the Edmonton Oilers’ possible future plans for newly-signed defender Darnell Nurse and the trade deadline this year.

On Nurse

This (new contract) also makes Darnell Nurse a much more attractive commodity if the Oilers are forced to trade him. If, this summer, at some point they feel that in order to get the right bodies back that Darnell could be part of the package if you can guarantee the guys you’re trading with you give him two years, that’s a bonus. 

That’s very interesting and says to me that the idea of moving on from Nurse is on the table. Even more interesting was Stauffer’s response to this,

Sometimes you’ve got to let go of guys you like. 

Stauffer is a smart hockey guy with his ear to the ground and if he didn’t think that this was a reality, he would’ve said something contrary to that.

More Nurse Talk

When you look at his approach to the game you want to know at times, why isn’t he more dominating? And that’s something that I’m sure Dave Tippett and Jim Playfair will happily work with for the next couple of years.

The other obvious one to say there, Bob, is that when you look at the strength of the Oilers farm system there are a couple of pretty good defencemen down there and when you think about cap issues and you talk about players on entry-level deals or lesser deals than what Darnell is making or is going to make in two years; then you have-, it’s not fun but that 10% chance that you talked about in the future, you at least have to talk about it.

Shannon asks a very fair question there. Why isn’t Darnell more dominating. He’s got the tools to be an absolute wrecking ball on the back end and he is one of the league’s top-scoring defenders 5×5 over the last two years. This is a player that should much more noticeable for his strengths than his weaknesses.

The Trade Deadline

There’s two options, I think it’s either that they need a third-line center or do they need somebody else for Connor. And just as importantly, I think that this is the part that Ken Holland is struggling with, as he starts his time in Edmonton; what’s he prepared to give up? What does he really want to give up? Do you want to give up picks?

I, for one, everybody talks about you don’t wanna give up your first but you’re prepared to move a second. I’ll tell you what, the success rate of second round picks in the NHL is pretty high and if you have confidence in your scouting staff, I’m not sure you want to get rid of a second round pick. 

So we can sit here and talk about do they need another scorer for Connor? Yes. Do they need a defensive center or a third-line center? Maybe. But I’m not sure I’m prepared to give anything up. So perhaps Kenny is in one of those scenarios where unless he knows he’s got a bonafide player that he’s prepared to sacrifice something off this roster, I’m not sure he does very much. 

Stauffer replied,

I tend to concur with you. I’m not even sure- I think we both know Puljujarvi’s going to get traded at some point.

Bob and John go on to talk about how Jesse won’t be an Edmonton Oiler past the draft in Montreal this summer.

Where I was going to go with this, you talked about the left shot options and we know Broberg is at some point going to play in Edmonton whether it’s two years from now, a year from now, time will tell… There’s another left-shot defenceman, Dmitri Samorukov, who’s playing for Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson. I’m not even sure I’d move him. 

Shannon’s comments on Dima,

Let’s face it. Samorukov got off to a slow start in Bakersfield this year. Lots of people were disappointed in the way he played in October and November in the AHL. But it was a similar start he had when he went to Guelph (OHL). Once he got the grasp of it- remember last year’s OHL playoffs, Bob. Samorukov was better than Bouchard. He was better than Bouchard. Samorukov has HUGE upside. I wouldn’t not be anywhere near touching him if I was the Edmonton Oilers unless, again, as I said, they’re getting somebody bonafide back

Just as I was saying on Twitter yesterday evening, any GM calling the Oilers asking for Evan Bouchard, Philip Broberg, Dmitri Samorukov, and/or their 1st rounder won’t be talking trade for very long. Those players are off of the table and deemed untouchable at this point right now.

Shannon went on to say that Ken Holland is here for the long run and there’s no way he will be mortgaging the future just for one playoff run.

You can check out the full segment here.

