This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

• Youtube: Beer League Heroes Channel
• Twitter: @beerleagueheroe
• Instagram: @beerleagueheroes
• Facebook: Beer League Heroes

Edmonton Sun

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10 THINGS: Taking the Edmonton Oilers into the holiday season

• 1. The world’s best player probably doesn’t need anybody telling him how to work his way through a hockey game but Connor McDavid relished shooting in the first 10 games with 46 shots and eight goals.
• 3. Warren Foegele probably hadn’t played on the same line as McDavid since their peewee days when their Ontario team, coached by Connor’s dad, Brian, was in the Quebec International tournament. But he’s looked just fine there the past two games.
• 4. Goalie Stuart Skinner seems on the same organizational road as Laurent Brossoit four years ago, but they would love a different destination… Skinner may be the kid who could play 30 games next season with another partner. Mike Smith or somebody else.
• 5. Kailer Yamamoto gets high marks for even being in the NHL at 150 pounds, and his play away from the puck is exemplary, but while Draisaitl is right in pointing out there’s lots of his game to like as a linemate, doesn’t Yamamoto have to start working on things he is not good at?
• 6… Tyson Barrie does very good work on the point on the power play, but Bouchard still should be playing more than 36 seconds a game there.
• 9. Tyler Benson’s transformation from American Hockey League point-producer to NHL energy fourth-liner is coming along. He’s taken some cringe-worthy penalties, for sure, and hasn’t completely won the trust of the coaches but Benson seems to have had a moment like offensive college players Todd Marchant and Andrew Cogliano, who both realized they had to change their games to be NHL contributors.
• 10… So, how much is The Bison King worth next season on a long-term deal? Not sure who Puljujarvi’s comparables are exactly, but if Drake Batherson, also 23, is close to $5 million on a new deal in Ottawa, Puljujarvi he has to be in that range. Doesn’t he?

BLH’s Thoughts: I would be in favor of a top six that looked thusly,

Foegele-McDavid-Puljujarvi
RNH-Draisaitl-Hyman

The issue that arises is that you’ve got Yamamoto, Kassian, and Sceviour fighting for two spots in the bottom-six unless you throw one over to their weak side to usurp Tyler Benson or Brendan Perlini. 

Stu Skinner has earned the backup job for the 2022/23 season, in my chesterfield scout’s opinion. So the real question is, who will he be sharing the net with? After two consecutive seasons of being left out to dry due to an early season Mike Smith injury, do you think that maybe there might be an appetite to bring in somebody who might be able to stay a bit healthier?

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The Hockey Writers

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4 Free Agents That Won’t Be Back With the Oilers Next Season

• A pending UFA who is in the final year of a deal that pays him $4.5 million per season, Mikko Koskinen‘s time in Edmonton is coming to a close. All things considered, he’s not been a terrible goaltender, but bouts of bad goals and untimely gaffes have all but guaranteed he isn’t a reliable option for the team long-term.
• Say what you will about Josh Archibald‘s decision to not get vaccinated or the fact that he’s drawn ill as a result of catching the virus, he’s a valuable depth forward on this Oilers’ roster and the team certainly misses him. That likely isn’t enough to warrant the team giving him another contract when his final year runs out at the end of this season.
• The Kyle Turris experiment was a failure. Holland decided to sign the former Nashville Predators center to a two-year deal in the hopes that his pedigree as a high draft selection meant he had a lot more to offer and in the right environment could produce better results. Unfortunately, he’s been little more than a part-time roster member.
• William Lagesson has been a handy asset to have around in a season that has been up and down with injuries and COVID illnesses. That said, in any other season, he’s not on this roster and not playing meaningful minutes. If and when the COVID situation calms itself a little, Lagesson probably isn’t on this team.

BLH’s Thoughts: File this post under “No Shit Sherlock”… All four probably can’t get get away fast enough, to be honest and the Oilers will most likely be happier with the cap space. 

