Tag Archives: Jujhar Khaira

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

2019/20 Edmonton Oilers GM62: Oilers @ Kings – 3P2W – Latest Trade Rumors and Rumblings

February 23, 2020 Beer League Hero

The Edmonton Oilers have turned up the heat on this year’s trade deadline since we last chatted here. Last time around we were talking about Tyler Ennis and now some more names have come up, but let’s talk about this game tonight before we get into the rumors.

LA played last night, so they could come out flying and then peter out hard. It’ll be up to the Oilers’ defense to stand strong during the King’s push and for the forwards to take advantage of any opportunities afforded them early on. McLellan’s boys haven’t been scoring much and they got their only goal against the Avs on a penalty shot yesterday, so this could be a prime chance for Holland’s men to really get on LA and keep them down.

Now, Jonathan Quick played last night so I’d assume Cal Petersen will start this one and depending on how cynical you are, you might be happy about getting the backup or you might be a tad wary since the Oilers have made some pretty bad goalies look good in recent history…

I like Edmonton’s chances tonight but with that said, the Kings still have the likes of Drew Doughty and Dustin Brown playing for them and they aren’t the most honest of hockey players in the league. Knock on wood, I hope the Oilers come away from this one without any additions to the IR.

THE RUMORS

First off, I want to let you know that I’ve been posting a few more of the things I hear over at our BLH Instagram page lately. I feel like my website’s server has let us down a bit too much this year so I’ve been releasing some stuff on the IG platform. Please, head over there now and follow our account if you haven’t already!

I talked with my sources last night and finally had a nice long conversation so I can let you in on a bit more this morning.

Jesse Puljujarvi: Not too long ago Edmonton Journal veteran scribe Jim Matheson asked Oilers GM Ken Holland about Pulju and GMKH said that he wasn’t shopping him and nobody was asking. Well, I believe the reason for that is that the Oilers intend on trying to bring him back into the fold. The GM and head coach really want to work with him and on no less than three occasions this year the Oilers have sent representatives to Finland to speak with the young lad. Puljujarvi felt hurt from the last regime (Chiarelli/McLellan/Hitchcock) and that’s one of the main reasons he stayed in Finland this year aside from wanting to get his mojo and love for the game back. I’ve said this to many people who’ve asked, if there’s any person who could convince Jesse to return, it’d be Ken Holland and to add to that, I don’t think JP wants to spend another year in Finland. GMKH did say he wanted to go fishing in those waters in an interview with Bob Stauffer last week, did he not? “Those waters” being Europe. If you’re wondering what kind of impact he could have, look no further than that of Martin Necas’. I believe Puljujarvi could be a 30-40pt winger starting next year.
Anton Slepyshev: Speaking of players lighting it up in Europe. My source said he expects Slepy to be in camp next season. The 25-year-old Russian left because the management and coaching couldn’t get their shit together and now that the KHL will be implementing a salary cap next season there might be a solid exodus of players heading to NA, including Anton. It sounds like he’s fine with a bottom-6 role too.
James Neal: We heard Bob Stauffer and Sportsnet’s Mark Spector talking about Neal possibly going on LTIR to shake loose some cash and to avoid giving that 3rd round pick to Calgary from the Lucic trade last week on Oilers Now. Well, there’s some serious consideration being given to this option.
Tyler Ennis: This one is basically done barring the Sens backing out. Just a few more wrinkles to iron out. What I was told is that Ennis is possibly the player that will go up with McDavid if this deal goes through. Personally, I’m not sure if that’s a good plan or not… Has Ennis ever been a top-6 player? Is an add like this going to be more David Desharnais or Sergei Samsonov?
Mike Green: Hold up on this trade is money/picks. Detroit is willing to retain but this will have to be a hockey deal. Money will have to go out from Edmonton in order to bring this player in. I like this sort of trade for Edmonton though. You can never go wrong with more vets of Green’s caliber.
Andreas Athanasiou: My source said AA has NEVER been a target of the team and Holland hasn’t asked about him. The feeling is Athanasiou wouldn’t fit the Oilers’ team dynamic right now. We’ve heard the term “lone ranger” thrown around with him and I was told he’s a bit too “self-contained”. So I’d say that the Oilers are looking for players who are good in the locker room and easy to coach.
Oilers Heading Out: It sounds like Toronto and Carolina made some inquiries as to the services of Jujhar Khaira and Matt Benning (TOR), as well as, Kris Russell (CAR). The Maple Leafs are shitting the bed right now and might be looking for a shakeup of sorts. Khaira and Benning have been connected to the Leafs for over a year and because Toronto is in a bit of a bind, I think the Oilers are probably asking for Kasperi Kapanen there. I can’t see them getting the Finn but it doesn’t hurt to ask. Caleb Jones has made Russell redundant at this point.

