Speculating from an Edmonton Oilers fan’s perspective, BLH comments on the latest NHL rumors featuring players such as Elias Pettersson, Patrick Kane, Johnny Gaudreau, Mike Hoffman, and more!
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The News and Rumors
Georges Laraque: Suggested that the Canadiens could offer up Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Cole Caufield, and a 2021 first-round pick for Kane who the Blackhawks would actually retain salary on.
BLH’s Thoughts: There are some rumors going around that a player’s trainer said that Kane could play elite hockey until he was into his 40s and still be an effective player playing at 50. The Chicago winger is 31yrs old now, I imagine the Habs would love to get him for another 19 years for three high-end prospects.
Reckon Kane would be a big fan of the taxes in Quebec?
Laraque is also saying that Marc-Andre Fleury wants to come to Edmonton even though the Oilers are on his 10-team no-trade list (allegedly)…
Wait. Is this just a stunt to get more eyes on him because he’s looking to have an exhibition bout with Mike Tyson?
Tracey Myers (NHL.com): “I’m sure there are many Philadelphia fans who would love to see Gaudreau wearing a Flyers jersey; he was born in Salem, New Jersey, about 40 miles south of Philadelphia. But if I’m the Flames, I’m not ready to send Gaudreau anywhere yet.”
“I know the Blues found enough offense when Tarasenko missed all but the first 10 games of last season after having shoulder surgery. But if a player like (Mike) Hoffman is available, why not try to sign him to replace at least some of Tarasenko’s production?”
BLH’s Thoughts: Look, Johnny Guadreau will be traded before his next contact expires. Book it. The rumors are getting heavier as his deal nears expiry and Calgary needs a shake-up now that the team belongs to Matthew Tkachuk.
The funny thing is, the Flames are going to trade Gaudreau and then Tkachuk is going to leave after his deal is up. Calgary will go from two elite LWers to zero!
Go Oilers Go!
The Athletic: On Elias Pettersson, “The young Canucks superstar will play out the final year of his entry-level contract during the 2020-21 league year, and thereafter will likely be exorbitantly expensive. His second contract is going to be complicated and is something of a cap management atom bomb that the club will have to work around in seeking to upgrade their supporting cast.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Just watching Benning and the Canucks ownership pinch the pennies with their coach is enough to grab a lot of popcorn in anticipation of the Pettersson negoations. Vancouver is going to have to walk away from three or four really solid NHL players to get their franchise man under contract and I don’t see him taking any “hometown” discounts either.
Swisshockeynews.ch: According to Expressen’s podcast ‘Sanny and Svensson’, Carl Soderberg is looking for a well-paid deal in Switzerland. There’s also interest from Sweden, however. Malmo would be interested in bringing him home.
BLH’s Thoughts: Bob Stauffer (630CHED) has been talking about some European NHLers staying in Europe and avoiding the big haircut, escrow, and deferred portions of their paycheck for this upcoming shortened season. I always thought he was talking about Mikael Granlund but Soderberg fits the bills too I suppose.
The Vegas Golden Misfits are going to the Stanley Cup Final in 2018!!! Love ’em or hate ’em it’s an amazing story and this is one punk rocker’s way of giving tribute! Click the pic above and get yours today!
So we’re switching things up with our “Around the Oilogosphere” segment. Instead of posting individual snippets and linking to them, we’re going to basically make a “Oilers blogs of the day” sort of post. Not sure if it’ll be daily or weekly but we’ll work that out. We’ll probably include some links from other NHL news as well like trade rumors or major happenings.
Either way, you can enjoy coming to one place to get all your Oilers links (minus the athletic ones because they’re behind a pay wall) and information.
Enjoy!
OILERS NEWS
Fanrag Sports: Bob McKenzie on Next Steps for Oilers – One question at the heart of the angst of a segment of Oilers fans, though, is whether or not Chiarelli should still be the one sitting at the general manager’s helm.
