Tag Archives: Ethan Bear

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

Edmonton Oilers Talk: Departing Bear Glad to Go Says It Would’ve Been Tough to Keep Playing in Edmonton

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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Edmonton Sun (Rob Tychkowski)

Bear happy to be moving on after stressful Edmonton Oilers season
  • Looks like the mourning period is over.
  • “To go to a winning organization with a young core, for me, it kind of gives me butterflies,” said the 24-year-old defenceman, who was dealt to the Hurricanes on Wednesday.
    • “It’s something I’ve always wanted and something I need right now…”

BLH’s Thoughts: What does that mean? What kind of club is the Edmonton Oilers? Are they not a winning organization with a young core?

  • …he feels like a new beginning in a small-market U.S. city is exactly what he needs right now.

BLH’s Thoughts: So… Basically he wants to be anonymous. With what he’s gone through, I can completely understand that, but he’s kind of giving up on the massive group of hockey fans that he has in Northern Alberta and across Canada too, though. The harassment he and his family received (or possibly still receives) must’ve been so serious that he felt his only option was to leave one way or another. 

  • “Everything I had to go through last year, it would have been pretty tough to push through it and battle all the adversity I would have had to deal with in Edmonton. I’m looking forward to a new step and a fresh start.”

BLH’s Thoughts: So… Remember the time when we posted about the Bear/Foegele trade not simply being a “hockey trade”?… 

It’s not the message I expected. I mean, the company line is usually that a hockey player will persevere and not let the bad guys win. You stick around and show those you are a hero to that you’re the better man, but then again, as I said above, the situation for him and his family must’ve been untenable for them to stay in Edmonton. 

Now, this isn’t a pleasant thing to think about, but if he thought the racists were bad in Edmonton, the ones in the south are on a completely different level.

Not many in the bible belt could give two shits about ice hockey when they’ve got college football and basketball, NBA, NFL, MLB, Nascar, professional wrestling, and even MLS to choose from. So that might work in Ethan’s favor. 

I wish him all the luck in the world and it will be interesting to see how he does on the Hurricanes. 

  • “Playing (in Edmonton) was pretty stressful…”

BLH’s Thoughts: It always is and for everybody that plays there. Ask Grant Fuhr or Paul Coffey about some of their dark times in Edmonton… 

  • There is a great risk in trading a youngster with a big upside, but the Oilers feel they are deep enough at the position and needed help elsewhere, so GM Ken Holland pulled the trigger.
  • Did the Oilers give up on him too soon? There is a real fear among fans of Bear that the Oilers traded away somebody who is going to be a legit first pairing right shot defenceman in the NHL for a long time. Others don’t think he has the offence to make up for his defence or the size to log heavy minutes in the playoffs.

BLH’s Thoughts: This is funny. I’ve not heard one NHL player, coach, GM, ex-player, ex-coach, ex-GM, or otherwise express that they feel Ethan Bear is or has the potential to be a top-pairing NHL defenseman. I have heard a lot of armchair GMs and analytics proponents say it though… Yet, if he was one of those, wouldn’t have he played more in Edmonton’s elimination game versus the Jets in this year’s playoffs?

If Ethan Bear was a 1st pairing defender, would Tyson Barrie have passed him on the depth chart? Would Adam Larsson have played more than him? Would the Oilers leadership have asked Tyson Barrie back knowing full well that him returning would mean Ethan Bear would be traded? You’d think that his teammates would be able to recognize a top-pair defenseman, right?

Oilersnation (Jason Gregor)

Don’t Panic on Koskinen
  • Koskinen is not capable of being an every day starter for long stretches. He is best when he is the backup or when he has to split duties. Don’t ask him to do more.
  • Frank mentioned the Oilers and Blue Jackets are in discussions surrounding Joonas Korpisalo. Frank said he’d heard Columbus was looking for a first rounder and Dmitry Samorukov along with Koskinen in exchange for Korpisalo.