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Spector’s Hockey

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• THE ATHLETIC: In a recent mailbag segment, Scott Powers said it’s too early to tell if goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury will be interested in returning with the Chicago Blackhawks after this season. The club’s performance over the rest of the season will be a determining factor. He also indicated there haven’t been any contract talks with Fleury’s backup Kevin Lankinen.
• SPORTSNET: Luke Fox is curious over why Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun has surfaced in recent trade speculation… he’s puzzled that the Coyotes aren’t trying to build around the blueliner. He wondered if it’s because of concern over his injury history or unhappiness with his play.

This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

• Youtube: Beer League Heroes Channel
• Twitter: @beerleagueheroe
• Instagram: @beerleagueheroes
• Facebook: Beer League Heroes

Oilersnation

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Monday Musings: Schedule Maker’s Nightmare

• Edmonton has actually improved its 5×5 play since December 7th, even though they lost the first four games before defeating Columbus and Seattle. They have outshot teams 167-130 (55.3%) at 5×5 in that span, which ranks seventh best in the NHL.
• In their first 23 games they were outscored 54-48 at 5×5, and in their last six, despite carrying the play for long stretches, they’ve been outscored 14-8… They miss Mike Smith.
• Edmonton’s depth forwards are finally starting to produce… They have produced 7-5-12 in three games. A massive improvement.
• Unless the Oilers have many players who go three consecutive days with negative tests, it is difficult seeing them playing on the 27th. The Oilers officially closed their facility today. Remains to be seen when they will re-open.

BLH’s Thoughts: So when the club comes out of the protocols, which team are we going to see? The one that busted its ass to break out of a 6-game slump or the one that was expecting to win off of its special teams?

Personally, I don’t feel like Coach Tippett trusts his bottom-sixers and they know that, hence why they haven’t been producing. When third and fourth line skaters start a season well, that can be considered the honeymoon phase in my opinion. Then once the rest of the league has settled down, the production tends to tail off a bit and you sort of see what kind of tendencies the coaches go with in that scenario. 

Since Tippett was forced to stay home due to The ‘Vid, Glen Gulutzan and Jim Playfair seemed to have found a way to motivate some very slumpy forwards. Don’t ask me how, but your Perlinis, Kassians, Bensons, Sceviours, Ryans, they all stepped up their games in the head coach’s absence. 

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Lowetide.ca

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• Let me ask you a question: Among the current Oilers forwards who are rookies (Ryan McLeod, Tyler Benson, Cooper Marody), which one do you see having the longest career? What can their respective rookie seasons tell us about them? How important is Ryan McLeod’s offense to his future? Does it matter if he scores .20 points-per-game instead of .35 points-per-game as a rookie?
• Marody is a player I’ve believed in all down the line, but inexplicably he never got a shot after a fairly impressive first NHL audition.
• For Benson, it’s imperative that he at least moves the needle a little.
• I think (not making any major declaration here) that players who are shy of .5 points-per-game as rookies, even the teenagers, are a least a little vulnerable to the whims of management/coaching staffs of drafting teams.

BLH’s Thoughts: Marody’s never been given a shot because while his hands and vision is probably middle-six worthy, his feet are not. He’s not fast, quick, or strong enough to play in a role that would compliment his strongest assets in the NHL. Also, he’s never considered pivoting his playstyle to become somebody who could help in any role at the NHL level.

To me, Ryan McLeod has the potential to be a Jared McCann-like player. It took some time for McCann to find his way but once he did, he’s become a proper NHL player and I think the same will go down for Edmonton’s McLeod. Therefore, to answer LT’s question, the swift skating pivot will have the longest career out of the trio of names suggested. 

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The Daily Goal Horn

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• The Buffalo Sabres finally ended all the drama by trading star forward Jack Eichel and a 2023 third-round draft pick to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday for forwards Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs, a top-10 protected 2022 first-round pick and a 2023 second-round pick.
  • On the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Friedman revealed just what the Sabres wanted from Anaheim.
  • “I heard what the Sabres asked Anaheim for was Zegras, Drysdale, and two first rounders” he said. “Anaheim wasn’t willing to do that.”
• The NHL roster freeze is in effect until December 28 – not that anyone was going to make a trade in the current environment.

