Tag Archives: NHL Trade Rumors

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

2019/20 Edmonton Oilers: New Rumor PLUS Bakersfield and Edmonton Add Roster Flexibility With New Signings

The signings are coming in fast and furious these days as the Edmonton Oilers and Bakersfield Condors keep some key players in the fold, in addition to adding some fresh new talent out of Sweden. Bakersfield Condors Re-Sign Two Vets

Assistant GM Keith Gretzky did the parent club a solid by getting veteran Condors Brad Malone and Luke Esposito to sign two-year extensions with the Oilers’ AHL affiliate. The key to these deals being that they’re AHL contracts and will not count against Edmonton’s 50-man limit thus giving Ken Holland some more room to work with when the time comes.

Similar to a player like Josh Currie (also a UFA and someone I expect the Oilers to re-sign given his significance to that team and the community), Malone and Esposito are very important to Jay Woodcroft’s team as they are highly-regarded and well-respected minor league players who will no doubt have a very positive effect on the younger players that will be playing in Bakersfield for the next couple of seasons like Raphael Lavoie, Kirill Maksimov, Ryan McLeod, Evan Bouchard, and Dmitri Samorukov.

Gretzky has been busy this off-season with signings. Since the AHL season was put on hold he’s signed Liam Folkes (RW), Janis Jaks (D), Devin Brousseau (F), and Blake Christiansen (LW).

Here are some notes on Brad Malone and Luke Esposito courtesy of BakersfieldCondors.com,

BRAD MALONE (stats) – 30 years old, 6’2″, 217 lbs., Chatham, New Brunswick, Canada

  • A veteran of 583 professional games combined between the NHL and AHL
  • Over three seasons with the Condors, he has recorded 89 points (34g-55a) in 148 games
  • Was in the midst of his best AHL season in 2019-20 with 31 points (13g-18a) in 49 games
  • Led the Condors in the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs with 13 points (5g-8a) in 10 games
  • Has served as an alternate captain during his Condors career
  • Appeared in 199 NHL games with Colorado, Carolina, and Edmonton

LUKE ESPOSITO (stats) – 26 years old, 5’10”, 183 lbs., Andover, Massachusetts

  • Has played 150 AHL games over three seasons (two with Bakersfield) and has 57 points (15g-42a)
  • Led the 2019-20 Condors with two shorthanded goals
  • Second on the 2019-20 Condors with two game-winning goals
  • Went to the Calder Cup Playoffs in his first two AHL seasons (2019 w/BAK, 2018 w/GR)
  • Two-time ECAC Champion at Harvard University (2017, 2015) and was named to the 2017 ECAC All-Tournament Team

Lennstrom and Haas Sign with Oilers

You had to know something was going to drop given how much chatter there was going on with regards to Gaetan Haas last week on Oilers talk radio and this week the Swiss forward took a 10k paycut to sign a one-way one-year deal worth 915k with the club.

I talked about it earlier, but I really like having Haas on this team. It’s probably a bit silly to say given his nationality but he really is a bit of a Swiss army knife on the ice and possibly even more so going forward. I wonder if he might get some time on the second powerplay unit (a place he was well familiar with during his time in the Swiss league) given his ability to tip pucks as well as more time on the second penalty-killing unit.

That said, before any of that happens, he needs to get stronger and better on the faceoffs. He’s got the speed, the skills, and the processor to play the NHL game but he gets knocked around out there quite easily and loses battles that he should be winning. A bit of added strength and a sturdier core would go a long way I believe.

At the moment, Haas is back in Switzerland with his significant other recuperating from finger surgery awaiting instructions from the team.

Last time I spoke about Teddy Lennstrom I said that it was my belief that he’ll be depth for Edmonton’s AHL team in Bakersfield and I still believe that even with the news that was passed on to me yesterday.

Unless Ken Holland is thinking of shaking up his defense in a major way, I can’t see Lennstrom beating Oscar Klefbom, Darnell Nurse, Caleb Jones, William Lagesson, or Dmitri Samorukov for a spot on the Oilers defense patrolling the left side. Right now, Bakersfield has Samorukov as its sole left-side defender because we’re under the impression that Philip Broberg will be staying in Sweden for another year and that William Lagesson will be on the Oilers roster unless Edmonton trades him or is okay with losing him via waivers next year. Keegan Lowe and Brandon Manning are UFAs.