BLH’s Thoughts: Ryan Rishaug put this rumor to rest late last night saying, 

  • “Korpisalo for Koskinen and a high pick or prospect is not something the organization is considering at the moment. Have a great long weekend everyone!”
  • This would have an utter disastrous trade for Edmonton. It would be horrific. There is no need to do it for many reasons, but here is the main one: Korpisalo isn’t a starter.
  • Korpisalo is 38-32-15 with a .901sv% and 2.92 GAA in 5233 minutes.
    Koskinen is 56-47-9 with a .908sv% and 2.92 GAA in 6546 minutes.
  • Trading them straight up would be fair, since Koskinen had better numbers last season, the previous two seasons, and the past three years.
  • It is clear that Koskinen is better when he plays fewer games. No question there are concerns about facets of his game, but Korpisalo and Stalock are not obvious upgrades. I’m not sold either is better.

BLH’s Thoughts: Mark Spector said on Oilers Now yesterday morning that Koskinen has no currency with his teammates. They don’t trust him and his glove hand is of great concern… 

  • Acquiring Korpisalo only makes sense if Edmonton doesn’t have to give up much other than Koskinen. Stalock will need to be significantly better in preseason to become the backup. The truth is Edmonton doesn’t want Stalock or Koskinen in Bakersfield as they need Stuart Skinner and Ilya Konovalov to play a lot. At this point Konovalov might be a better back up option than Stalock.

BLH’s Thoughts: There are a few things that could happen here. Edmonton could loan one of their young netminders to another minor league team like what the Panthers did with Max Gildon last year. That way they could send one of Stalock or Koskinen to the AHL without issue. They might do that anyhow because nobody is talking about Olivier Rodrigue either. 

Speaking of loans, how would an international loan work? Would Edmonton still be on the hook for Koskinen’s contract? Would it slide or could they run it out. 

Another option could be the Oilers or their AHL affiliate could run with three goalies… 

If Stalock or Koskinen went unclaimed through waivers, they might just send them home until further notice too.

Lowetide.ca

MARQUEE MOON

This is 23 men, Oscar Klefbom on LTIR (so, 24) and there’s $828,000 in unspent do-re-mi. Kassian waivers to get things going as the season begins (Klefbom to LTIR). I do think we’ll see a LH defenseman added before the season, and a goalie at the deadline. Tomas Tatar is just out there with no contract, just saying. The forward group is looking damned dangerous, one more veteran hammer and we have liftoff.

BLH’s Thoughts: I have a feeling that Edmonton is going to try Kailer Yamamoto on the third line next season. I’ve heard Bob Stauffer talk about it this week and I believe Jason Gregor also spoke of this idea as well. Yamo had a really good go vs. the Jets in the playoffs on a line with Tyler Ennis and Gaetan Haas and I’m wondering if that got the hamster wheel moving in Dave Tippetts headbone.

So, if that is the case, I would think that Zack Kassian gets the promotion to the 2nd line in order to get him going again. The faster they can get this guy back into the right frame of mind and he starts playing like his old self, the better. It’s better for the team on-ice and it’s better for them with regards to trade value.

It’s not a bad thing to have Yamo playing on a line where he can shine and the good thing about this group of forwards is that it’s very fluid. There are a lot of players who can play up and down the lineup and on either side. 

Spector’s Hockey

NHL Rumor Mill – July 30, 2021

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Matthew DeFranks reports the Stars signing Braden Holtby on Wednesday to a one-year contract worth $2 million raised questions about their overcrowded crease that already features Ben Bishop, Anton Khudobin and Jake Oettinger.

Stars GM Jim Nill said Bishop’s status for next season remains uncertain as he continues to recover from last fall’s knee surgery. The Stars could send Oettinger back to the AHL as he remains waiver-exempt but that might not be best for potentially the best healthy goalie in the organization. DeFranks speculates they could also shop Khudobin, who’s under contract for two more seasons at $3.33 million per season.

