Tag Archives: Hamonic

Kris Hansen

BLH Edmonton Oilers Weekly Recap Jan 24th-31st

Taken from oilers.nhl.com
Taylor Hall Celebrating in front of Mark Giordano, who’s a big tough guy that likes to hit people into the boards.

Hey guys! I’m back from a one week hiatus (I had a Basketball Coaching Clinic last Sunday).

During that one week break….the Oilers didn’t lose a game! They also didn’t win a game. Or lost in Overtime. Or the shootout.

There were no Edmonton Oilers games this past week. A weird blip on the schedule as the All Star Festivities are taking place in Nashville this weekend.

The most notable Edmonton Oiler event was the Skills Competition which took place last Sunday.

Which, if you’re like me, who missed out completely, here is the Skills Competition in it’s entirety.

Edmonton Oilers Three Stars

There are none. Nobody gets a gold star due to lack of participation.

Seriously though, kinda hard to give three stars when there are no games.

IF I had to give one, I’ll go with Taylor Hall since he is representing the Edmonton Oilers today in the NHL All Star Game. Surprisingly, it is his first NHL All Star game. A bit shocking, but considering his injury woes and his career best year of 2013-14 had the olympics, it’s reasonable.

Edmonton Oilers News and Rumors

There’s some rumblings out there concerning the Oilers.

First off, last week the Edmonton Oilers claimed Adam Clendening off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks. Clendening is now officially on his fifth NHL team since last season (7th professional team if you count the AHL)

What does he bring? Clendening is a Right handed shot, offensive defenseman who is on his last year of his Entry Level Contract. His downside is that he is a bit slower and struggles defensively.

Personally, this guy is the Justin Schultz replacement. He brings the same skill set as Schultz and is 3.2 million dollars cheaper in terms of cap.

Another rumour out there: Hamonic to Edmonton from Elliotte Friedman. Friedman was on Oilers Now saying to host Bob Stauffer that he believes the Oilers are working hard to get the deal done, with Jordan Eberle being the most likely candidate. He also mentioned Justin Schultz being on his way out, possibly to Buffalo.

Now it’s important to note that Friedman would tell Staples, the author of the link, that it was more of him speculating. I wrote at Oilonwhyte a few months ago that Eberle would be the most likely piece to be moved, depending on the fit. With it sounding that the Islanders are having trouble working on an extension with Kyle Okposo, maybe a fit is there?

Around the League

John Scott has an awesome Players Tribune Article.

Sticking with the Players tribune, Taylor Hall was part of the “What the Blank” series.

Commissioner Gary Bettman signed an extension to remain Commissioner thru 2022. 

 

Highlights

It’s an NHL All Star Clip Show!

Weber nearly breaks Chara’s hardest shot record, recording a 108.1 MPH Shot

 

John Tavares showed why he’s one of the best snipers in the NHL

 

Subban won the Breakaway Challenge because he was Jaromir Jagr

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

 

Here’s a throwback: Gordie Howe’s final NHL All Star Game at Joe Lewis Arena, which was also Gretzky’s first NHL All Star Game

 

The week Ahead:

Connor McDavid’s Return on February Second against the Columbus Blue Jackets! (Or at least, it looks like it)

On Thursday, the Oilers visit my second favorite team, the Ottawa Senators.

Finally, on Saturday, on Hockey Day in Canada, The Oilers visit the Montreal Canadiens at noon.

That’s all for the week that was. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter. Have a wonderful week Oil country!

Armchair GM, Edmonton Oilers, Rumors, Zach Laing

Oilers vs Blackhawks Preview – Hamonic to Edmonton?

TALE OF THE TAPE:

Game: Edmonton Oilers (6-12-0) vs Chicago Blackhawks (10-7-1)

Location: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta

Time: 7:30 PM MT

Where to find it: TV: Sportsnet One – Radio: 630 CHED

Edmonton Oilers Preview:

Hard to think about a pregame when there are rumours of the Oilers trading for a stud defenceman like Hamonic. None the less, the team must prepare to take on the Chicago Blackhawks for the second time in the last 10 days. The Oilers know what they face in the Blackhawks.

They are a fast, strong, high-scoring team that will basically impose their will on any team they like. A tough task for any team, the Oilers need to look to slow down the Blackhawks game. When we played them 10 days ago, the Oilers were in it to the end and outshot the Blackhawks by a total of 36-28.

Tonight, the Oilers hope that they can replicate their November 8th performance only this time, come out on top.

Walter Foddis’ Pregame Metrics

Addressing the Rumours

Earlier this afternoon, it was reported by Elliotte Friedman that Travis Hamonic has requested a trade to a Western Canadian team.

Very quietly, the New York Islanders are trying a manoeuvre a difficult situation — the possibility of trading Travis Hamonic…There’s a ton to like about this player. He’s a right-hand shot, top-pairing defenceman with four years remaining on a good-value contract.”

This could in fact be a huge opportunity for the Edmonton Oilers to improve off of what has been a tire fire of a defence for some time.

Currently, the 25-year old right handed shot Hamonic has four more years left on a deal that will pay him an AAV of $3.85 Million/yr. His numbers aren’t fantastic. Over his 347 game career, he has scored 115 points, 47% CF all at 22 minutes of ice time.

BLH feels that “acquiring Travis Hamonic would be a GIANT step in the right direction for the Oilers and it would show not only the fans but the NHL that Chiarelli means business and he’s not willing to sit on his hands unlike previous GMs.” You can expect an article from him soon covering this potential deal in more depth.

The Otherside:

Goalie Corey Crawford will start for Chicago, which is 2-5-0 on the road heading into its “Circus Trip” to Western Canada and California. Since coach Joel Quenneville took over in October 2008, the Blackhawks have made six November “Circus Trips” and gone 25-10-2, outscoring opponents 125-92. They’re 4-1-0 against the Oilers during that span and 11-2-0 overall on the trip the past two years, including 5-1-0 last season. “I certainly think your team gets a lot closer [during the trip], and with the number of new guys that we have, I think that’ll be a good experience for some,” Quenneville said. “The best thing about it [is] it’ll be a good test to find out how we can play consistently on the road in some real tough buildings.”  – nhl.com

Line Combos and Starting Goalies:

Oilers (Anders Nilsson):


Oilers lineup c/o Left Wing Lock

Blackhawks (Corey Crawford):


Blackhawks lineup c/o Left Wing Lock

Any ideas on how to improve my game previews? Send me an email at zjlaing@gmail.com.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHSNahtN5Vg]