Cult of Hockey: Craig Simpson on Puljujarvi – Speaking on the Oil’s handling of Puljujarvi on Oilers Now — which sees Puljujarvi getting third line minutes and no first team power play time — Simpson supported the current approach: “I’m not worried about the way he’s being handled…
Oilersnation.ca: Dustin Nielson on Puljujarvi – With the exception of the power-play, penalty kill, goaltending, and overall coaching in general, nothing has frustrated Oilers fans this season as much as the usage of fourth overall pick Jesse Puljujarvi.
Oilersnation.ca: 3 NHL Replacements for Todd McLellan – Whichever side of the fence you’re on, it’s obvious that McLellan’s days in Edmonton may be coming to an abrupt end. Here’s a look at a few options with NHL pedigrees whom the Oilers brass could (and should) target pending the departure of their current HC.
The Hockey Writers: The Oilers’ Maniacal Mismanagement of Montoya– Montoya has played well for the Oilers. However, his continued presence within Edmonton’s roster has raised a handful of questions with respect to the organization’s general approach as well as its vision of both the immediate and long-term future.
NHL TRADE RUMORS
The New York Rangers Are Open To Trading A First-Round Pick – The Rangers have three first-round picks in the 2018 NHL draft – their own, the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning – two second-round picks and two third-round picks. GM Jeff Gorton says there are opening to moving one of their first-round picks.
Dreger on Melnyk billboards and Hoffman trade potential– What has already been a fairly disastrous season for the Ottawa Senators has the potential to get even uglier this summer, depending on what happens in key contract and trade-related areas.
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Just one minor rant before getting into this weeks 31 Thoughts podcast and what Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman were saying about the Oilers.
All throughout the Taylor Hall era of the Oilers (or as others call it, the Decade of Darkness), I watched those teams get pushed around and nothing was done about it even though the team had tough guys/enforcers on the roster and you might say I’m old-fashioned or a flat-earther because I believe in physical retribution but the NHL’s star attraction was the target of cheap shots from the Calgary Flames and the San Jose Sharks most recently.
**Bloggers and fans will scoff at what I’m going to say next but journalists who cover sports teams and ex-players won’t. They know exactly what I’m talking about.
Now we’ve learned over time that there was a split in the dressing room back then and the players weren’t willing to stick up for each other because of the cliques that were formed in that room. Is that what is going on now?**
What are Zack Kassian, Milan Lucic, Darnell Nurse, and JJ Khaira doing?
I’ll give credit to Khaira and Nurse because at least they gone ahead and dropped the gloves in the last 10 days but what kind of excuses do Kassian and Lucic have?
My whole thing with these kinds of players is that they have something to offer when they’re not scoring goals, their braveness and willingness to do the things that others are not. I mean if this is the way the NHL is going, then all of those players who say they’ll battle for their teammates and don’t, they can hit the road. I’d rather the Oilers sign a bunch of rat finks like Burrows or Clutterbuck if that’s the case. Hell, bring back Raffi Torres!
I don’t see anybody hitting out there anymore or if they do it’s a glance or a coasting into a player as if they’re sorry for touching the guy. What happened to these players? Are they playing through something? If so, why haven’t they had it repaired if they’ve been playing through it for the entire season?
If Lucic and Kassian can’t play the game that made them successful in Edmonton, then they should be moved out for players who can. Michael Haley does nothing but hit and fight and he’s not hurting the Florida Panthers in their fight for a playoff spot. He’s cheap too.
Listen, all I want is some fire and emotion during the games and this isn’t an Oilers-centric problem I don’t believe. I think it’s league-wide and that’s a shame because if this is the direction the NHL is going, I’ll probably stop watching it at some point and convert to junior games or minor league games where things are a bit more unpredictable.
This is going to be a story until the draft, no doubt about it. That being said, Oilers fans shouldn’t be getting their hopes up because the Senators were talking to both the Flames and the Sharks at the deadline regarding Mike Hoffman and Bobby Ryan. I think we can toss Vegas into that mix too.