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Edmonton Oilers Talk: The Bear Trap

Happy Halloween weekend everyone! I hope you all had a great time and stayed safe during this COVID holiday! Edmonton Oilers fans, do you think you’ve got time for one more scary story?

Since we’ve started adding NHL speculation to our daily roll-out of hockey posts I’ve noticed on multiple occasions league insiders suggesting the idea that a team like the New Jersey Devils throwing out an offer sheet on someone like Mikhail Sergachev or the Nashville Predators with a high-end center like Mat Barzal for instance.

The suggestions are not far-fetched or out of the realm of possibility, but if you’re a team with a very good young player who is still under club control (meaning still in their RFA years), why shouldn’t your player be subject to speculation of an offer-sheet from another team?

“Nothing doing on the Ethan Bear front. The pending RFA Bear has been qualified, but so far when it comes to an extension all’s quiet on the Western Front. I know fans of his want the kid to get paid. Bear’s excellent 2019-20 (5-16-21 in 71 GP, 21:58 TOI/night) would normally have put him in a much better negotiating position. But in the middle of the harsh economic realities of a flat COVID cap, any player lacking arbitration rights is not in a strong negotiating position. Next year, even if the cap remains flat, will be much friendlier to him. In the meantime just remember that this is a business.” – Kurt Leavins, Cult of Hockey (source)

So, I’m thinking Mr. Leavins is saying that “this is a business” to quell any thought that there’s a hold-up in the negotiations and a deal will get done at some point.

That said, the Oilers aren’t in the greatest of shape cap-wise (974k available) and need to get Bear and William Laggesson under contract in addition to adding another left-winger and/or another defenseman. Assuming Oscar Klefbom’s LTIR money will take care of that, the Oilers will be in good shape (more or less) come day 1 of the 2020-21 season. Unless…

Unless a team who is in need of a top-4 defenceman and is willing to pay a 1st and a 3rd round draft pick to get it. Let’s say the New Jersey Devils since they seem to be the team most speculate will use an offer-sheet on a player.

The Devils have PK Subban, Connor Carrick, and Damon Severson on the right-side of their defence and I’d be willing to bet that they’re looking to move the Subbanator. A player like Ethan Bear would slide right on on NJ’s defence and the Devils could offer him a 7yr deal worth $5-6M which would put the Edmonton Oilers in one helluva predicament. Keeping $22M of cap-space available helps their cause too.

Another team that could do it is the Nashville Predators. The right-shot defencemen they have signed up for next season are Ryan Ellis, Matt Benning, and Dante Fabbro and they have over $17M in cap-space. This is also a club that has had a history of having a fantastic group of blueliners and coming into next year, they’ll need an even better group to help insulate an eroding Pekka Rinne and not-quite-ready-yet Jusse Saros.

I don’t necessarily think this scenario will come to reality because by all accounts Bear loves being an Edmonton Oiler but I do feel it’s worth talking about. Ethan Bear has the potential to be a top-pairing defender in the NHL if his development continues to trend north. It’s not easy to find players like this in the mid-to-latter parts of the draft and if the cost to acquire one in his early 20s is only a 1st and a 3rd round pick, I can see some teams out there considering this; and not only that, Bear has to look out for himself and his own family during these unpredictable times. Wouldn’t you?

What do you think?

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Edmonton Oilers: 2019 Hlinka/Gretzky Group A Preview + Thoughts on the Oilers Defense Past 2019

The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is set to kick off on August 5th and run until the 10th in Breclav, Czech Republic and Piestany, Slovakia. For those of you that are new to the competition, it’s basically the world’s best under-18 players going head-to-head. Canada has won 22 of the last 28 contests and are looking to repeat as champions after winning last year’s edition of the tournament that was played in Edmonton and Red Deer.