Random Oilers Thoughts

  • Tyler Benson wasn’t going to get a lot of time in Edmonton and anybody that’s been watching him this year knows that there was little to no chance he was going to get any time in Edmonton’s top-6. He simply doesn’t have the wheels and a brutally honest fact might be that he may never have them. But that doesn’t mean there’s no future in the NHL for him because he has other skills that are NHL-caliber.
  • I love the Nurse contract and I’m not worried one iota that it walks him to free agency. I do think that what we see today is probably what he is as a defender though and not to expect much more in terms of dynamic growth. He’ll play an important role for Edmonton as they develop the Samorukovs and the Brobergs.
  • Does anybody else simply not trust the Oilers’ with injury releases since McDavid blew out his knee? Coach Tippett told us after the game that it WASN’T the same knee that was bruised and then we learned yesterday that it WAS the same knee… Is it even bruised? Now we’re forced to simply wait to find out. Maybe Sportsnet will make another documentary on it…

*EDIT* I knew it… Just announced. Connor is out 2-3 weeks with a “quadricep” injury and he could miss up to seven games (CHI, TB, FLA, CAR, BOS, MIN, LAK). Is it even a quad injury? Why would he need to go all the way back to Toronto to have that looked at? You know those times when the media guy says, “We’re going to see what this team is made of now.”, this is one of those times. 

  • I read somebody comment that Jesse Puljujarvi has the potential to be another Andre Burakovsky and I think that’s a fair comparison for potential. I feel like the Oilers are going to look for a deal similar to the one that saw the Coyotes send Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini to Chicago for Nick Schmaltz, but who could that be? Andreas Athanasiou? Josh Anderson? Kasperi Kapanen? Alex Tuch? or what about Nolan Patrick?
  • Speaking of Kasperi Kapanen, his name and that of Connor Brown’s is still coming up in the rumor mill connected to the Oilers. I was told that Edmonton probably won’t go big game hunting this year but with McDavid’s injury coming at such a timely date you have to wonder if the plan has changed?
Click the image above to get the new Pulju shirt!
What does Kassian 3:16 mean to you? Click the pic above and get this design today!
The one time it’s okay to be a JERK! Grab this shirt while supplies last!
Elias Pettersson’s nickname is “Alien”. Here’s a shirt to celebrate it! Click the image to buy one!
Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

Edmonton Oilers Rumors: The Trades that Didn’t Happen

Going into this year’s trade deadline, I was almost giddy. I was looking forward to seeing some mad roster turnover for the Edmonton Oilers given the number of depth players that they had on their team. These are the sort of players that contenders usually pick up for their playoff run, or so I thought…

But before we get into that, I think we should take the time to acknowledge the handy work of former GM Peter Chiarelli.

I don’t care what you say. The Oilers junior pipeline and minor league system was completely rebuilt thanks to Chiarelli and the Oilers are going to reap what he sowed going forward. At least, he got one thing majorly right…

Back to the trade deadline analysis.

What did I wake up to? Not a single trade from Bob Nicholson’s management crew.

Now, I didn’t think that they’d be pilfering off young assets and draft picks but I did expect them to move one of their defensemen, at least. Or one of Zack Kassian or Alex Chiasson… But nadda…

They did well earlier with the Cam Talbot and Sam Gagner trades, no arguing that. Getting that cap room open and bringing in a character guy with skill has proven to be some astute interim-GMing on Gretzky’s part, but I view this year’s deadline as a fail on Keith Gretzky, Craig MacTavish, Scott Howson, and Bob Nicholson.

When I got in touch with one of my sources to see how things were going earlier in the day, I was told that things weren’t looking rosy. That the team would most likely stand pat because they believed they could still make the playoffs.

I says, “WHAT?!”

Right now the Oilers have a 6% chance of making the post-season. Tell me how a group of grown men who’ve worked in professional hockey for most of, if not all, their adult lives can, with a straight face, believe the Oilers have a chance at making the playoffs?

I like to think that I’m one of the most optimistic Oilers fans out there and I try my best to find the positive in everything but this is a bit ridiculous.