Three Players to Watch for the Kings

#11 Anze Kopitar – According to Dailyfaceoff.com, Kopitar has 8 assists in LA’s last five games. No goals though. He’ll always be a threat whenever he’s on the ice, right? Leon Draisaitl, no doubt, will be seeing a lot of Kopitar this evening as well.
#42 Gabe Vilardi – There was a time when folks thought this kid’s career was in doubt but he’s worked his ass off to come back and make a go of it. : might be this generation’s Jason Allison. Not the fastest or best skater by any means, but he is a helluva playmaker with elite vision.
#29 Martin Frk – Frk and his hardest shot in pro hockey will be something to keep an eye out for. Was once the property of Ken Holland’s Red Wings. He’s been up and down throughout his entire career but LA is horrid right now and since trading Tyler Toffoli, they could use him on the pro team. Edmonton has to be careful not to let him get an open shot because he could actually start hurting guys with a clapper that hard. Lord knows, the Oilers don’t need any more bodies on the IR.

Kings lines
per @lakingsinsider https://t.co/2qGjjPhLKe

Iafallo-Kopitar-Brown
Kempe-Vilardi-Frk
Moore-Lizotte-Wagner
Lewis-Amadio-Schaller

Forbort-Doughty,
Hutton-Roy
MacDermid-Walker.

— LinesLinesLines (@CcCMiddleton) February 23, 2020

Three Players to Watch for the Oilers

#73 Ethan Bear – It finally sounds like Ethan Bear is going to be QB-ing the Oilers’ first unit PP… Finally. It was basically his bread and butter in junior and the AHL so I have not idea why it took Coach Tippett so long to come to the conclusion that he should be the one running that unit, not Darnell Nurse.
#89 Sam Gagner – Gags took a bit of shot during the Minnesota game that had him clutching his shoulder/chest. So I’m not sure how healthy he is right now, but the reason I have him as a player to watch is that I feel like the next player in our list here will be playing and Sam will be his linemate.
#97 Connor McDavid – The Oilers didn’t send Colby Cave back to Bakersfield for nothing. I think the Captain is coming back tonight and that will bode well for this team. I mean, I’ve nearly puked watching the team try to gain entry into the other team’s zone during a PP since he was out. It’s so apparent that they need him there but it won’t hurt to have him 5×5 either.

No lines have been posted yet. It’s the day before the trade deadline and as I said above, some players might be sitting out in lieu of a deal. Keep your eyes and ears peeled and that should give you a good idea as to who is possibly heading out. I do expect Mike Smith to be in the net though and for the forwards to basically be the same as they were against Minnesota.

The Next Ten Games (61-70)

vs. Minnesota Wild (28-24-7) – Edmonton is 0-2 against the Wild this year and it’s about time the Oilers beat Bill Guerin’s boys. (WIN) LOSS
@ Los Angeles Kings (22-34-5) – I have to say, the Kings are a dangerous team right now. They have nothing to lose and can spoil a lot of teams’ seasons. The Oilers have won 2/3 this year against their old coach but Connor McDavid might be back in this one. Keep an eye out to see if anybody out of the ordinary is sitting for this one because the next day is the trade deadline. (WIN)
@ Anaheim Ducks (24-29-7) – Last time out the Oilers put up six on Dallas Eakins’ Ducks. I expect Edmonton to equal that this time around and who knows how the roster will look as this is the game that follows the trade deadline. (WIN)
@ Vegas Golden Knights (32-22-8) – The Golden Knights record might hover around Edmonton’s but I feel like this team is a bit better on paper plus this is the second game in a back-to-back. (LOSS)
vs. Winnipeg Jets (32-25-5) – Big Buff sank this team when he decided he wasn’t going to play but the Jets have stuck in the race the whole season pretty much. You have to love the heart! (LOSS)
@ Nashville Predators (29-23-7) – I think the Oilers can sweep the season series with Nashville. The Preds defense isn’t what it used to be and there seems to be a bit of a dark cloud floating over the team at the moment. Pekka Rinne has hit a wall too… (WIN)
@ Dallas Stars (35-19-6) – Edmonton and Dallas have each won one game-a-piece against each other this season so far. This will be the rubber match and I like Dallas here. (LOSS)
@ Chicago Blackhawks (26-26-8) – Going into Chicago to play the Blackhawks is never an easy task and the Oilers have always had a tough time winning in the Windy City. (LOSS)
vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (30-19-3) – Edmonton is 21-8-0 at home vs. Columbus all-time. It’s hard to argue with those numbers, right? On the other hand, John Tortorella has his team right in the running for a playoff spot in the East. This game should be a war of attrition to see who comes away with the two points. (WIN)
vs. Vegas Golden Knights (32-22-8) – I like Edmonton’s chances at home against the Golden Knights. History tells us they have a better chance at beating them in Edmonton than in Vegas. (WIN)

(Standings as of February 21st, 2020)

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

Are the Oilers About to Make a Trade?