This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

• Youtube: Beer League Heroes Channel
• Twitter: @beerleagueheroe
• Instagram: @beerleagueheroes
• Facebook: Beer League Heroes

Oilersnation

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Monday Mailbag – Getting more out of Kailer Yamamoto

What do you think the Oilers need to do with Yamamoto to try and get more offence out of him?

• “I honestly don’t know what else they could do. They give him top-six minutes and he just doesn’t produce. He’s lucky there isn’t a better option to put next to Draisaitl. I like what he does away from the puck but his lack of ability to create scoring chances is concerning.” – Yaremchuk

BLH’s Thoughts: One thing the Oilers could do is get him out there against the other team’s 3rd pairing and bottom-six. But ultimately, he’s got to work himself out of that rut by doing the things that produce points. That means shots on net, driving the blue paint, cut out the cute shit, and just get back to basics. 

Do you think that Mcdavid just needs to shoot the puck? In the game against Columbus, you’re on a 6 game skid so shouldn’t McDavid be looking to score more than trying to help his teammate get a hatty? Are they trying to force passes too much?

• ” In the first seven games of the season he had seven goals and 39 shots. His last seven games he has one goal and 26 shots. Look for him to start ripping the puck more after Christmas.” – Gregor

BLH’s Thoughts: That’s good. Reckon we can also get him to cut out the one-timers on the PP? His wrister is much more potent and deceptive. 

What’s your best guess on how the Olympic situation plays out?

• “The NHL won’t be going. The lengthy quarantine and risk of players missing more NHL games after the Olympics are over is too big of a hurdle.” – Gregor

BLH’s Thoughts: I’m fine with this.

Not an Oilers question but it’s Christmas week and I need to know what is everyone’s favourite holiday movie? Christmas Vacation is a yearly staple in my house.

• “There are a bunch of Christmas movies that I really like so I’ll just hit you up with a quick list: Christmas Vacation, The Night Before, Scrooged, 8 Crazy Nights, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas because it’s a classic.” – Baggedmilk

BLH’s Thoughts: Early on in the day, I usually go through my favs as a kid like the 1964 version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, How the Grinch Stole Christmas from 1966, 1965’s Charlie Brown Christmas and The Muppet’s Christmas Carol. Then we move on to movies that were made after I was born, like A Nightmare before Christmas, Home Alone, Gremlins, Edward Scissorhands and Elf. After the kids are spent and we can have a stronger libation or two, we usually make a choice between A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas, A Bad Mom’s Christmas, and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, etc. 

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The Athletic

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How Jesse Puljujarvi has earned role as Oilers’ top right winger next to Connor McDavid

• Here are Puljuarvi’s numbers with McDavid at five-on-five through the years:

• All of Puljujarvi’s individual scoring numbers easily clear the hurdle of complementary winger for an impact centre and the expected goal totals are strong…
• The key for McDavid-Puljujarvi as a pairing is McDavid’s scoring success and the combined five-on-five goal differential by the duo over time.

YEAR	PTS/60 W JP	GOAL % W/13	PTS/60 WO JP	GOAL % W/O 13
2016-17	5.71	80	2.44	61.3
2017-18	2.57	61.9	3.31	55.7
2018-19	2.7	44	2.82	48.8
2020-21	4.02	54.9	2.96	60
2021-22	2.46	56.7	2.12	43.8

• The two men have always played well together but in the last two seasons, the numbers when McDavid-Puljujarvi are on the ice have been superior to other right wingers on the team.
• The added bonus: When 97, 29 and Puljujarvi are on the ice together over the last two seasons, the trio has outscored opponents 26-19 (57.8 percent) and delivers 4.91 goals per 60.

BLH’s Thoughts: The players that have excelled with McDavid have been big bodied muckers like Pat Maroon and Zack Kassian (to an extent). So, when you toss a 6’4″ 220lb Finn who has actual outstanding work ethic, skill and scoring potential, but also elite defensive IQ and board battle abilities; you’ve got the perfect complimentary winger for Connor. 

So did he earn it with his NHL work, was he simply born to be this player, or both? I’ll let you decide. 