Today’s Group A preview comes to us from the mind of Max L. (@TPEHockey)

Canada:
The Canadians are an early favorite to run away with this tournament due to their combination of high-end talent and depth. They occupied 5/10 of the top 10 scorers at the U17s last year. The team will be without 2020’s top prospect in Alexis Lafreniére due to him being a late 2001 born player rather than 2002. Nonetheless, the team has plenty of high-end talent, and anything less than a gold medal is a failure for this squad.

In net, the Canadians have various options. The go-to guy will likely be Dylan Garand of the Kamloops Blazers who has a strong 16-year-old season with the team. They also have Tristan Lennox who is a late birthday eligible for the 2021 draft. Their defense is where it gets crazy. Canada has 4 or 5 first-round talents on their blueline including Jamie Drysdale, Jeremie Poirier, Kaiden Guhle, and Lukas Cormier. With the prominence of their blue line, Canada doesn’t lack forwards either. The consensus #2 guy for the 2020 draft, Quinton Byfield, will play for the team. The 6’5” monster dominates with his ridiculous skating ability and high-end skill set. Other potential 1st rounders include Cole Perfetti, Connor McClennon, Hendrix Lapierre, Jack Neighbors, and Theo Rochette.

Finland:
The Finns have been a dominant force in hockey as of late, but this year may be a little different. Their 2002 born and 2020 draft class lacks a ton of talent, but there is hope. They’ll be without consensus top 5 prospect Anton Lundell due to him being a late 01 which is a huge hit to their roster. Finland has a chance at competing for a medal, but they’ll likely be steamrolled by a team like Canada. Although they could be a very exciting team.

The team features a few stars that will come up in later drafts that everyone should have an eye on. Underaged Brad Lambert will likely make this team and he is nothing short of phenomenal. He is one of the best upcoming Finnish players we’ve ever seen, but not eligible until 2022. Lambert has far exceeded the benchmark put up by a player like Kaapo Kakko at the same age. Aatu Räty is also a top player as he’s the #1 prospect for the 2021 draft. Other players to look out for are Veeti Miettinen, Valterri Karnaranta, Roni Hirvonen, and Kasper Puutio.

Czech Republic:
Czech hockey has seemed to be getting weaker as of late and the trend may continue. There isn’t much to be expected from this team, but there are a few good players.

In net Jan Bednar and Jakub Malek will compete for the starting job. Both are top prospects for 2020. On defense, we can expect to see Stanislav Svozil who is a 1st round prospect for the 2021 draft. The only real forward of note is Jan Mysak. Mysak could compete for a top 10 root in the 2020 draft after his time in the Czech pros as a 16-year-old. He had a remarkable playoff run with HC Litvinov where he scored 5 goals and 4 assists in 6 professional hockey games at 16.

Switzerland:
The Swiss team this year won’t be fun to watch. With only one real prospect they don’t stand a chance. They lost dual citizen Theo Rochette to Canada, a huge hit to the program. Their only guy to watch is Noah Delemont who served as an assistant captain for Switzerland at the U18s.

The Group B preview written by Keith Fries (@keithfries) will be posted tomorrow as well as a little rumor on the Oilers search for their third-line center.

The Oilers Defence Past 2019/20

Earlier this week I tweeted out a video of Darnell Nurse fluffing a 10ft pass and it caused a bit of an uproar amongst some of his biggest fans. My point was, and has been for some time, that even though he’s a tough son of a bitch and he can skate like the wind (when there’s an open lane), his decision making, IQ, and passing isn’t up to snuff for a player who is looking at Jacob Trouba’s new $8M per year deal as his own deal is expiring after this season.

Personally, I think his numbers are propped up by playing most of his career TOI with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. At least over the previous three seasons, it looks that way,

  • Connor McDavid – 1583:55 min
  • Leon Draisaitl – 1517:54 min
  • Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – 1275:37

Who are the three guys who stand at the blueline during warm-ups each game again?