RUMOR

I was told, Kris Russell‘s time as an Edmonton Oiler could be coming to an end when the 2019/20 NHL season is concluded.

Ken Holland will be looking to move the veteran defender in a cost-cutting move and there is possible interest in the shot-blocking king from teams in the Eastern Conference.

Now, Russell as a M-NTC, NMC in his current deal and will need to pass on a 15-team trade list before the season starts. He’ll only be making $1.5M in real money next season but will be a $4M cap-hit for the team acquiring him.

Maybe a team like Ottawa would take a swing at him given that they’ll need to hit the cap floor. Plus they’ll have 39-year-old Ron Hainsey turning UFA and his last deal was worth $3.5M and the Sens aren’t going anywhere fast (even if they do win the draft lottery and select Alexis Lafreniere and Quinton Byfield).

The Sens also have a shite ton of draft picks to part with and speaking of teams with lots of draft picks who like gritty older defenders, the Montreal Canadiens intrigue me as another possible option. I reckon Rusty would be an upgrade on Xavier Ouellet and Brett Kulak and the Habs would only have to give up one of their three 4th round picks or one of their two 5th rounders.

I’m just speculating on trade partners and I would venture to say that anything else that’s being posted on the socials is just the same. With that in mind, anything could happen between now and whenever NHL teams are allowed to make trades again.

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

Edmonton Oilers Rumors: The MEGA Trade That Nearly Happened With Toronto

About a month after the conclusion of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final, Chris Pronger made the decision that he wanted out of Edmonton and requested a trade from the Oilers. He was arguably the best player on the club at the time and without him, the team most likely wouldn’t have made it all the way to the Final (only to lose to the Carolina Hurricanes).

Recently, Pronger was a guest on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast where he described his time in Edmonton and let us in on a little tidbit about a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs that fell through. You can watch the clip below.

Just push play and it should start right as he’s talking about what teams were in on him after he told St. Louis to trade him.

The former Hart Trophy winner said that the Maple Leafs offered Tomas Kaberle, Matt Stajan, and a first-round pick in 2007 (turned into Lars Eller) and 2008 (Turned into Colin Wilson) but then GM of the Oilers, Kevin Lowe, wanted Alex Steen instead of Stajan. John Ferguson Jr was the GM of Toronto then and he declined only to send Steen to St. Louis in the Carlo Colaiacovo trade (as a throw-in according to Paul Bissonette) for Lee Stempniak.

Other things that he talked about, he said he was sold a bill of goods from the Oilers and that was one of the reasons that lead to him requesting the deal. Also, he said he shouldn’t have signed the long-term contract with Edmonton and he would’ve been better off accepting his qualifying offer and choosing where he wanted to play.

Pronger hinted that the younger players on the team had pretty exhaustive recreational lives off the ice but didn’t really get into it. Funny how that seems to be a theme throughout the club’s history…

He mentioned that the team had good leadership and veterans on the roster though and that they were thankful that the team traded for him because the coach at the time, Craig MacTavish (a former teammate of Pronger’s in St. Louis), was running them ragged and they needed the defender to get them some days off. I’m assuming that MacT was hard on them because they were running a bit wild away from the rink and he was trying to instill some professional work ethic.

The rest is history, right? Lowe sent Pronger to Anaheim for Joffrey Lupul, Ladi Smid, a first-rounder (Nick Ross) in 2007, in addition to a first (Jordan Eberle) and a second-round pick (Travis Hamonic) in 2008. Then he goes on to win the Stanley Cup with the Ducks.

I’m pretty happy with the direction that the Oilers are going now and their collection of players but imagine Tomas Kaberle, Matt Stajan, Lars Eller, and Colin Wilson (potentially) in the copper and blues as opposed to what they ended up with (which wasn’t that bad, just not quite as good). Where would have that group of players taken the club? Probably nowhere near where they ended up, but who’s really to say? It’s not like Kaberle and Stajan were world beaters and Eller/Wilson turned into solid 3rd liners.

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

2019/20 Edmonton Oilers GM45: Oilers @ Maple Leafs – 3P2W – Is Jake DeBrusk Available?