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NHLRumors.com

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• Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The play of Pittsburgh Penguins winger Evan Rodrigues has bumped Kasperi Kapanen and Jason Zucker down in the lineup. Zucker only has 10 points in 30 games this season and could become expendable when they get healthy.
• Jonas Siegel of The Athletic: Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Justin Holl has struggled this season. There have been rumblings that they could see what defensemen are available for trade but they have a couple of issues – salary cap space and assets to trade.

Coaches on the Hot Seat

• It doesn’t seem like Tippett will be fired in the near future, however, it is something to keep an eye on if the Oilers continue to perform worse than their expectations.
• Coupled with Radulov’s offensive disappearance and confusion in net, the Stars haven’t been reacting to their head coach in a positive way. Rick Bowness may soon find himself on the hot seat if the fortunes don’t turn around in Dallas.
• The Kraken’s playoff chances before the season we’re low, now they have a 1.3% chance of qualifying for the playoffs, according to moneypuck.com. Dave Hakstol was a controversial hire from the get-go and the naysayers have a lot more ammunition now.

BLH’s Thoughts: I’ll be very curious how this Oilers team comes out of the COVID protocols with Tippett behind the bench… Gulutzan and Playfair have given the bottom-six a bit more trust and they’ve been repaid with a 2-1-0 record. What if Edmonton goes back to playing 97 and 29 over a period/game when things get back going and they go back to losing games? Ken Holland’s never fired a coach before, but he might have to let Tippett go if the post-season finds itself at risk for the Oilers. 

This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!

The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, and TSN just to name a few!

If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!

Give us a follow on the socials!

• Youtube: Beer League Heroes Channel
• Twitter: @beerleagueheroe
• Instagram: @beerleagueheroes
• Facebook: Beer League Heroes

The Hockey Writers

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Oilers That Failed to Live Up to Their Preseason Hype

Tomas Jurco

• On July 1, 2019, Jurco signed a one-year deal with the Oilers, worth $750,000. At first glance, it looked like he’d build off of his AHL success. Showcasing his skills that made him a second-round pick, he registered three goals, two assists in five preseason games.
• Yet, after only 12 games and registering a disappointing two points in the regular season, he was re-assigned to the Bakersfield Condors in the AHL.

Ty Rattie

• He was given an opportunity of a lifetime when the 2018-19 preseason started, as he found himself on a line with McDavid and Ryan-Nugent Hopkins. Rattie didn’t disappoint. He reclaimed his scoring touch, netting a hat trick against the Vancouver Canucks, and led the entire NHL in preseason points— producing seven goals, four assists in only four games.
• While his preseason point totals showed signs of a breakout season, things didn’t pan out for the one-time WHL Playoff MVP. While suffering an early-season injury, he was taken off Mcdavid’s line and found himself on the bottom six. He finished the year with four goals, seven assists in 50 games.

Jussi Jokinen

• In the preseason, Jokinen showed promise. In a game against the Winnipeg Jets, he had a three-point night, finishing with a goal and two assists. He wrapped up the exhibition round totaling five points in four games.
• After registering only one assist in 14 games, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for Mike Cammalleri…

Mike Comrie

• On Sept.10, 2009, then Oilers general manager, Steve Tambellini, signed Comrie to a one-year deal to return to his hometown team. In an exhibition game, Comrie won over the crowd, registering four assists— he also got in a tussle with Florida Panther Eric Himelfarb.
• That preseason, he led the entire league in points with 10 points in five games— even beating out a 24-year-old Anze Kopitar for the league-lead by two points.
• Unfortunately for Comrie, after contracting mononucleosis, he finished the campaign with 21 points in 43 games— watching his points-per-game (P/G) drop from 2.0 in the preseason to 0.48. He would go on to play another year before retiring due to injuries.

BLH’s Thoughts: So this begs the question, will there be an overachiever on Edmonton’s roster this year and who might it be?

I’m going to go with Ryan McLeod, PTO man Colton Sceviour, or Alex Stalock. The reason being that during preseason, bottom-six players and backups tend to get more TOI than what they would in the regular season and it’s usually against a less than full-strength opposition.

With McLeod’s speed, Sceviour’s tenaciousness and scoring touch, and Stalock’s adrenaline from not playing for more than a year, I believe there’s potential for the sort of scenario that is presented in the excerpted article above.