January 16, 2020 Beer League Hero

I find it quite interesting that the Edmonton Oilers have sat Jujhar Khaira for an entire week while playing Sam Gagner and Patrick Russell instead. My impression of his importance to the team was that he was an integral part of their penalty-killing unit but it seems that’s not the case. I mean, if you’ve been watching the games you might find that he’s looked disengaged for the most part, save for five days in November. For Oilers fans, I believe we’ve conditioned ourselves to Khaira’s career of peaks and valleys in hopes that he might actually break out of it and choose one or another ignoring the fact that maybe he’s not what we’ve hoped he is or could be.

He’s 196 games into his career and I’m not seeing any signs that he’ll be anything more than a 4th line player. In 42 appearances this year he has six goals and two assists and is -35… He’s 25-years-old and the kids on the farm are passing him by.

Don’t get me wrong. I really like Jujhar. He is smart, plays an honest brand of hockey, he hits, fights, he’s got some slick hands and a really good shot when he uses it. He plays the game the right way and he sticks up for his teammates. If the Oilers decided to keep him around, that would make sense to me. Heavy players are valued come playoff time and I know he has suitors across the league who’d claim him in an instant if he hit the waiver wire and the Oilers don’t have anybody like him in their system under an NHL contract who could come in and replace him seamlessly.

So, since we’re coming up on the Oilers bye week, I figured I’d get in touch with some of my sources to see what’s going on and the consensus is that Edmonton IS sitting on a trade right now and the belief is that it’ll be one of Jujhar Khaira or Sam Gagner getting moved after the all-star break which is next weekend.

My feeling is that Ken Holland will be trying to open up some contract space with these deals. That could mean dollars (reducing their cap hit) or the number of contracts under the 50-man limit.

We know that Edmonton could move Khaira tomorrow for a small/skilled bottom-six forward tomorrow because we’ve been told so. As for Gagner, he’s making too much money to be a part-time player for the Oilers.

There has to be the Tyler Benson consideration as well. He’s lighting up the AHL again this year and he’ll be called up after the bye-week/all-star break. Therefore, there must be a roster spot available for him in order to do so.

Could all of this coincide with the Oilers re-signing Caleb Jones to a new two-year deal yesterday? It might. Think about it. It’s out there that the Anaheim Ducks will take on salary if the team sending the contract to them will also include a prospect. If the Oilers are looking to move Gagner, wouldn’t it make sense to throw in a guy like William Lagesson if they’re not intending to use the player? Especially with the impending return of Matthew Benning?

Another player I’m convinced will move is left-shot defender Kris Russell but it could cost the Oilers a bit more since he’s still got another year after this one remaining on his contract at $4M per season. I don’t know if they’ll be able to move the cap hit, to be frank. It all really depends on what can be done with Gagner and/or Khaira, in my opinion? If those players can be traded for picks or prospects or a player with a lower cap-hit, that could make things more flexible for a Russell trade. Meaning, one option is that they could take on a player with a higher cap-hit but shorter contract in exchange for the Caroline Cowboy.

Personally, I don’t feel that the club would feel the absence of Khaira or Gagner as much as they might Russell in the playoffs. Say what you will about the Southern Alberta Starfish, but he brings it and puts it all on the line for his team and in the post-season, he brings massive value that way and the gentlemen in the Oilers locker room think very highly of that skill.

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

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

2019 Edmonton Oilers GM47: Oilers @ Flames – 3P2W – TONS of Oilers Rumors Today!

January 11, 2020 Beer League Hero

The latest installment of the Battle of Alberta should be a beauty tonight. I will ask though, what kind of game are we going to be treated to by these two clubs? Might we get something that would remind us of the old days? Hits and fights galore with some scoring sprinkled in? Or might we be offered something akin to the most recent meeting where it was a one-sided affair?

With the likes of Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Zac Rinaldo, and Milan Lucic in the lineup; it appears that Calgary is happy to play the game anyway Edmonton wants to. When the Oilers release their roster for tonight’s game, we’ll see which way they’ll be leaning. With only Sam Gagner and Patrick Russell available to bring into the lineup, I’d argue that Coach Tippett will be looking for his team to play a solid two-way brand of hockey. It is the BoA though, so expect a few fireworks at the very least.