It’s time for another edition of Matthews vs. McDavid everybody! The Oilers will slide into Toronto and try to continue a relatively successful start to 2020. After shitting the bed for all of December and giving up what seemed like a substantially strong grasp on the Pacific Division, Edmonton has five points out of an available six in the new year. That bodes well and there’s room to grow from here.

That said, in their last ten games, the Leafs are undefeated in regulation time and are seemingly firing on all cylinders. It might take a pretty special level of compete out of the Oilers to walk out of the Big Smoke with one point let alone two, but I’ve got faith.

It looks like the Oilers finally have a second line. I mean a right proper one. Not a line thrown together with players who are on heaters, but one that is outplaying the opposition handily so far. The key to it so far has been young Kailer Yamamoto (a Peter Chiarelli pick if I’m not mistaken). His intelligence away from the puck and his tenaciousness in pursuit of it has been a breath of fresh air for Edmonton. How will Toronto handle this line?

Better yet, how will Edmonton handle Toronto’s big boys? The Leaf’s top three lines are running on all cylinders and it’ll take a Herculean effort to slow them down. I mean, 30 goals between the three lines over the course of their previous five games? That’s some epic depth scoring.

A few weeks ago, when these two teams met, it was a relatively unknown defender named Justin Holl that found a way to shut Connor McDavid down. I imagine young Holl will be tasked with this job once again, so that’s worth keeping an eye one given the fact that McDavid loves to come home and put on a show. In eight games he has 11pts (4g, 7a).

Is Jake DeBrusk Available Out of Boston?

According to Jimmy Murphy, Boston Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk might be skating on thin ice right now? He’s been quite unproductive as of late aside from a two-goal effort vs. Buffalo, but even then that as on the hind end of a benching. A tactic Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy went to again versus the Oilers after DeBrusk coughed up the puck to Gaetan Haas to which the Swiss national entertainingly deposited it behind Boston netminder Jaro Halak. Murphy wonders if the next step is simply to healthy scratch the young winger.

If you watched that afternoon game between the Bruins and the Oilers, you probably would’ve seen DeBrusk on the bench so dejected. Even Oilers play-by-play colorman Drew Remenda commented on it. He was curious about how Cassidy was planning to rebuild the young winger’s confidence this way?

So my question is, could a deal be struck between the Bruins and the Oilers that would involve Jesse Puljujari and Louie DeBrusk’s boy? Is he not the kind of 40pt winger that could possibly thrive alongside McDavid, Nugent-Hopkins, or Draisaitl?

DeBrusk’s ELC will expire this summer but he’ll be a restricted free agent, same as Pulju. In addition to that, the Bruins will only have a shade under $18M to sign up to 23 players next summer according to capfriendly. Would it be out of the question that the Bruins take one of Jujhar Khaira or Alex Chiasson, as well as Puljujarvi, as they’ve got another year to run on their contracts?

My bet is that any deal like this would be a summertime deal when the shackles of the salary cap can be shed.

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) 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)
  • @ 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)
  • @ 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 Maple Leafs

  • #34 Auston Matthews – As I said above, four goals and four assists in his last five. He’s a constant threat every time he has the puck in the offensive zone.
  • #88 William Nylander – This slick Swede is coming on strong lately which is good to see. That guy takes way too much flack in Toronto. Ten points in his last five games.
  • #53 Mason Marchment – Just called up from the AHL’s Marlies. Bryan’s boy is a shifty skiller. He’ll add some danger to Toronto’s 4th line.

Three Players to Watch for the Oilers

  • #18 James Neal – He’s in one of his flow states right now. The game is coming to him and I think he’s good for a goal or an assist at the very least. Toronto doesn’t have the greatest selection of defenders who are proficient at clearing out the front of the net where Neal makes his office.
  • #10 “Dwight” Joakim Nygard – How many people contributed to the swear jar after the speedy Swede missed that breakaway against Boston? The chances are coming and against a team who plays as wide open as Toronto does, he could find himself with a bit more time and space.
  • #97 Connor McDavid – There should be a few McDavid supporters in the crowd tonight and I’d bet that he won’t be disappointing. “Only” four points in his last five games.