And don’t ask me why Todd McLellan, for the most part, and Ken Hitchcock, to a lesser degree, decided to do this. It’s obvious that Nurse was a drag on the team’s best forwards. Here are his possession metrics in all strengths With/Without/Player without Nurse during the same three seasons,

  • McDavid: 53.09%/44.25%/58.18%
  • Draisaitl: 52.09%/44.87%/57.85%
  • Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: 48.31%/47.13%/52.50%

Stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.

For a game where the defensemen are evolving every year, it’s just not a good look on a defender who can’t move the puck without having to take it himself, to have such poor metrics. And Look, Nurse isn’t the only one, he just happens to be the one that might be asking for the moon in his next deal. Sam Girard (COL) just signed a 7-yr deal with $5M per year and I think they compare quite well and think that’s the ideal AAV for Nurse to sign that would help not only the team going forward but possibly himself should he make it for 5 years and walk himself into free agency.

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So, when people tell me that you can’t move him because he was the team’s highest-scoring defender last year and he’s only 24 or that he’s the Oilers best blueliner, I think you have to look into those 40+ points he got last year and realize that approximately 25% of them came on the PP, which isn’t a bad thing but he probably wouldn’t have gotten them had Klefbom (or Sekera) stayed healthy. Also, his secondary points (19) nearly match his primary (22) and his SH% almost doubled from the season prior (3.09% to 5.10%).

Getting back to the powerplay for a moment, do you think that Nurse will be playing a lot of minutes with the man advantage with Joel Persson and Caleb Jones most likely making the team next season? And what about that when Evan Bouchard is on the team?

My argument isn’t that Nurse is a bad player even though I’m presenting some pretty damning evidence that doesn’t really speak to the pluses of his game. I’m saying he’s not worth what Trouba makes right now and he’s never been an offensive defender.

I want Darnell Nurse to be the next Chris Pronger, but as weird as it sounds, he’s not as mean as Pronger was. He looks it when it’s time to throw down, but Pronger was as dirty as he was mean. Could Darnell be like that? Absolutely and I’d love to see it.

What I truly desire for Nurse is for him to embrace the shutdown role. Really dig in on being amazing defensively for this team so that they can pair him with a righty who needs a clean-up man in order to be the best player he can be for the Oilers. But in order to do that, he can be doing things like this,

If you think that the Oilers would have a gaping hole in the toughness department without Darnell, you need to watch a bit more of William Lagesson. This guy is as tough as nails plus he can skate and pass the puck and I think if I’m being honest, his progression is part of the reason I think I feel comfortable with the idea of moving Nurse.

Tying all of that in with the title of this portion of the post, IF Anton Thun decides he’s going to be brave with Holland like he was with Chiarelli, I don’t think it’s going to end up well. In addition to that, we’ve heard from pundits covering the team that this group of defensemen could be getting a facelift. Now whether that comes internally or externally, my belief is that the Oilers are looking for better puck-movers and more offense from the blueline.

After this season, I would project the defense to look something like this if Nurse re-signs,

Oscar Klefbom/Adam Larsson
Darnell Nurse/Evan Bouchard
William Lagesson/Caleb Jones

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I do believe that this year will be the last time we see Kris Russell and Matt Benning in Oilers gear. Joel Persson is also a question mark past this upcoming campaign, so I didn’t include him.

If Nurse doesn’t re-sign and is moved, I think the defense would look like this,

Klefbom/Larsson
Lagesson/Bouchard
Jones/Bear

I know. It looks awfully green and it is, at the NHL level, but Lagesson, Jones, and Bear will have had multiple seasons of experience in the AHL and most likely games in the NHL too. Bouchard would have one full year (probably) and if Tyler Benson can get the push after one year, why not Old Man Bouchard? Can’t forget how Bouchard was the team’s best passer as a 19-year-old in his stint last year.

That group of defenders CAN move the puck extremely well and I’d be willing to bet that we’d soon forget about the toughness and puck-rushing that Nurse brings today not to mention the return on a trade for him would most likely net Edmonton a pretty good forward…

Let me reiterate this one more time, I don’t want Nurse traded. I want him to sign a team-friendly contract that pays him what he is worth long-term. But in the event that his camp is asking for too much money, I do believe the organization depth would give the Oilers the ability to field offers on the defenseman and allow them to upgrade the roster.