Regardless, the importance of this game cannot be understated for both teams. First place in the Pacific Division and some extra separation from the wildcard teams is up for grabs.

The Latest Edmonton Oilers Trade Rumors

Josh Anderson (CLB) – This week Oilers colorman Bob Stauffer mused upon the Columbus Blue Jackets prized power forward after a caller texted into his show and offered up a trade proposal that featured Jesse Puljujarvi going to Columbus in exchange for Anderson. Stauffer laughed that off, gave it a “not. a. chance.”, and rebutted with what he figures the demand would be from the Blue Jackets for the currently injured winger. That being either Ryan Nugent-Hopkins OR a first-round pick and Philip Broberg or Evan Bouchard. Stauffer went on to say that he believed that Anderson’s next contract will be starting with a five. Meaning five million dollars per year or more.
Andreas Athanasiou (DET) – Stauffer also commented on Athanasiou saying that he thought the demand for him would be a 2nd round pick and a prospect. He wasn’t the only Edmonton Oilers pundit to make his opinion known on the NHL’s green jacket leader, veteran scribe Jim Matheson also spoke up on this and he just said that Ken Holland loves Athanasiou’s speed, he’s a restricted free agent and that Detroit GM Steve Yzerman didn’t draft him.
Nick Bonino (NSH) – Matheson didn’t stop there. He tweeted about Nashville’s overpaid third-line center. Edmonton would have interest if Nashville picked up part of his salary was the message relayed.
JG Pageau (OTT) – Mark Spector was asked about the Ottawa pivot during his spot on the daily Edmonton Oilers radio show and he figured that it’d make more sense to invest more into current Oiler Gaetan Haas than to pay the price it would take to acquire Pageau. Lots of speculation that Pageau will re-sign with the Senators at over $5M per year in the summer.
Jesse Puljujarvi – Brian Lawton was on Oilers Now this week and he was asked about Pulju. The only real think of not that I took away from the topic was that he thought that IF the Oilers were going to move the Big Finn, it’d be closer to the trade deadline. Maybe a week before it.
Lias Andersson (NYR)/Puljujarvi Swap? – Elliotte Friedman and Bob Stauffer talked about this on Friday and the Sportsnet insider said that both the Rangers and the Oilers talked about it but at the end of the day neither team was comfortable with the players they’d be receiving and weren’t convinced it was going to work.
Jujhar Khaira – The big Oilers winger could be traded tomorrow for a small quick forward who plays in the bottom-six according to the host of Oilers Now. Bob Stauffer also said that if Khaira were to hit waivers he would get claimed.
Tyler Benson – Lots from Stauffer this week… He said that he believes that Benson will be in Edmonton by at least February 15th.

I’ll say this. The Edmonton Oilers may very well be first in the Pacific Division after tonight’s game, so why deviate from the plan that is in motion? It doesn’t mean the team has to get cold feet and do nothing, but what’s the point in spending assets if the team is in a good spot come the deadline? Holland’s message to the fanbase in Edmonton when he was hired was that he was going to build a team that could compete year after year, not just be a flash in the pan and make the playoffs every now and then.

That being said, if there’s a deal on the table that makes sense, then fine. I would just prefer the team not blow things up and see what the internal options can do for the club this year and perhaps to try and deal out some big tickets that aren’t producing on the ice like a Sam Gagner or a Kris Russell. As much as I love what those players bring to the locker room, there are younger players who are ready to step up in my opinion. No, I’m not talking about Benson or Bouchard. I’m speaking to the William Lagesson’s and Patrick Russell’s of the world. Yamamoto is here to stay, so I’ll not include him.

The Next Ten Games (41-50)