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

Insider Suggests Leafs/Oilers Trade is Out There

Yesterday on Oilers Now, the host Bob Stauffer, mused that he believed there’s still an opportunity for a player swap between the Edmonton Oilers and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Oilers have a few extra right-shot defenders and the Leafs are overflowing with skilled forwards. This is the quote,

I think that there could be a potential trade at some point between Edmonton and Toronto. Oilers have a lot of right-shot defense, Leafs are going to need some in the off-season and Edmonton’s got a little bit of size. Toronto doesn’t have a lot.

This was in response to a text sent to the show with a trade proposal between the Leafs and Oilers. Press play below on the player to hear it.

Are you with me in thinking that Bob’s talking about Adam Larsson? That’s been what he, amongst other mainstream media members in the Edmonton market, have been hinting at for months now, right? Stauffer talks about the Leafs needing this player in the off-season though and that makes sense to me because Tyson Barrie and Cody Ceci will be off the books then.

Would the Iron Swede be missed in Edmonton? I think so, but we’re seeing Ethan Bear partnered up with Oscar Klefbom now and I would argue that the Oilers are checking out if Bear can handle that TOI and the quality of competition in that role. If he can, there’s Larsson’s replacement. Evan Bouchard will be in the lineup next season most likely (if not sooner), so that’s your 2nd pair right defender sorted and as for the 3rd pair, Matt Benning? If he can stay healthy would be a good option.

Would it be more prudent to add a right-shot veteran for one season though? Force Bouchard to make the Oilers play him on the 2nd pair and use Benning as a 7th defender?

I really wonder what happens to Darnell Nurse though. His warts have a spotlight the size of Jupiter on them right now. He’s struggling and with that “I’m angling for the Trouba contract” labeled cloud hanging over his head, I don’t see how the Oilers aren’t seeing what the market is for him. If the Larsson deal isn’t there, might there be a Nylander/Nurse trade simmering on the back burner just in case?

Conversely, the question has to be asked, how much toughness and sandpaper are the Oilers willing to lose if they trade Nurse and Larsson? I don’t believe you can have all slick puck movers on your backend if your plan is to have success in the post-season.

Now looking at the Maple Leafs, I don’t know how badly they’d like to move Kasperi Kapanen or Andreas Johnsson. They’re on some pretty solid contracts. William Nylander might be a player they’re willing to move but he’s on fire right now, so either they’d be asking for the moon or they’d just keep him. That doesn’t really work for the Oilers. But what about the likes of Jeremy Bracco (AHL’s fastest skater) or the fella that just had surgery on his arm… Ilya Mikheyev? Cheap, fast, skilled, and would add depth scoring to the team. I haven’t had a chance to watch a lot of Bracco but I was impressed with Mikheyev when Edmonton and Toronto played not too long ago.

What do you think?

Below is something I posted in my game preview but nobody really reads them. I mean if you’re into fantasy hockey, I think the 3P2W (Three Players to Watch) portion would be valuable to you since nearly every player I’ve suggested to watch has scored in that game, but it is what it is. The following I feel is worth posting one more time. If you’ve read it already, there’s no need for you to continue unless you live wicked t-shirt designs that follow every post…

Holland’s Plan for the 2019/20 Oilers Roster

Losing has only been part of the reason for the increased fickleness in Edmonton. The lack of moves on the part of Ken Holland is another that is creating some tense feelings. I really don’t know what people want. Holland is over in the Czech Republic watching the Oilers prospects who are playing in addition to the 2020 draft eligibles. Is he supposed to be negotiating trades during this time too? Come on. He’ll be back by the end of the week and I think it would be fair to assume he’ll be back to the grindstone roster-wise.

Recently Elliotte Friedman noted in his 31 Thoughts blog and on multiple radio hits that he believes the Oilers are unwilling to move their draft picks and I’m here to say that is what I’m being told as well. Convenient message, I know. But it is what it is. What none of the other pundits have said that I’ve been given permission to disclose is that,

“The hope is to move money out in trades. Get rid of the contracts that are not providing much in terms of dollars per production for contracts that provide production.”