On this week’s 31 Thoughts podcast, Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman had some interesting comments regarding RNH and Klefbom…
Marek: Who is most likely to go out of Edmonton, Klefbom or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins?
Friedman: It’s a tough one because both players play valuable positions. One’s a center and one’s a D, what is everyone looking for? Center and D.
I think they both have an attractiveness about them.
The only reason I’d say Klefbom more likely is that I think if you look at them they’ve got Nurse, they’ve got Sekera, they’ve got Larsson, they’ve got Russell signed. I think they feel they’ve probably got enough D that they can get by.
Marek: It’s a D heavy draft, they’ll take a D most likely.
Friedman: If they can get Draisaitl and McDavid comfortable playing apart, you probably don’t have the luxury of keeping Nugent-Hopkins’ cap number but if you really want to play them together, you probably need Nugent-Hopkins.
Like, I think they have to convince those two guys (McDavid/Draisaitl) to play apart. I really do. You look at Pittsburgh, the team we watched in Toronto on the weekend, why do they win Stanley Cups? Because they’ve got Crosby on one line, Malkin on one line, and Kessel on another line with Brassard.
I think ultimately those two guys (97/29) are going to have to play apart and for that reason, Nugent-Hopkins might not be a luxury you can afford under the cap?
So what I’m gathering from that is if the Oilers keep Todd Mclellan, there’s a possibility that he finds himself back up on that top line with Connor McDavid more often than not. Something Ryan Rishaug has spoken to this week on the Jason Gregor show. And in turn that’ll mean Klefbom goes because the Oilers will need RNH to man the 2nd line centre position.
But if the Oilers decide to go with a different coach I believe that will spell the end of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ spell with the Oilers because Peter Chiarelli believes having RNH on the 3rd line making $6M a year isn’t fiscally smart.
And another thing we have to take into consideration is the draft?
Right now the Oilers are sitting in 7th spot and their chances at the 1st overall pick are 6.7%. They’re chances at a top 3 selection are 20.9%. (according to tankathon.com)
So if they win the lottery and move up to no.1, they’ll take Dahlin and that means goodbye Oscar. If they move up into the top 3 but not no.1, that means they’ll be taking a winger, goodbye RNH. If they stay where they are at no.7, I would venture to guess they trade the pick outright in a deal for a winger or a dman OR they trade down because the middle of the pack in this year’s draft doesn’t offer much separation in terms of talent.
Lastly, they could sit on the roster and do nothing because RNH and Klefbom are still great young players and they’re signed long-term. They’ll both be healthy going into next year and really, all the Oilers need to do is tinker a bit on the wing and back end.
Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!
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This supposed lack of speed isn’t a concern for the Edmonton Oilers and I’m not just saying that because they’ve got the fastest player the game has ever seen playing on it. I’m saying that because when I look at the standings of the Pacific division I see three of the oldest, biggest, slowest teams in the NHL plodding their way to ANOTHER playoff appearance.
San Jose, Anaheim, and Los Angeles still use heavy hockey to win games. Argue that heavy hockey is dead all you want to but it’s very much alive and until Getzlaf, Perry, Kesler, Thornton, Vlasic, Kopitar, Doughty, etc. have gone elsewhere or retired, it will continue.
I know you’re thinking about Vegas right now but let’s be real. Their success is a mirage. they will not be repeating that success next year unless they decide to trade for more players on contract years. Next year that chip on their shoulder will be gone. They’ll no longer be the “rejects” who have something to show their former GMs, they’ll be the prey instead of the hunter.
I think the definition of speed is rarely defined when pundits and bloggers write about it too.
They’re not talking about end-to-end speed, they’re talking about fast jitterbug-like players who can get in on the forecheck and are smart with the puck and make the right play without needed 3-5 seconds to get it done. You’re seeing that sort of puck-moving with Ethan Bear during his audition right now. He gets the puck, moves it. Gets the puck, moves it. He doesn’t wait about, he gets rid of it and usually, the pass is right on the tape. Perfecto!