vs. Calgary Flames (19-15-5) – The Oilers should be bitter as hell coming back from the Christmas break and looking for retribution. In terms of gf/ga on the year, the Flames are -12 and Edmonton could feast on that. The Oilers have taken two of the past three contests. (WIN) LOSS
vs. New York Rangers (17-15-4) – Edmonton will get its first look at 2019 2nd overall pick Kaapo Kakko and welcome back former Oiler, Ryan Strome. This should be a scheduled win for Edmonton as the Rangers aren’t anything special this year. The Oilers have won three on the trot vs. the Rags. (WIN) WIN
@ Buffalo Sabres (17-14-7) – Generally, over the years the Oilers have had pretty good luck in Buffalo, but this year Jack Eichel is a man possessed and last time Rasmus Dahlin was out of the lineup. If Dahlin is back in for this game, he’ll add a significant threat. I like Edmonton’s chances here though. (WIN) OT LOSS
@ Boston Bruins (22-7-9) – The Bruins went into the Christmas break on a bit of a slump going 2-4-4 in their previous ten. This is going to be a challenge for the Oilers to win even when Boston is at their worst and there’s no better team to bust a slump against than Edmonton, right? (LOSS) WIN
@ Toronto Maple Leafs (20-14-4) – Toronto’s confidence was sky high before baby Jesus’ bday, but guess who comes to play each time he’s back home. That’s right, Connor McDavid. It will take a complete team effort for the Oilers to beat their nemesis, Freddy Andersen, though as he’s really had Edmonton’s number. (OT LOSS) WIN
@ Montreal Canadiens (18-13-6) – I really enjoyed Edmonton’s performance against the Habs in their earlier match. If the Oilers can replicate that, I don’t see why a win is out of the question. (WIN) WIN
@ Calgary Flames (19-15-5) – Round two! Ding. Ding. In Calgary, I think the Flames might be able to muster up a win here. (LOSS)
vs. Nashville Predators (18-12-6) – Is Pekka Rinne in net? If so, I’ll give this one to the Oilers. If it’s Saros, the Preds have a much better chance of success. They’ve been an interesting team to watch this year and are playing in a tough division. Their 42pts at the break had them in 3rd last in the Central… (WIN)
vs. Arizona Coyotes (21-14-4) – Hallsy’s back and if the Oilers would like to go that extra mile, they could show him how much of a powerhouse they plan to be next season by wiping the floor with Arizona, but it’ll be a tough game. Arizona is a lot deeper than the Oilers and their netminding has been much better. This needs to be a game where Edmonton’s defense shines. (OT LOSS)
vs. Calgary Flames (19-15-5) – Coming off of a 10-day break, Mikko Koskinen and the Oilers will be well-rested. In theory, they should be as ready as they’re ever going to be to take on their inter-province rivals. (WIN)

(Standings as of December 26th, 2019)

Three Players to Watch for the Flames

#39 Cam Talbot – Talbot is on one of his heaters lately and playing very well. That said, there’s always glove high on this guy and he’s susceptible to early goals in periods. Which Talbot will show up?
#28 Elias Lindholm – Can’t say I expect him to move to center and for his countrymate, Mikael Backlund to go to the wing, but it’s worked out. Backlund offers some defensive conscience to the first line and Lindholm brings some scoring punch to the second line.
#93 Sam Bennett – It really hasn’t been his year at all and I think the Flames will look to move on from him and his Lanny McDonald impression soon. That said, he usually gets up for these games against the Oilers and is, for me at least, an entertaining player to watch due to his old school brand of hockey that he can play.

#Flames projected lines and pairings vs. #LetsGoOilers tonight:

Gaudreau-Monahan-Backlund
Mangiapane-Lindholm-Tkachuk
Lucic-Ryan-Dube
Rinaldo-Rieder-Bennett

Giordano-Brodie
Hanifin-Hamonic
Kylington-Andersson

Talbot (Starter)
Rittich#EDMvsCGY #BattleOfAlberta pic.twitter.com/L9EAw7GZPq

— Derek Wills (@Fan960Wills) January 11, 2020

Three Players to Watch for the Oilers

#23 Riley Sheahan – There are three players who don’t have a goal for the Oilers in their last five games (Kassian, Nygard, Khaira) and Sheahan isn’t one of them. He’s been playing a fantastic brand of defensive-first hockey and I’ve really enjoyed his addition to the club this year. There’ve been some instances this season where he’s absolutely dominated along the boards in the offensive zone and I have a hard time remembering the last bottom-six center who was as good at it as Sheahan is.
#29 Leon Draisaitl – Ever since Leon started to emerge as the star he’s become, the games versus Calgary have been “Must-See” TV. Even in that thrashing the Oilers took not too long ago from the Flames, Draisaitl was out there trying to get it done. I expect the same to occur tonight with a bit more effectiveness given how well his line has been playing lately.
#44 Zack Kassian – Kass hasn’t scored a goal in a little while and he was even taken off of McDavid’s wing in their last game for a time. He knows what he has to do to get his engine going though and I hope he brings his “A” game tonight because when Kassian is out there banging bodies and crashing nets, he opens up space and that’s something Connor McDavid and James Neal could always use a little bit more of.

