I’m surprised that this hasn’t come up in the Oilers blogosphere yet, but recently Boston Hockey Now writer Jimmy Murphy has brought up the name of Montreal Canadiens’ netminder Carey Price in connection with the Edmonton Oilers.
What contending team could make a trade for #GoHabsGo G Carey Price happen right now? I say #GoAvsGo but if ken Holland could work some cap magic, I wouldn't discount #LetsGoOilers
First off, I don’t like the idea of having a goaltender whose cap it is $10.5M/yr for another five years. Even if there’s only $10M remaining in real money.
With that out of the way, Carey Price is no stooge despite what his statistics say this year. He’s a winner and this sort of player has always been in Ken Holland’s wheelhouse. If there’s a GM who could find a way to make this kind of move feasible for the Oilers for the next five years, it’d be Holland.
How would he do it though?
Now, I’m curious, would it be possible to find a third team to help facilitate the financial end of things? Similar to the Ryan Reaves trade a few seasons ago that saw him head from Pittsburgh to Vegas with the help of the Senators, could the Oilers find a team that would also retain some money on Price’s remaining half-decade of contract and what would they offer?
It’d have to start with Mikko Koskinen obviously. I would imagine that one or more of Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway, Dmitri Samorukov, Caleb Jones, Ethan Bear, Raphael Lavoie, or Tyler Benson would need to be involved as well as other fat contracts in Edmonton like the ones that belong to James Neal, Kris Russell, Adam Larsson, Alex Chiasson, or Zack Kassian. Draft picks as well…
I will admit I was kinda shocked when I saw that tweet from Murphy but it just reaffirms the fact that the Oilers have put the ride mower into rabbit in their bid to find a starting netminder and should the Habs fall right out of the playoff picture, is there a chance they might be tempted into moving their 33yr old franchise goalie?
Honestly, I don’t mind the idea of Price suiting up for the Oilers if the right deal can be made, but realistically, I can’t see it happening. There are much more affordable goaltenders out there that could do the job as well as the Canadian Olympian. He’s a really sexy name and he’s got some clout, that’s probably why I like a scenario where he’s playing in Edmonton.
Maybe for Edmonton’s sake they should leave him in Montreal, mind you. That might give the Oilers a better chance at the playoffs… You just hope he doesn’t find his form and embarrass you though.
What do you think?
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BLH provides you with the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation featuring Brandon Sutter (VAN), Carey Price (MTL), Jake Virtanen (VAN), Danton Heinen (ANA), and more!
NEW: Keith Jones and Patrick Sharp think the Calgary Flames have a better chance at the playoffs this year than the Oilers. Read about that here.
Is Leon Draisaitl’s excellent two-way presence just a mirage? One Edmonton pundit says they may very well be, BLH says not so fast. Read about it here.
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NHL Rumors and Speculation
Rob Ellis of NHLtraderumor.com recently posted that it’s his belief that the Montreal Canadiens could entertain parting ways with franchise netminder Carey Price.
“Before the bubble playoffs last year, it was thought the Habs were in rebuild mode, but with the playoff win over Pittsburgh it has changed things. With the recent firing of Claude Julien, it shows, the Canadiens are in it to win now and if they can improve their team by trading Price, GM Marc Bergevin will do it.”
BLH’s Thoughts: I can’t see any team taking on that contract unless the cap hit has been significantly reduced with the Habs eating at least 20-30% of it per year. Would the Molsons do that? One thing that is in the realm of possibility is the Canadiens asking Price to waive his NMC in order to protect Jake Allen OR finding a way to move Price to Seattle in a trade. Stranger things have happened…
Pierre LeBrun says that the Vancouver Canucks and the Anaheim Ducks have been talking trade and more specifically he is reporting the following,
“Heinen and Virtanen have been discussed but if both teams decide to move forward in talks, probably not a 1 for 1 deal… would be another component to make the money work I think. And that’s if they decide to keep talking. Not sure.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Virtanen desperately needs out of Vancouver. He was right on the verge of really breaking out last season and it’s come crashing down again not only for him but his club. Danton Heinen is an interesting fella. He’s been scratched a bit this season but his fancies have been quite good when he has played. Every 5v5 possession metric is above 50% but his goal share is closer to 40% than 50%… His PDO is 0.975 and that tells me the puck luck is simply not going his way. Surely, with the news that Rickard Rakell is on the block, Jim Benning would try to make that deal, no? Or at least try to bolster his defense by making a trade for Hampus Lindholm…
There are some whispers that the Nashville Predators might be looking for a new general manager according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.