**Quick sidenote: I don’t remember who brought it up but one of the MSM on the radio/podcasts offered this hypothetical, what if Ethan Bear was the one being showcased and not Oscar Klefbom?**
And I’ll reiterate this once again. Speed is the flavor of the day folks. The coaches will find a way to counter it, they always do. Watch, we’ll see a positioning revolution where the term “defensive specialist” will come into play. You’ll have players who can keep up with McDavid and Matthews but are mind-blowingly good at defense.
The game evolves on its own. You’ll get fathers teaching their sons to be the anti-McDavid. To be the player who goes out and shuts down the other team’s best player because in minor hockey there’s always a ringer and if you shut that player down, you shut their team down and that player will get noticed. Especially with the current onus on players to be the next Jonathan Toews.
Could you imagine a player as physically gifted as a Connor McDavid but as defensively talented as Patrice Bergeron?
I believe smart intelligent clever hockey players will be the future of hockey. High hockey IQ will be a requisite in the near future.
That said, the Oilers must absolutely upgrade their wings and their defense. There’s no question there. They might need to upgrade their goaltending too. But how do they propose doing it and how much of an upgrade is truly required?
Who do they move out to upgrade on the wing though after a year like this? Is Pat Maroon considered an upgrade? The Oilers had interest in Austin Czarnik, a zippy winger that plays for the Bruins, around the deadline; would he be an upgrade? He’s an RFA this summer.
One reason I’m not concerned to very much about the Oilers wings is that Puljujarvi will be another year older and I see him starting to take control again on that 3rd line. We’ve got Kailer Yamamoto coming. Be that from the start of next season (I hope not) or 30 games in (I hope so), he’ll be helpful from the skill and IQ area. If Slepyshev re-signs, that’s more skill in the bottom 6. Pontus Aberg looks to be more middle-6 but his speed and a little more comfort in the new system will be key next season.
What if the Oilers add Brady Tkachuk, Filip Zadina, or Andrei Svechnikov this summer? How would that change the perception of the Oilers lack of speed and skill on the wings?
It’ll change it drastically.
Might we see Zack Kassian moved or Drake Caggiula? Have we seen their PK TOI cut down lately? I feel like they haven’t been killing penalties recently. And I ask about those two specific players because Kassian’s contract seems to be a tad heavy for his role and Caggiula can’t put two good games together.
*Sidenote #2: Man, if Caggiula and Pakarinen could just alternate games, I think they’d look a helluva lot better. To me, as least, they can’t put a run of good games together and are way more impactful after a healthy scratch. Do you agree?*
Jason Gregor wrote an intriguing article over at OilersNation (about the only writer apart from Paige that I read from them these days) and it tells that the wings aren’t the problem, the defense is.
I took away a couple of very telling points that should tell us what direction the Oilers are pointed.
The Oilers are tied for 10th in 5×5 goals. They have 130 5×5 goals in 66 games (1.97 goals/game). Last year the Oilers were tied for eighth in 5×5 goals for with 166 in 82 games (2.0 goals/game).
They are basically scoring at the same rate despite Milan Lucic not scoring for 29 games, Oscar Klefbom going 33 without a goal and losing Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who was their leading goal scorer when he was injured on January 13th, for 18 games.
The Oilers have 109 5×5 goals from their top-nine forward goal scorers (McDavid, Draisaitl and RNH have 52), while the Pittsburgh Penguins have 102 5×5 goals from their top-nine forward goals scorers (Malkin, Kessel and Crosby have 56 goals).
Wh-What?!
These sort of numbers are free to the public. These aren’t cooked up or obtained from some “black box” analytics company but to me, EVERYONE is ignoring this.
So, IF the Oilers come back to the surface a bit next season and their special teams recovers, Talbot plays like we know he can, Lucic scores like he was before Christmas, Puljujarvi takes another step… You get the point, right?
This season WILL be the aberration, not the 103pt one.