In Calgary

Neal-McDavid-Kassian
RNH-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
Nygard-Sheahan-Archibald
Gagner-Haas-Chiasson

Klefbom-Larsson
Nurse-Bear
Jones-Russell

Koskinen

— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) January 11, 2020

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Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

2019/20 Edmonton Oilers GM15: Oilers @ Penguins – Three Players to Watch + Rumors

November 1, 2019 Beer League Hero

Oilers fans, we’re about to be treated to what should be one of the best games of the season. Anytime we can see the likes of Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Leon Draisaitl, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Jake Guentzel, etc and it’s not an all-star game, that is something to behold. If we’re lucky, both teams will let their hair down and just play hockey in its most unadulterated form. If it weren’t for the shit start time, this would be perfect. Why doesn’t the schedule maker make this a Saturday night feature on Hockey Night in Canada? Baffling.

The Pens are 7-3-0 in their last ten games and 5-3-0 at home. The Oilers’ last ten games have them sitting at 5-4-1, so they’ve got their work cut out for them if they plan on sparking a winning streak. I don’t like Edmonton’s chances to be honest. Pittsburgh has scoring right down to their 4th line and Tippett’s boys are still struggling to get any offense out of anybody not playing in their top-six. This might just fall on the shoulders of whoever is playing net for the Oilers. I like Mikko Koskinen here as I remember a 3-1 loss last season where he was just bloody outstanding for the Oilers. He really kept them in it when they probably had no business being there.

What could be Edmonton’s saving grace if the goaltending doesn’t hold up is how dominating Leon Draisaitl has been as of late. He’s got nine points in his last five matches and doesn’t look like he’s about to slow down. Can the Oilers use this to take advantage of the Penguins’ defense?

The Next Ten Games

The first ten games of the 2019/20 season went quite well for the Oilers, more so at the start than the end, mind you. I predicted they’d go 6-4-0 and they ended up going 7-2-1. It’s not going to be as easy in these ten games, but it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility if they did better than anticipated.

10/24 Washington: 7-2-2 (h) – I like Washington here. Too much depth and firepower (LOSS) WIN
10/27 Florida: 4-2-3 (h) – If Barkov is still out, I’ll take the Oilers. (WIN) LOSS
10/28 Detroit: 3-7-0 (a) – It was a tough go in their first meeting, but I reckon Edmonton turns it up in Detroit for their GM. The first game in a B2B for the Oilers. (WIN) LOSS
10/29 Columbus: 4-3-2 (a) – Edmonton has had trouble with tough-checking teams so far but Columbus’ goaltending doesn’t impress me. The second game of the B2B for Edmonton. (WIN) WIN
11/2 Pittsburgh: 6-5-0 (a) – Crosby and co. are an intimidating bunch. I’ll go with a shootout loss here. (S/O LOSS)
11/4 Arizona: 5-2-1 (h) – Coyotes are a lot deeper than years previous. (LOSS)
11/6 St. Louis: 4-2-3 (h) – The champs will give the Oilers are really hard time. However, the Blues will be on the latter half of a B2B. (LOSS)
11/8 New Jersey: 2-4-2 (h) – New Jersey’s defense and goaltending just isn’t coming together. The Devils will be playing the 2nd game of a B2B as well. (WIN)
11/10 Anaheim: 6-4-0 (a) – John Gibson has been amazing and this team is rallying behind Dallas Eakins. These games are usually very intense and this one shouldn’t be any different. (WIN)
11/12 San Jose: 3-5-1 (a) – Martin Jones has completely lost the plot and Vlasic is coming up in trade rumors now? (WIN)

*Records as of October 24th, 2019.

Oilers Rumors

These are just early-season murmurs. Ken Holland preaches patience and he practices it. I don’t see anything happening before December 1st, but as we approach the new year, where the Oilers are in the standings might have an impact on whether or not the Oilers GM decides to tinker with the roster.

There’s some speculation out there that the Oilers are showcasing Jujhar Khaira. He’s been wildly inconsistent his entire career and Edmonton would like to get faster.
Brandon Manning‘s name is always out there and his performances this season were quite good. If the Oilers can find a taker for his contract, there’s a good chance he’s moved. I wonder if Florida would have interest? Joel Quenneville had him in Chicago. Pysyk-Manning swap?
Gaetan Haas is skating on thin ice and the talk of him returning to Europe is growing louder by the game. Riley Sheahan’s health status is in the air right now and that’s delaying any decision on Haas, but make no bones about it, despite his speed and gritty nature, he’s not really growing on anybody in the Oilers organization. He’s got to go much more. Scoring a goal would help his cause immensely.
Markus Granlund‘s place on this team is also in danger. It’s turning into a Jussi Jokinen situation here. I’m curious if Holland might look to flip him for a veteran from another team who’s also having a hard time.
Holland will go to Finland to watch Jesse Puljujarvi next weekend and my belief is that the plan is simply to gauge where the Finn on a level higher than the SM-Liiga and possibly to have a chat with Pulju to see if he’s still content with his desire to play for a different club. If Holland can convince him to return, maybe that happens after Christmas, but if Jesse’s request remains, I reckon he stays in Finland for the year and then moved at the draft when Edmonton’s salary cap constraints are lifted.