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Edmonton Sun

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Edmonton Oilers knee deep in prospect defencemen knocking on the door

• At present, the Oilers have Darnell Nurse, Duncan Keith and Kris Russell as the first three left shot D, with Slater Koekkoek and William Lagesson also in the mix. But Keith is 38 with two years left on his contract; Russell is 34, on a one-year. Some of the prospects are going to be pushing. And soon.
• (Dmitri) Samorukov (third-round pick in 2017), coming off shoulder surgery, was terrific on a stacked CSKA Kontinental Hockey League team in Moscow last season until he got hurt in a practice battle drill in February.
• His game improved dramatically from a lukewarm first pro season in Bakersfield, and he played in a number of NHL-sized rinks in Russia, not the big ice.
• (Philip) Broberg (first-round pick in 2019), captain of the Swedish world junior team, is a fantastic skater and he’s played two teenage years in the Swedish Hockey League in Skelleftea, but he’s also two years younger than Samorukov, who plays a physical, hard game (maybe a left side model of Adam Larsson).
• Broberg has a wealth of talent but assimilation to the pro game here may take longer because of the difference in ice-surfaces, where fore-checkers get on defencemen quicker and there are more board battles.
• For now, Samorukov, who had a very strong first practice at rookie camp Thursday, looks ahead of Broberg on the depth chart. He’s taken some of the risk out of his game with the usual mantra for D — less is more. Simple passes, hard on the puck-carrier.
• Broberg’s skating is elite, however. It gets him out of trouble in terms of moving the puck. Also allows him to close people off on the rush. If he starts in Bakersfield, he’ll have the best giddy-up of all the young D there. You can’t teach that, either.

BLH’s Thoughts: Bob Stauffer couldn’t hide his “enthusiasm” for Samorukov during his radio show yesterday. He said that Dima looks like a man and sounded very impressed with how well he looked on the ice. 

There’s going to be a spot open on Edmonton’s roster for a cycle-breaker and Sammy might just be the guy to fill it. I talked about how I wondered if an Eric Cernak-type player could emerge from the Oilers system not too long ago, right? Well, this big Russian assassin may just bulldoze his way onto the Oilers roster sooner than many previously thought. 

Question, why are folks still commenting on how Broberg will need some time to acclimate to the North American ice? The whole reason he was discovered was his ability to play on the small ice in Edmonton during the Hlinka/Gretzky tournament a few years ago. This guy thrives on the small ice where his skating and ability to close down on forwards due to said skating and his size/reach excels. 

I’m curious if these two young men force Ken Holland to make a tough decision during the season… Then again, Koekkoek and Russell aren’t exactly known to stay healthy for whole seasons at a time… Maybe a window of opportunity will open up for Samorukov or Broberg in 2021-22 to claim a spot on the Edmonton Oilers roster.

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The Hockey Writers (Rumors)

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• According to Chris Johnston of The Toronto Star, “Hearing the #NYI are bringing defenceman Erik Gustafsson to training camp on a PTO.” He is a left-shot defenseman and it seems like the Islanders want to see what he’s got left to offer if anything.
• Duncan Keith has joined the Oilers for on-ice skates. There was some chatter about why he wasn’t there with the rest of his teammates to start informal on-ice sessions, but he was still coaching his son’s team in Kelowna.
• Patrick Johnston of The Vancouver Province reports, “Don’t be surprised if the Hughes deal turns out to be a little north of $8m. You can probably figure out what that means for term.” The hint here is that the Canucks are looking long-term and eight years for Hughes, trying to avoid a bridge deal.
• The New Jersey Devils added a few interesting names to their training camp roster, signing Jimmy Vesey, Mark Jankowski, and Tyler Wotherspoon to professional tryout contracts.
• Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly offered a few updates as far as the league was concerned during the NHL/NHLPA media tour.
  • He noted there would be partial capacity in Montreal and Vancouver; he was awaiting guidance in Ontario, but full capacity in Alberta and Manitoba.
  • He also noted the NHL salary cap is expected to go up $1 million for next season and that the league is still looking into the situations with Evander Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks allegations.