We’re probably thinking the same thing, “How in the Hell is Holland going to do that without including draft picks?” and well, it either means sending out prospects like Cooper Marody, Caleb Jones, or Joe Gambardella with those contracts OR it means someone who’s having a tough season but has a bit more name recognition could leaving to sweeten the pot. Could that be Darnell Nurse, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Oscar Klefbom, or Adam Larsson? Who knows? But the plan is to dump bad deals and give the team as much cap space for next summer as possible.

Three scenarios come to mind,

  • Go after a couple of substantial players like Taylor Hall AND Alex Pietrangelo (if he hits the market?
  • Address the depth by trying to sign a group of less popular players but skaters who’d give more bang for the buck, if you will. Tyler Toffoli, Mike Hoffman, Cody Eakin, Tyson Barrie, and Sami Vatanen might be those who’d fall under this category.
  • Might there be an appetite to make some deals for an RFA or two who might be looking for a contract that is too rich for their current club’s taste? Kevin Labanc, Anthony Cirelli, Radek Faksa are some players I could imagine might be looking for a substantial raise next year.

It’s hilarious. There are a lot of individuals on Oilers Twitter who like to make light of “The Plan”. Most of the time they’re making fun of the fact that they don’t believe there is one to begin with. My feeling is they’re the kind of folk who react to disclusion by making fun of those who don’t want them part of whatever they’re doing or saying. Basically, Ken Holland won’t tell us his plan, so we’ll say he doesn’t have one. It’s sad. Truly.

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Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Rumors

2019/20 Edmonton Oilers GM35: Maple Leafs @ Oilers – 3P2W Plus More Oilers Trade Ramblings

This season the information being passed along behind the scenes has been slow. I have a feeling that’s because the new management that’s running the Oilers has patched up the leaks. As well, there hasn’t been a need to use the media to gauge fan response to potential moves or to influence a transaction.

That said, I was talking to one of my Western Conference sources and we had a good conversation, here are some of the things that came out of it,

  • The Canucks are out on the Taylor Hall sweepstakes.
  • The Montreal Canadiens are STILL in it for Hall.
  • There is a sense that Darnell Nurse’s future with the Oilers is less clear than it might’ve been before. Ken Holland would like to upgrade the offensive depth and Nurse’s name is out there as someone who could potentially bring Holland said depth.

To add to that Nurse comment, I’ve heard names like Nik Ehlers (WPG) and William Nylander (TOR) come up. The Jets are doing pretty well right now but I do wonder if they’d like a player like Nurse to possibly replace Dustin Byfuglien. Nurse’s connections to Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas are painfully obvious, right? Plus it’s no secret that they need some help on the back end.

As I’ve said on countless occasions before, if Holland thinks that re-signing Nurse this summer will be more hassle than not, he might choose to move on from him and attempt to acquire players whose agents he has a better rapport with AND can help his team score more goals.

Would a draft-day deal with Detroit make sense? Maybe Nurse for Athanasiou? Both are RFAs and the Holland/Yzerman relationship helps this along I believe.

As for Hall, it’s anybody’s guess as to where he’s getting traded. It doesn’t sound like the Avs want to give up defenders Sam Girard or Bowen Byram (I wonder if he gets traded from Vancouver to Edmonton in the WHL though…).

If you were on Twitter last night, it appears that St. Louis and Arizona are the frontrunners at this point in time. Are the Blues offering Vince Dunn? I know they’ve got a young Finnish defender named Niko Mikkola that they’re high on but is he ready to go right now and would it make any sense to move Dunn right now. I would think something like a package including Klim Kostin and/or Jordan Kyrou would make sense for the Blues. Then again, they’re one of the best teams in the league, why fix something that’s not broken for a rental? Especially when they’ve got very little prospect depth.

As for the Coyotes, they’ve got less cap-room than the Oilers and they’re also playing very well. It’d be nice to add to that for them, I’m sure, but who’s contract are they dealing to NJ in order to fit Hall’s in?

With Montreal, they have the defenseman and goaltending that the Devils want, but they’re not moving Weber, Petry, Price, or Primeau. So unless Ray Shero is taking back prospects only, I don’t know what the Habs could give New Jersey for Hall. UNLESS, they would take draft picks back. Montreal has an extra 2nd rounder this year in addition to three extra 4th rounders. The Devils lack a 2nd and 3rd round pick in this year’s draft.