Three Players to Watch for the Penguins (8-5-0)

#17 Bryan Rust – Five points in his last five games plus sixteen shots from the Penguins third line. He’s often been included in Puljujarvi trade rumors. Very meat and potatoes kind of player that works his ass off.
#6 John Marino – Once a product of the Edmonton Oilers, didn’t want to sign with the club after Peter Chiarelli was let go. He’s Justin Schultz-lite. Great skater and puck mover.
#71 Evgeni Malkin – He’s the reason I watch the Pens when I do, not Crosby. I think he’s one of the most graceful players in the league. He’ll be returning from injury and I can only imagine that he’ll be fired up and raring to go. The Oilers had better be ready for this Galactico.

As I said above, Malkin should be back in the lineup and I imagine that would take Teddy Blueger out and move Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann down but these are all provisional and changes are bound to take place.

Guentzel – Crosby – Simon
Galchenyuk – Bjugstad – Hornqvist
Kahun – McCann – Rust
ZAR – Blueger – Tanev

Dumoulin – Letang
Pettersson – Schultz
Johnson – Marino

Murray
Jarry

Three Players to Watch for the Oilers (9-4-1)

#97 Connor McDavid – Connor takes his game to another level when he’s lined up opposite to players like Sidney Crosby. He’ll be on form for this one, book it!
#18 James Neal – Neal returns to Pittsburgh where he spent many-a-season racking up twenty plus goals. The Oilers will need him to be shooting the lights out as Matt Murray has had some great performances facing Edmonton recently.
#74 Ethan Bear – Now we’re going to see what this kid is made of. The Penguins are going to throw wave after wave of the league’s best offensive players at him. If he can not only survive but thrive, we’ve got a keeper folks.

No word on Riley Sheahan yet. I think Tomas Jurco would come in and Granlund would slide over to centre on that 4th line. Depending on the extent of Sheahan’s injury, the Oilers are heading home to play Arizona next, so perhaps they’d bring someone up from Bakersfield and it wouldn’t shock me if that player was Kailer Yamamoto.

Draisaitl-McDavid-Kassian
Khaira-RNH-Gagner
Neal-Haas-Chiasson
Granlund-Sheahan-P.Russell

Nurse-Bear
Klefbom-Persson
Russell-Benning

Koskinen
Smith

I’m not sure if this game will get to a shootout like I predicted last week, but I’m near 100% certain that this is going to be a really good hockey game. Let’s Go Oilers!

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

Edmonton Oilers: 2019 Free Agency Day 1 Review + Bob Stauffer’s Jesse Puljujarvi Trade Scenarios

July 2, 2019 Beer League Hero

Did you get the feeling that after the Oilers hired Ken Holland to be their new GM that he’d be making big moves right away? Were there any indications that he might try to build up the roster bit by bit instead of blowing it up? Was there anything that he said that lead you to believe that major changes were coming?

I didn’t think so. So why is it that so many people were disappointed yesterday? Holland did do what he said he was going to and that’s to add speed and depth to the bottom-6. So wouldn’t we want to give him some credit there? I’d say it’s looking pretty deep so far. Lots of competition and that’s what we want, right? We don’t want to be gifting AHLers jobs right at the onset of training camp anymore and Holland is doing a pretty decent job of preventing that.

Am I disappointed the Oilers couldn’t get their hands on Gus Nyquist? Sure. But I never really expected him to sign in Edmonton, so I’m pretty meh on it. Besides, there are lots of good free agents still out there and the longer they go without getting a contract, the less they’re more likely to sign for and that would be perfect for Edmonton. Look at this list,

Pat Maroon (More on him at the end)
Ryan Dzingel
Michael Ferland
Tomas Vanek
Marcus Johansson
Jason Pominville
Patrik Marleau
Joe Thornton
Justin Williams
Jake Gardiner
Derrick Brassard
Pontus Aberg
Nick Cousins
Niklas Kronwall
Ben Hutton

Tons of useful players still out there. So don’t fret that Edmonton didn’t make some blockbuster signing on day one of free agency and actually be happy they signed the players they did to short-term cheap deals because it sounds like push will be for the 2020 off-season to make some big moves. You should see the list of players that could be unrestricted…

Taylor Hall
Torey Krug
Tyson Barrie
Tyler Toffoli
Chris Kreider
Justin Faulk
Sami Vatanen
Robin Lehner
Brayden Schenn
Cody Eakin
Charlie Coyle
Jaro Halak
JG Pageau

Wow! If they make it there, next summer will be HUGE and you’ll really want the Oilers to have a lot of cap-room then.