FYI: Almost 14 years to the day, Chris Pronger was traded to the Oilers for Eric Brewer, Jeff Wowitka, and Doug Lynch. The anniversary of that trade is very soon and I asked my followers on Twitter what the equivalent of that deal would look like today if we were using this roster? Would it be Nurse, Lagesson, and Bear for Victor Hedman? Let me know your idea in the comments below!

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Edmonton Oilers Rumors: If Holland Is In, Who’s He Shipping Out?

As the days pass on, the likelihood of Ken Holland leaving the Detroit Red Wings and joining the Edmonton Oilers as their new GM (autonomy included) becomes greater and greater. The weekend is still young and so there is still time for the two sides to walk away, but from what I have gathered over the last couple of days, I’d be getting used to the idea of Holland as Edmonton’s new general manager.

I’d like to begin by talking about this prospective hire and then talk about some of the moves the team might make if it indeed does come to fruition.

WHY YOU HAVE TO BE ANGRY?

The unhappy portion of the fanbase point to lost trades and poor contracts as to why they wouldn’t support this hiring. I think they are being short-sighted and the reason for that, I feel, is that this is a team that believes in drafting and developing. That mantra has been a pillar of the Red Wing franchise for decades and what better way to live by that than to make it very difficult for the team’s prospects to break into the 1st team by re-signing veterans to extensions?

Can you show me the last trade made by Holland that could be considered a Brandon Manning-esque loss? You’d probably have to go way back to 2015 to the Erik Cole trade (Dallas ended up with Janmark and Hintz in the end there) or perhaps the Datsyuk salary dump where Holland had to sacrifice Jakub Chychrun to move their star Russian’s salary. But even then they managed to get two fine prospects in Filip Hronek and Dennis Cholowski in that trade…

Frans Nielsen has been a bit of a disaster, but Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou, and Tyler Bertuzzi are on some very team-friendly deals. When Justin Abdelkader was 28 years old and coming off a second consecutive 40+ point season, Holland signed him to a seven-year extension worth $4.25M per season. A deal that was only 250k more than the one Benoit Pouliot signed in Edmonton that so many were up in arms about when he was bought out.

So you’ve got these vets holding spots warm for the likes of Givani Smith, Filip Zadina, Axel Holmstrom, Jonathan Berggren, and Joe Veleno.

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But maybe we can look to how Holland has shaped his defense as a weakness but you can’t deny that he rewards loyalty. Now whether you see that as a pro or a con, that’s for you to decide. Danny Dekeyser was a highly sought after college free agent but he’s never lived up to his salary. Niklas Kronwall, on the other hand, had two of his most productive seasons at the ages of 33 and 34. Mike Green had two really good years in Washington and has been riding those seasons every since then. He is still good for 30+ points a year but they’re unhealthy years.

Detroit’s AHL team has Ville Saarijarvi, Filip Hronek, and Joe Hicketts developing there. As for the prospects that have yet to make it to Grand Rapids, Jared McIsaac, Alex Regula, and Gustav Lindstrom well on their way. And I shouldn’t forget about Dennis Cholowski, the 19-year-old who appeared in 52 games for the Red Wings and 25 for the Griffins this past season.

In net, the trust factor comes into play again. Holland should’ve moved on from Jimmy Howard sooner than later but he’s has been in Detroit his whole career. He signed Jonathan Bernier to a 3-yr deal worth $3M per year in what I’m thinking was a move aimed at having the former Maple Leafs goalie replace Howard.

Filip Larsson is a Swedish netminder who signed with Holland’s team after a very nice NCAA career (if you want to call one season a career). Just this last season he played 22 games for the University of Denver and posted a 1.95 GAA and a .925 save percentage. The season before that he played for the Tri-City Storm of the USHL and in 30 games accrued a 1.65 GAA and a .941 save percentage… He’s only 20 years old right now and will start his pro career next season. It shouldn’t be long before he’s netminding for the Red Wings.