“Whispers are slowly getting louder that Poile will seek a new General Manager to run the ship while he remains with the club in his President of Hockey Operations role.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Poile has been in charge of the Preds from the get-go. In 1997, he was hired… That’s nuts. 24 years he’s been the man there and for 15 years before that he was the GM or AGM in Washington. To say he knows how to stick around is an understatement. He should write a book on how he figured out the trick to becoming thisclose to being invincible.
Harman Dayal and Thomas Drance of The Athletic: Say that Canucks forward Brandon Sutter carries a $4.3 million salary cap, and even though his deal will be up after the season doesn’t have much trade value. At 50 percent retained he might have some value.
“Consider Sutter. Sutter at the full cap hit freight of his $4.3 million deal has next to no trade value, even on an expiring deal. Sutter at $2.15 million might have some. Sutter at $1 million, if they could find a team to launder his contract through, well, now you’re talking about a real return.”
BLH’s Thoughts: I’ve reported over the years that Edmonton has had an interest in Sutter and just this past week I wrote about it. Bob Stauffer and Reid Wilkins (630CHED) spoke about it recently as has Kurt Leavins (Cult of Hockey). It helps that Sutter’s uncle Duane is a pro scout with the Oilers too, right? I’ve wondered if Edmonton might send a package that includes Kyle Turris to Vancouver to bring Sutter over.
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BLH provides you with the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation featuring Elias Pettersson (VAN), Chris Driedger (FLA), Marc Bergevin (MTL), John Tortorella (CBJ), and more!
NEW: Keith Jones and Patrick Sharp think the Calgary Flames have a better chance at the playoffs this year than the Oilers. Read about that here.
Is Leon Draisaitl’s excellent two-way presence just a mirage? One Edmonton pundit says they may very well be, BLH says not so fast. Read about it here.
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NHL Rumors and Speculation
Pierre LeBrun (TSN): reports that the Seattle Kraken are probably keeping their eyes on Florida Panthers goaltende Chris Driedger as he’ll likely be an expansion draft casualty.
When Claude Julien was hired by the Montreal Canadiens, it was believed by many that Gerard Gallant was the backup option on GM Marc Bergeving’s list.
Mike Johnston (TSN): Says that this will be Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin’s last coaching hire. The next firing will be his own and he’s certainly aware of that.
Darren Dreger (TSN): There was a rumor of a Jonathan Quick Trade going around recently, but the Los Angeles Kings quickly denied it.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were in the market for a goaltender a few weeks ago, but things are unclear on that front at this point.
John Tortorella is the next head coach that could be on the hot seat.
Nothing new on the status of Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews as of late.
Thomas Drance (The Athletic): Prior to Elias Pettersson switching agents and joining Quinn Hughes at CAA, negotiations had been virtually nonexistent between the Vancouver Canucks and their two franchise players.
Elliotte Friedman (Sportsnet): Buffalo has made defenseman Brandon Montour available. He will be a UFA this summer.
There were reports out of Russia last week that the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings were chasing Damir Zhafyarov, but they’re not the only teams according to Friedman.
Chances of the NHL entry draft being delayed took a turn for the worse last week. The biggest issues were rights retention, service years for arbitration/free agency, unsigned players drafted from CHL re-entering in two years, etc.
The Arizona Coyotes have considered dealing for Vancouver Canucks winger Tanner Pearson if he becomes available, but there’s no indication that he is or will become available. Vancouver hasn’t put him on the trade block but if he does head there he’ll be a priority for Arizona.
This is how Pavel used to tell you who was #1 back in the day! Click the pic and grab a shirt or a mask!Classic Captain Wendel taking care of business once more! Click the pic and grab a shirt for yourself!