But let’s talk about the players that Edmonton did sign.

THE NEW GUYS

Mike Smith is a player I did not like at all before yesterday but I’m going to love the shit out of him as an Oiler. “He’s the best puckhandling goalie the Oilers have ever had!” is how one source of mine described him. This is a player who is on the verge of retirement I reckon but he still has some magic left in him. He’ll be a great help to the Oilers locker room and even though he’s coming off his worst season ever, I will overlook that because we don’t judge on one season, right? He has a long stat sheet that’s full of above average numbers that I would prefer to take into consideration when judging the former NHL All-Star and Gold Medal-winning Olympian. For $2M, I’ll take him.

Markus Granlund was described to me by another source out of Vancouver as “someone who plays centre and wing – kills penalties – works hard. Good versatility.” Ken Holland praised him for how professional he is. Now, I’ll be frank here, he’s never stood out to me when the Oilers have played Granlund’s teams in Vancouver or Calgary but if the plan is to improve the PK, then this is a good add. I don’t need anything flashy out of him, but what I do want is a smart player here and someone who is an upgrade on Tobias Rieder.

The Finn averaged 2:22 on the kill for Vancouver last year, so he was a trusted member of the penalty killing crew and he also scored 19 goals spending most of his TOI with Brandon Sutter and Loui Eriksson a couple of seasons back. $1.3M per is a bit high for me, but what are we talking about here? A 3rd liner for under $1.5M is pretty decent in reality, especially if he scores in double digits.

Tomas Jurco used to be a pretty well thought of prospect in the Red Wings system when they had Martin Frk coming and Tomas Tatar. I guess things never really panned out for him as they moved him on to Chicago for a 3rd round pick in the 2017 draft that turned into another well-regarded prospect, Keith Petruzzelli.

Jurco, to me, is another Ty Rattie or Valentin Zykov. The tools are there but something is missing. He’s depth scoring but I’m not sure if he’ll even make it up past the 3rd line in Edmonton. He had a good playoff for Carolina’s farm team in Charlotte mind you, 18pts in 18 games. He’s there to provide competition and as I said above, to make sure the Oilers aren’t rushing teenagers and first-year pros onto an NHL roster. He could turn out to be this year’s Alex Chiasson if all the stars aligned. 700k? sounds good to me whether he’s getting that in Edmonton or Bakersfield.

Gaetan Haas and Joakim Nygard I have no expectations for. They’ll be who they’ll be but we won’t know that until we see them at training camp and into the exhibition games. One thing I’ve heard folks complaining about online is how he wasn’t even the best player on his team let alone the league he played in and to that I say, it’s not always about the stats… Sometimes the skill set and fit for the team is more important. Also, look at where Melker Karlsson sat on his team’s scoring the year before San Jose brought him over. Edmonton just needs some players who will work their asses off, play smart, and maybe contribute on the scoreboard from time to time. You never know with these guys, right? I mean, we’re not talking about 21-year-old kids coming over. Both Haas and Nygard are closer to thirty than twenty-one years old.

A new season means a new design! Click the image above to get the new Pulju shirt!

THE RE-SIGNINGS

Alex Chiasson is a player I’m glad the Oilers could re-sign. I like the term ($2.15M) and the length of the deal (two years). He’s kind of like an introverted Pat Maroon. He works his butt off, he sticks up for his teammates, he gets to the mucky areas, he stands in front of the goalie and actually screens him, plus he’s sneaky good at finding the open space for a scoring chance. He is streaky though, so fans have to come to grips with that, but he scored over 20 goals last season and Edmonton really needs as many 20 goal scorers as they can get.

Jujhar Khaira, I still don’t know what to figure about him. I reckon at $1.2M over the next two campaigns, he’ll be worth his pay. My friend Jeremy says JJ is working VERY hard this off-season to prove to the Oilers that he’s ready to take the next step and solidify his spot on the team. Now, be that as a left-winger or a centreman, that remains to be seen, but there are a couple of things I really enjoy about JJ’s game,

He’s tough as nails and already has a reputation league-wide as someone not to mess with. Cross-checking that one dman in the neck last season probably helped that a bit too.
He’s so powerful when he gets the puck. I really like watching him exit the D-zone with the puck.
He’s got pretty good hands for a man his size.

Beer League Heroes