The mess that the new general manager is walking into isn’t one for a rookie GM, in my opinion. And this isn’t the Oilers potentially bringing in Peter Chiarelli. Ken Holland is a person who actually talks to people and brings others in to help with decision making.

When Scotty Bowman stepped down in 2002, Holland went around to everyone, including the players, and got all the intel he could to make that hire and what was decided was that their assistant coach Dave Lewis would be that guy.

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The point I’m trying to make here is that if the Oilers want a guy who’s top attributes are communication, patience, being steady-handed, and experienced; then who better?

Another thing that is very important about hiring the Vernon, BC native is that he’s learned from some of the very best in the business (Jimmy Devellano, who learned from a legend in Bill Torrey) on how to manage a hockey team and he’s passed that knowledge on to such executives as Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill and now current Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman.

The Oilers wanted to hire Keith Gretzky as their GM but the air around the team is toxic right now and instead, I believe the plan is to give Kretzky the assistant general manager’s position but with heightened responsibilities and then have him mentored by Holland.

WHO’S COMING AND GOING?

  • This week there was quite a bit of chatter about Sean Burke joining the Oilers but not as GM. If I had to take a guess, I think that this is still on the cards and that if he did sign with the Oilers, he’d be hired to replace Duane Sutter as director of pro scouting.
  • Bob Green is the director of free agent scouting for the team and my guess is that the team will probably move on from him too. The Tobias Rieder signing was horrid and anybody that would’ve done their homework would’ve seen that from his play in LA prior to joining Edmonton.
  • Craig MacTavish has done a fine job building Bakersfield into what it is today, so there’s a slight possibility that he could stay on.
  • I can’t see Scott Howson continuing in his current role. I think he spends most of his time at his home in Columbus anyhow.
  • If Gretzky gets more responsibility that’ll mean someone will need to take over the amateur scouting, I’d assume that to be Tyler Wright who’d be coming with Holland from Detroit.

So those are my guesses as to the front-office changes. As for the roster changes, there are a few.

  • As per my source, Milan Lucic f*cked up with that interview in Vancouver. Belief is that Gretzky is working on a deal with Jim Benning to send Lucic to the Canucks and possibly have Loui Eriksson come back. Brandon Sutter is also an option.(I suggested they send Lucic, Russell, and a pick/prospect to Vancouver for Eriksson and Sutter. That way it would improve the Oilers PK (in theory) and it’d open up a spot on the 2nd pairing. An area that I believe needs a major upgrade. The Oilers could also stick RNH on the 2nd line and have Leon/Connor run wild on the NHL again.)
  • Looks like Tyler Benson, William Lagesson, and Caleb Jones will be getting the push next season.(I asked about Bear and was told that he had a bit of an injury-plagued year, so perhaps one more year in Bako.)
  • The team has been scouting Europe for the last couple of weeks. I heard a major emphasis was placed on defenders.
  • The Oilers will be listening on offers for Kris Russell, Andrej Sekera, and Jesse Puljujarvi this summer.
  • Edmonton is desperate to improve the defense with puck-moving defenders and Jake Gardiner’s name came up as a free agent target this summer.
  • Matt Benning is in tough to stay with the club given the emergences of Jones, Lagesson, and Bear. Wouldn’t be surprised if the rumored Connor Brown for Benning deal gets completed this summer.
  • I feel like there’s an appetite to re-sign defenseman Kevin Gravel.
  • Nugent-Hopkins is at the end of his rope with the organization. They need to show improvement or he’s gone.
  • Todd Nelson is a name to consider as a head coach candidate.

Now that’s a lot of movement, right? And the new GM hasn’t even been named. So take all of that for what you will.