BLH provides you with the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation featuring Jeff Skinner (BUF), Jonathan Quick (LA), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (EDM), and many more!
NEW: Keith Jones and Patrick Sharp think the Calgary Flames have a better chance at the playoffs this year than the Oilers. Read about that here.
Is Leon Draisaitl’s excellent two-way presence just a mirage? One Edmonton pundit says they may very well be, BLH says not so fast. Read about it here.
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NHL Rumors and Speculation
Darren Dreger says if the Buffalo Sabres continue to struggle, he can’t imagine the Eichel Situation not being revisited around the trade deadline or in the offseason.
Dreger also says that the LA Kings are on the lookout for a defenseman under the age of 25. More specifically a dynamic, left-shot d-man.
The Nashville Predators would prefer to be more active on the trade front rather than fire their head coach says Dreger.
There was a Jonathan Quick rumor that popped up a couple of weeks ago that was quickly shot down by the Kings. It went hand-in-hand with the Pittsburgh Penguins hiring of Ron Hextall according to Dreger.
Elliotte Friedman believes that the seat is “hot” for Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin right now as his team continues to slump and fall down the standings in the North Division.
Friedman also thinks that the Pittsburgh Penguins were trying to acquire goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury through another team and were of the belief that they were close to getting him.
The Calgary Flames really tried to get in the talks for Pierre-Luc Dubois and if there is a substantial player available, GM Brad Treliving will probably be involved says Friedman.
Friedman also says the Nashville Predators are willing to listen to offers on defenseman Dante Fabbro and winger Filip Forsberg, but it’d take a lot to trade them.
The LA Kings aren’t expected to be buyers at the trade deadline says Friedman. GM Rob Blake intends to stay the course and continue the rebuild plan.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins wants to stay with the Oilers, Connor McDavid wants him to stay, and the GM Ken Holland would like to get him under contract, but according to Elliotte Friedman, the economic landscape is going to present the biggest challenge.
Continuing with Friedman, he said he heard there was a team looking for a goalie this year and Buffalo’s Jonas Johansson was named. He’ll be a UFA at season’s end since he hasn’t yet played 30 games.
The Carolina Hurricanes have begun preliminary contract extension talks with head coach Rod Brind’Amour according to Pierre LeBrun and a lot of clubs are keeping an eye on the negotiations, especially the Seattle Kraken.
LeBrun also reports that there isn’t a single NHL team that hasn’t heard from Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning over the last couple of weeks and he’s looking for a top-9 forward aged 25 or younger that can fit in with the Canucks young core.
Frank Seravalli says legendary goaltender Henrik Lundqvist is a “long-shot” to play this year, but he’s not yet considering retirement.
Lance Lysowski reports that Jeff Skinner’s agent Don Meehan had a lengthy conversation with Sabres GM Kevyn Adams on Wednesday and concerns were expressed Skinner was a healthy scratch again last night vs. New Jersey.
The Ottawa Senators will get a boost on its back-end before the year is out as it’s being reported by Shawn Simpson that Jacob Bernard-Docker will “absolutely be turning pro” when his season at North Dakota (NCAA) concludes.
This is how Pavel used to tell you who was #1 back in the day! Click the pic and grab a shirt or a mask!Classic Captain Wendel taking care of business once more! Click the pic and grab a shirt for yourself!
NEW: Keith Jones and Patrick Sharp think the Calgary Flames have a better chance at the playoffs this year than the Oilers. Read about that here.
Is Leon Draisaitl’s excellent two-way presence just a mirage? One Edmonton pundit says they may very well be, BLH says not so fast. Read about it here.
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NHL Rumors and Speculation
The Athletic:Eric Stephens says that the struggling Anaheim Ducks will continue to do just that unless some significant changes are made.
“Difficult decisions do need to be made. Real change needs to be made. Among the things that should be on the table are a roster of high-salaried players who have led the Ducks into oblivion and the longtime GM who put it together.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Aside from Adam Henrique, Anaheim has one mega contract on their hands and that belongs to their franchise player and captain Ryan Getzlaf. There’ve been some rumors that he could be moved on from and even some coming out of Edmonton (his agent is based there) that maybe the Oilers could see if he wants one last kick at the can before he retires, but as for the club, I don’t know any other teams that are itching to take on more money right now and do the Ducks REALLY need to move players like Jakob Silfverberg and Kevin Shattenkirk?