And of course the 5×5 team defence is a concern. Last season they allowed 140 goals at 5×5, ninth fewest in the NHL, but this year they are 27th. They’ve already allowed 141. Cam Talbot hasn’t been as sharp, but the defensive zone breakdowns have been more noticeable this year. The Oilers have reverted back to being a trainwreck in their own end — too many errant passes, too many wrong reads, and turning the puck over too often.
Does a healthy Talbot, Sekera, Klefbom, and Larsson change that?
I mean, those are the 4 MOST important players on the Oilers back-end and if they’re not healthy, they’re not able to do their jobs at 100% and that, in turn, results in corner-cutting. Which helps nobody.
The powerplay started well, going 21.4% in their first 20 games, but since then it’s been a mess. The PK was terrible for the final 68 games last season, 78%, and got even worst this season.
This falls squarely at the feet of the coaches and there’ll be no mulligan’s for them this summer. The special teams is the hill they chose to die on and die on it they will.
So, my theory is that Paul Coffey was brought in by Gretzky to get the skinny on the dressing room. He’s hanging around the team more and getting a feel for how the players are feeling about the coaching staff AND he’s helping with the powerplay. Of course.
The players respect Coffey and I think it’s Gretzky’s hope that they feel comfortable enough around him to tell him what’s going on in that dressing room. Gretzky is slowly working his hands into the team and I’d be willing to be that whatever changes come this summer will be run through him.
Going back to the idea of upgrading, the defense does need it but I feel like it’d be a lot easier to deal from the top and upgrade from there because those will be the players that other teams will want, right?
Lowetide says that you get good players and you keep good players. But what if I want better players? Can I do that by dealing my average players?
If Oscar is dealt, I hope they make it a right proper hockey trade and bring back something the team needs like a PP specialist, something Klefbom is not by virtue of his 4 goals in 450 min on the PP (that’s career!). He shoots a lot but rarely is a threat from the blueline on the PP.
Krug, Spurgeon, Dumba (!), Faulk, Barrie, Gostisbehere, Ristolainen, Oliver Ekman-Larsson etc. These are all the types of players we should be hoping for this summer.
When Klefbom is on, he’s on. The problem with that is that he’s only had one season where he’s been… on. He’s most known for not being healthy, right? He’s played nearly 300 games (think around 250 if we’re nitpicking) and we’re most likely seeing true value in the Swedish dman. At worst he’s a no.4 and at best he’s a no.2 I reckon and there’s no shame in any of that but the Oilers are in a pickle, self-made pickle, and value is going to have to go out for some to come in.
Chiarelli’s record is spotty at best when it comes to these trades and I have no problem saying that.
If he decides to sit on this roster and see what he’s got 20 games in, I don’t think I’d have too much of a problem with that but if things go wrong, it’ll cost him his job. But if a slow moving Oscar Klefbom is the ONLY problem on D next season, the Oilers could handle it.
I’m of the belief that Gretzky expects a splash this summer, hence the Klefbom/RNH rumors and now the word is that their 1st round pick WILL be in play depending on where they land in the lottery and Lowetide is (has been) throwing out Puljujarvi’s name recently.
I don’t see Pulju being moved, he’s only 19 and McLellan is finally using him in the right role (3rd line plus 2nd PP unit) and I think Chiarelli is a huge fan. How it took McLellan the entire season to figure that out is beyond me. It seems this year he’s been late to the ball on damned near everything.
I don’t know if they can outright trade that pick for a player with the way the sit under the cap but it could give them a “get out of jail free” card if they want out from under a large contract be it Lucic’s or Sekera’s or Russell’s as unfortunate as that is depending on how you feel about those players.
What about sending Lucic and the Oilers 1st rounder this year to Ottawa for Mike Hoffman and the 1st rounder Ottawa got in the Brassard trade from Pittsburgh?
Edmonton wouldn’t be able to add a potential “impact” player in the back end of the 1st round but they’d get some cap relief and an upgrade on wing plus they’d still be able to add to the pipeline.