Elliotte Friedman brought up the Flyers yesterday morning with Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now and that’s a team I could see making sense here. They’ve got Shane Gostisbehere on the block and he makes $4.5M per year. To even out the deal financially, the Flyers could include a player like Scott Laughton ($2.3M) and Bob’s your uncle.

The Islanders have over $6M in cap room, they could be a wildcard player in all of this too.

Gotta wonder about Florida. Pierre LeBrun said they’ve inquired but then again, who hasn’t… The Panthers have some nice prospects they could use (Borgstrom/Tippett) as well as a defender like Mike Matheson to offset some salary cap challenges.

Unless the Oilers overpay for Hall, I don’t think there’s much of a chance he’s an Oilers until the offseason where he could be persuaded into signing a “team-friendly” contract that might look like something similar to what Leon Draisaitl makes.

What do you think?

The Next Ten Games (31-40)

  • vs. LA Kings (11-16-2) – A pissed off Oilers team will make short order of the Kings in this rubber match. (WIN) WIN
  • vs. Buffalo Sabres (13-10-5) – No Dahlin for Buffalo but Jack Eichel is on a tear. Captain Jack will get his points but his team will not. (WIN) OT LOSS
  • vs. Carolina Hurricanes (16-11-1) – Carolina is too deep for this Oilers team plus Andrei Svechnikov is making a mockery of the NHL as a 19-year-old. (LOSS) LOSS
  • @ Minnesota Wild (13-11-4) – The Oilers seem to have trouble against teams like this for whatever reason. Immaturity in the club maybe? (LOSS) LOSS
  • vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (13-13-4) – The Leafs defense is soft like a Wendy’s Frosty but they’ve got the kind of offense that could really tear open the Oilers. It’s a toss-up for me but I’ll say Edmonton takes it. (WIN)
  • @ Dallas Stars (15-11-3) – Tough match-up for Edmonton here. Dallas already beat them once this year but that was when they were struggling. Now that they’re playing well, will the Oilers’ mindset going into this one be different? (WIN)
  • @ St. Louis Blues (18-6-6) – Edmonton’s been performing very well against the league’s top teams. I don’t expect that to stop in St. Louis. (WIN)
  • vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (15-9-4) – The first game of a back-to-back at home and the Oilers are one up on Crosby’s Pens. Pittsburgh is going through one hell of an injury crisis mind you but as we’ve seen, the Oilers have failed to take advantage of these situations in the past. (LOSS)
  • vs. Montreal Canadiens (12-10-6) – I feel like the Habs usually give Edmonton a hard time when they come to town and their team is a lot better than their record tells us. (LOSS)
  • @ Vancouver Canucks (14-11-4) – I like the Oilers chances against Vancouver here and it’s the last game before the Christmas break. (WIN)

(Standings as of December 5th, 2019)

Three Players to Watch for the Maple Leafs

  • #16 Mitch Marner – The hottest Leaf on the block with six points in his last five games. He’s this generation’s Denis Savard. Enjoy him while you can.
  • #4 Tyson Barrie – His production has slowed over this past week with only one point but he’s got the offensive potential to break out at any moment.
  • #88 William Nylander – He’s been ice-cold lately with only a single assist in his last five outings. What better place to snap that streak than in Edmonton?

Three Players to Watch for the Oilers

  • #18 James Neal – Four points in his last five makes him the 3rd most productive Oiler forward in that time. From the 3rd line no less.
  • #91 Gaetan Haas – He’s been one of my favorite players this season for the Oilers. He takes a licking and keeps on ticking. If he could just get that puck to settle down for him, we might see the production arrows start to trend up. His line was very impressive vs. Minnesota and I think that the game tonight might offer some similar opportunities.
  • #77 Oscar Klefbom – He was VERY good against the Wild and he’ll be in tough tonight because he’ll either be matched up against John Tavares’ line of Auston Matthews’. He has two goals in his last five games and I hope that’s a sign that he’s starting to heat up.

Mikko Koskinen is expected to start tonight and the defense, as far as I know, will be the same as it was vs. Minnesota,

Klefbom/Larsson
Nurse/Bear
Russell/Jones

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