The Oilers should’ve tried to gather as many picks and prospects as possible in the last 48 hours. They’ve got eight defensemen on the NHL roster right now… I get that they needed to have warm bodies for the game vs. NSH yesterday but they were a lot closer to Bakersfield then that they were three days ago.

The same source that told me that the team was most likely to stay quiet also intimated that the reason they weren’t really going for it to upgrade the team or, for lack of a better team, tank, was because Darryl Katz is set to lose a sack of money labeled “millions” from non-renewals on his suites.

Well la-di-frickin’-da… That’s simply called a “stupidity tax”.

Do that enough times and you’ll find yourself living in a van down by the river eating government cheese!

RIP: Chris Farley

A nod to those old nWo shirts from WCW wrestling. The oBc: Old Boys Clubs shirt is something every hockey/wrestling lover would enjoy! Click the image above to get yours today!

ON THE OTHER HAND

Sometimes you’ve just got to get some things off of your chest before you can understand something through a clear(er) lens.

One thing that no other NHL team has right now is Connor McDavid, and you cannot discount the Oilers chances of going on a massive run when he’s playing. The team has performed fantastically during his suspension and if they can combine that with the kind of goaltending that Mikko Koskinen is giving and a healthy defense, you never know…

With a game in hand, the Oilers are only 7 points from a wildcard spot. They’re next five games are against Toronto, Ottawa, Columbus, Buffalo, and Vancouver. I won’t even speculate as to what they might come out of those games with point-wise as it could go either way against all of those teams.

The Oilers have been playing some of their best hockey since coming back from the bye week (3-5-4). There’s an intensity and a work ethic in their game that had been missing for some time and I think that it’s tied into Hitch being told to take it easy on the players.

They are 2-2-2 since Nick Kypreos made it public during Hockey Night in Canada’s Saturday Headlines that the Oilers would like him to be a bit more “positive” if he’s to remain behind the bench.

SPEAKING OF POSITIVE

Bob Stauffer said on Oilers Now yesterday that a couple of weeks ago, the Oilers had inquired into the services of Matt Hendricks for the reason of bringing some more positivity to the room. Obviously, we know that didn’t happen, he was traded back to Winnipeg from Minnesota on the deadline for a late round draft pick, a 7th rounder if I’m not mistaken…

I would’ve been jumping for joy had they brought Hendy back. He’s one of my favorite all-time Oilers. Such a hard worker and what a positive influence he was on that team when he was there. Plus, he definitely would’ve scored in the shootout vs. NSH last night instead of Rattie getting stopped.

Pick up the NEW “Beat His Ass” shirt right now!!

OTHER RUMORED TRADES

Mark Spector said that a Kassian to Toronto for Connor Brown deal never went through. I’d heard a Matt Benning for Brown trade was on the table and I think that Stauffer was saying the Maple Leafs wanted Jujhar Khaira because he was making a bit less. Probably the same reason that Edmonton wanted to keep him.

I’d heard bits and pieces about teams inquiring about Adam Larsson but nothing concrete. Milan Lucic was a hot topic for a short time. I think the Oilers were trying to get the Habs or the Panthers to take him on.

Lots of talk about Milan and Jesse Puljujarvi getting moved to Ottawa this summer and that makes sense but some might be asking whether Lucic would bother to waive his NMC to go there? I say he will because there’ll be a deal to retain salary and move him on again because the Senators will need to hit the cap floor.

Lastly, I got a DM saying that Boston was interested in one of the Oilers top-4 defenders but no other details. Sorry.

So take all of that for what you will.

In conclusion, the Oilers didn’t get worse on deadline day but on the other hand, they didn’t do anything to improve either.

So we’ll wait until the summer and see what the new GM has in store. You just hope it’s not another year of auditing before taking action.

What did you think of this year’s trade deadline for the Oilers? Let me know in the comments below!

Elias Pettersson’s nickname is “Alien”. Here’s a shirt to celebrate it! Click the image to buy one!
Click the image above and get this sweet Leon’s parody shirt!
Click the pic and grab a 16-bit McDavid tee!