The right thing to do might be to slowcook this thing and simply let the fat fall off when it does and promote the kids when they’re ready as they’re doing with Trevor Zegras and Maxime Comtois.
The Fourth Period: Says that the Edmonton Oilers and Adam Larsson’s camp have yet to talk about a new contract yet.
“A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to TFP on Monday that the Oilers have yet to reach out to Adam Larsson’s camp about a new contract and there are no talks are currently planned.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Bob Stauffer (630CHED) has intimated on a couple of occasions that he believes Larsson would like to remain in Edmonton and would take a haircut in order to do so because he knows the d-men who play like him are crashing out of the NHL.
Now, where I stand on this is that I’d like The Iron Swede to stick around. A lot of folks get pissy about Larsson’s fancies and I like to remind them that he plays against the league’s best and when a defender is tasked with that responsibility, they tend to play a bit of hockey in their own zone. I’d love to see Caleb Jones spend 20 minutes a night going up against Auston Matthews and Mark Scheifele and see how his fancies look. I bet they wouldn’t be too pretty.
Teams who compete in the playoffs need warriors, full stop. If they try to go into the post-season with a bunch of soft puck movers, they get crushed.
Adam Larsson is only 28 years old and this season is playing lights out, if you can get him to sign a contract that is around $3M/yr or less, you have to consider that a win.
I’ve got one more part to this scenario though, what do you do with Tyson Barrie when you’ve got Ethan Bear and Evan Bouchard right there? Bouchard isn’t ready for top-4 minutes yet, but Bear, Barrie, and Larsson are and Kurt Leavins (Cult of Hockey/Edmonton Journal) has hinted at one of those young guys getting moved on a number of occasions this year… Tyson Barrie, apart from a few games at the beginning of the year, has been as advertised and the Oilers could really use that element on the back end at the right price.
Could you trade Caleb Jones to Seattle in exchange for them to select James Neal in the expansion draft, keep all four righties, and force one to move to the left side?
JESUS! I totally forgot about Oscar Klefbom! What if he returns next year at some point? You’d have a d-core that could potentially look like this,
Nurse/Barrie
Klefbom/Larsson
Bouchard/Bear
And then you’ve got Kris Russell, William Lagesson, Philip Broberg, and Dmitri Samorukov twiddling their fingers. Good Christ… What a problem to have.
TSN: Frank Seravalli on last night’s Insider trading made note that three Detroit Red Wings are guaranteed to be on his next trade board when it gets released. Those three skaters being winger Bobby Ryan, outstanding faceoff man Luke Glendening, and veteran defenseman Marc Staal.
BLH’s Thoughts: The Red Wings continue to do it right by signing players who’ll be in demand come trade deadline, eh? And even if they didn’t get moved, they’d be excellent mentors for the young players coming through Detroit’s system.
I’d have time for Ryan in Edmonton. He’d be a great complimentary winger for Leon Draisaitl as he can play both wings. Kahun has been okay this year, but not quite as productive as I’d have wished.
As for Glendening, I’ve been campaigning for the Oilers to acquire him for a few seasons because it seems Edmonton is always looking for a right-shot center who is a wizard on the draw. I asked around and my sources say that he might be too slow and he brings zero offense, but he’d be great for a team who spends a lot of time with the lead… So Riley Sheahan?
BLH’s Thoughts: Holy shite, that fire got hot fast! I was only just reading last night that Julien was on the hot seat and now he and Kirk Muller are gonzo! Dominique Ducharme has been hired as interim head coach and that’s pretty cool because he’s a younger guy who’s worked his way through the system, but what shocks me is Alex Burrows was hired too… Keep your head on a swivel and watch your fingers kids, you just might lose ’em both if Burrows is nearby.
This is how Pavel used to tell you who was #1 back in the day! Click the pic and grab a shirt or a mask!Classic Captain Wendel taking care of business once more! Click the pic and grab a shirt for yourself!