My personal feeling is that if Ken Holland is the new boss, a guy like Jesse Puljujarvi will get another chance to show what he’s capable of. Maybe the Oilers hire Todd Nelson and he works some of that magic with Pulju as he did with Yakupov?

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

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Edmonton Oilers: A Roster Move is Imminent

As we get ready for the Edmonton Oilers first game of the season and Todd McLellan has said that Kris Russell will be taken off of the IR and placed into the lineup for game #1. That would mean the Oilers have too many players on their active roster and a transaction has to take place and so we’re posed with a question,

How will the Oilers rectify this roster conundrum?

#1 – IR someone

Talk over the last couple of days has pundits like Jason Gregor saying they’ll probably IR Drake Caggiula. The Drake has been having some issues with his sinuses over the pre-season and training camp and so it makes sense, right? Put him on retroactive IR and he’ll be ready for the game in Boston next week.

#2 – Paper Transaction

What this means is that the Oilers send a player to their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield without really sending him there. They simply file the paperwork but the player stays with the team.

So in this instance, the players that are eligible for a paper transaction are:

  • Jesse Puljujarvi
  • Ethan Bear
  • Kailer Yamamoto

I think this is the most likely scenario as Bob Stauffer tweeted out the lines, he had Bouchard on the 3rd pairing with Kris Russell and Ethan Bear on the 4th pairing with Jason Garrison. That tells me that Bear could get “sent down” to keep Bouchard in the lineup.

#3 – Send Evan Bouchard Back to Junior

Just what the title says. The Oilers could choose to return Evan Bouchard to his junior club in London.

Now this is fine because we all want the best for our premier prospect, right? I don’t think he’s the type that will blow the doors off the league as a 19-year-old but I could be wrong. I feel like the Oilers don’t quite have the correct personnel on their blue line to sufficiently insulate Bouchard this season. That’s just me though, you may feel differently.

The downside to this is that the Oilers will not be able to re-call Bouchard until the London Knights’ season is over.

#4 – Waivers

The Oilers could throw someone on waivers like their two recently signed PTOs, Jason Garrison and Alex Chiasson. This would open up a roster spot for Russell to be slid into.

#5 – Trade

I haven’t heard much trade banter lately. The latest rumors I was hearing were the Kassian rumors but those have died down.

Recently though, Ryan Rishaug has been talking about how he feels the Oilers are going to need to address the defense with a big trade.

I’m 50/50 on that notion from Rishaug. On one hand, I agree. The Oilers do need a 2nd-pairing right-handed defender because I don’t feel like Matt Benning is good enough to partner Darnell Nurse and face top-6 forwards all year.

On the other hand, what is going to happen to that defense structure if a trade like that is made? The Oilers have Larsson, Benning, Bear, and Bouchard who will all be vying for 3 spots next season. Add Joel Persson to the mix as well as Filip Berglund AND the new guy… THAT is a roster conundrum.

I also believe that any major roster move being contemplated or talked about has to have the Seattle expansion draft in its considerations. SPR talked about it in the podcast we did with Oilers Live last night. Check that out below.

Plus who is Rishaug prepared to trade? It’d have to be players who make a solid chunk of cheddar because at some point this year that extra cap space that Sekera’s LTIR is giving the Oilers will come off. Any player worth pursuing for the 2nd pairing isn’t going to come cheap, so is Rishaug prepared to deal Nugent-Hopkins or Lucic or Draisaitl?

Anyways, those are some of the roster moves the Oilers could make before their game with the Devils in Sweden. Tell us which one you’d like to see them make in the comments below!

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Oilers Live Pod/Vlog

Last night I was a guest on the Oilers Live podcast (now available on YouTube) along with Sean Patrick Ryan (@theoilknight) and host Mike Hebert. We talked about a plethora of things Oilers-related. We had some kickass guest callers as well as a little girl calling about neighbor’s cat getting run over… You’re going to love the reaction to that call… Check it out below and please subscribe!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWABhlvS8ZM

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