I reckon Gretzky sees value in those players (Lucic, Russell, Sekera) though.
Speaking of prospects, my boy Sean Ryan (@theoilknight) has been doing up some pretty Oilers-centered draft guides over on his site. To date, he’s finished the OHL and the WHL and next up is the QMJHL! Check them out because they’re about as deep and informative as you can find for free these days.
Here’s a taste of Sean’s report:
Ty Smith(Top 15 overall) – LHD. Smith is a smart, fast, puck moving defenceman with great offensive instincts & leadership qualities. That makes him an extremely coveted player. He can Quarterback a Powerplay by using his low, hard, accurate shot that seems to get through more often than not and has tremendous passing and vision to set up his teammates. Defensively, despite a smaller frame he holds his own. He seems to make good reads & is physical when he needs to be. Like most 18 yr olds he could use more consistency and needs to get stronger but compared to his peers he appears to excel. Great at skating the puck right out his zone and is capable of those long stretch passes. He would be a dream pick for the Oilers at #7 if he were a Right shot D. Even so, he appears to be a great fit for Edmonton I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he does ended up being their guy come draft day.
Oh and another friend of the blog, Mike from The Oilers Live Podcast has another pod out with Oil on Whyte writer Eric Friesen. Check it out below!
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First things first, Dreger didn’t get all of that from Chiarelli. Either someone within the Oilers organization above Chiarelli leaked it, Dreger is making it up, or one of the other GMs is trying to throw a wrench into Trader Pete’s deadline/summer plans.
Secondly, why would the Oilers want a winger who can skate WITH Connor? It’s not like you see tandems breaking out of the d-zone into the neutral zone and then into the other team’s end together.
I feel the type of player the Oilers are looking for is a trigger man, not a speedster because if that was the case, why wouldn’t they have gone out and traded for Carl Hagelin when he was struggling like mad earlier in the year? Why wouldn’t they have picked up Nikita Soshnikov before TO traded him to the Blues.
They need a guy who knows where to go on the ice while Connor has the puck in order to get himself open for a one-timer.
If not this kind of winger then a winger who is quick. Personally, I don’t think they need to go out and get one. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is right there and alternatively, Anton Slepyshev is here too and if he didn’t feel slighted by how he’s been treated by the Oilers this year, he might be a cheap re-signing too.
But if we’re going outside the organization, I feel like Mike Hoffman is the perfect winger for the Oilers here. TSN’s Travis Yost feels like Swapping RNH for Hoffman would be beneficial for both teams.
I could see it but I always thought you never trade a centre for a winger…
But what if the Oilers send Kris Russell w/salary retained (remember contrary to what Capfriendly says, the first two years of his deal lack any clauses, only the final two seasons or at least that’s what I’m lead to believe from the MSM reporting on his contract and Spotrac’s website) and say Jesse Puljujarvi to Ottawa for Hoffman.
The Sens are looking to rebuild, the Oilers are looking to upgrade whilst opening cap space and even if I am wrong about Russell’s first two years having no clauses, a simple request is all it takes. If Ottawa truly wants to tear it down, would having Russell on defense help or hinder that goal?
Don’t get me wrong here, I do NOT want Jesse Puljujarvi traded. I love that kid more than Oilersnation loves anti-Chiarelli rallies. I’m just thinking out loud here and trying to work around trading Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Oscar Klefbom to Ottawa. I do feel like, despite Pulju’s young age, he shouldn’t be fading as the season goes on but this is his first real pro season. Plus I’m thinking the coaches are higher on Yamamoto than Pulju.
Again, I’m not advocating for the trading of Puljujarvi. Having him and Yamamoto on the RW for the next 5 years would please me to no end but how else do you satisfy Ottawa’s needs w/o moving RNH, Klefbom, or this year’s 1st rounder.
Another name on my list is David Perron. Not the fastest but draws penalties, is irritating as well and had his best pro season as an Edmonton Oiler in his previous stint with the club.
Thirdly, the defenseman that Oilers are looking for will have to have some puck skills. I think they one they’ve got the best shot at is Rasmus Dahlin at the moment. Not even joking.
But if we were to look at the pro roster, the Oilers have to send someone out before bringing in another because the D corps. is simply too crowded and I’d prefer to see them bring back Davidson and Auvitu too.
Which defender might that be? I mentioned Kris Russell before but the word I’m getting is that it’s Oscar Klefbom. Management/Coaching aren’t happy with his progression or lack thereof, this year. They’re pissed that he can’t stay healthy. So, they’re listening to offers on him which is a far cry from offering him out. Let’s make that distinction clear right now.
I’d love for the Oilers to bring in Mike Green because I value his veteran experience as well as his RH’d shot, and his offensive eye for the game.
A player few might consider is Chris Wideman out of Ottawa. He’s a UFA this summer, he’s 28 years old and he’s also RH’d. Not a big guy but he can skate well and move the puck well. Before going down with an injury this year he had 8pts in 16 games. So he was definitely on pace (#OnPace) for a career year. He’s making 800k this year.
Tyson Barrie will be the name on the market connected to the Oilers from now until he’s moved and his cost is pretty high. Meaning RNH is probably the ask and I really want to avoid breaking up the 3-headed menace down the middle for Edmonton.
So how would you feel if the D looked like this:
Nurse/Larsson
Sekera/Barrie
Russell/Davidson
Auvitu or Wideman (I’d prefer both)
That means Benning and Klefbom would be moved on.
Fourthly, we’re looking for a goalie to compete with Talbot aka we’re afraid that Talbot might shit the bed again next year and we want to go with a 1A and 1B in the nets.
David Staples and Bruce McCurdy have brought up a good point in that perhaps the Oilers WILL need another goalie in addition to Talbot and Montoya and that Montoya should go to the minors in case of emergency next season.
The problem I have with that is, do you simply let the goalies you’ve paid to develop all these years walk away? Not that I think that Brossoit and Ellis are ready but the question still remains.
Here are a handful of UFA goalies who are putting up acceptable numbers this season:
Carter Hutton – STL – (15-5-3, 1.81 GAA, .940%) – Does STL move him or Allen?
Jonathan Bernier – COL – (17-10-2, 2.74 GAA, 916%) – $2.75M per… Pricey!
Aaron Dell – SJ – (14-4-2, 2.51 GAA, 917%) – The New Cam Talbot?
Antti Raanta – ARI – (11-14-0, 2.53 GAA, 920%) – Maybe should’ve acquired him last year…
Anton Khudobin – BOS – (12-3-1, 2.32 GAA, 925%) – Chiarelli would be familiar with the little Russian.
Michael Hutchinson – WPG – (1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, 958%) – Rumors earlier in the year had connected the Oilers and Hutchinson.
I fancy either Carter Hutton or Anton Khudobin for the 1B position because they’re a bit older and I value experience. But would Antti Raanta be the guy who’d push Talbot a bit more for that no.1 spot? Hutchinson is a beauty too though.
Tough call! Hutchinson and Khudobin have history with Chiarelli though, so there’s that.
A couple of wild cards might be Curtis McElhinney (TOR) and Kari Lehtonen (DAL) if you’re like me and prefer experienced goalies. These two tenders’ contracts expire after next season. The Leafs have Garrett Sparks and Calvin Pickard on their AHL team right now and I’d like to think that one of them will be the back-up next season. I don’t see Lehtonen getting paid $5M per season ever again nor do I see him being a starting goalie again.
Is it even possible for the Oilers to start the 2018/19 season with the following roster?
It seems like we’ve just moved the chairs around on the deck a bit, no?
I’ll leave you with one last thought here. Look at that lineup above, now add one of Rasmus Dahlin, Andrei Svechnikov, Filip Zadina, Brady Tkachuk, or Adam Boqvist.
How does it look now?
Let us know in the comments below! But first buy a shirt for a loved one because there’s a sale going on at the Beer League Heroes Teepublic shop!
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