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!

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• Facebook: Beer League Heroes

Oilersnation

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Players of interest from Frank Seravalli’s Trade Targets list

1. Joonas Korpisalo

• “At this point, it doesn’t seem as though goaltending is a pressing need for the Oilers. Even if it becomes an issue, I’m not sure Korpisalo, who has a .892 save percentage between this season and last, would be an upgrade over what they already have.”

2. Jake DeBrusk

• “With other areas of need (the blueline, third-line centre), it’s difficult to see Edmonton taking on this kind of financial commitment for another winger right now. The only way I could see it working is if Zack Kassian is going back the other way.”

3. Dylan Strome

• “Again, money would need to be going out the other way, but if the Oilers are going to acquire a reclamation project, it would make more sense for it to be Strome than DeBrusk, given the former fits a more glaring positional need.”

BLH’s Thoughts: None of these players interest me as upgrade for the Oilers Stanley Cup run. They’re either performing poorly or they’re too young or both. I want grizzled veterans for this run and role players who can move up and down the lineup if needed. 

I don’t think the Oilers need to address the goaltending as much, maybe they could use one extra veteran defender like Ben Chiarot. But I would definitely look to upgrade the bottom six with proven playoff performers. 

As for the trade fodder, we know that Ken Holland will spend some of his futures to bring in immediate help, but in addition to that I’m curious to know what the status of Kailer Yamamoto, Zack Kassian, and Derek Ryan are. These three skaters would have differing amounts of value to other GMs in the league and in my opinion, they could be used to bring in help down the line, be that a Phil Kessel, Joe Pavelski, or in an extreme longshot (and very costly) scenario, Claude Giroux.

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The Athletic

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Canada’s world juniors roster: Corey Pronman projects the lineup

Forwards

BLH’s Thoughts: I wrote this morning that I thought the team could use more well-rounded players over Connor Bedard like Ty Tullio, but now when I look at that group, maybe it does need more skill should Hockey Canada pick the team as Corey Pronman sees it. It is a very gritty physical group presented above with Neighbours, Greig, Courdif, and McTavish on forward.

The defense lacks a bit of bite, but there’s tons of puck movement there. New Edmonton Oil King Kaiden Guhle will be able to provide some physicality from the blue line though. I’m looking forward to seeing what Owen Power can do against his peers considering how well he did for Canada at the World Championships last year versus men. 

I’ve got no issues in net Sebastian Cossa is elite and Garand/Brochu are older goalies with excellent pedigree. 

It’s a shame we’ll have to wait until the medal round to see Canada play the US. I think with a roster like the one Pronman has projected, that game would be ridiculously entertaining. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l1vYBDfATM

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NHLRumors.com

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• Eric Macramalla: Forbes Mike Ozanian on the Arizona Coyotes: “for sale again with idea of buyer eventually moving team to a new arena in Houston.”
• Craig Morgan: Ozanian’s source on this is an ‘unnamed banking industry source.’
• Craig Morgan: NHL commission Gary Bettman said the Coyotes/Houston rumors are “Completely false.”
• TSN: Pierre LeBrun on what Carey Price‘s future with the Montreal Canadiens is now that there is a change in management.

“There’s a new person running the Montreal Canadiens we know in Jeff Gorton. Carey Price was very tight with Marc Bergevin, everyone knows that. He’s 34-years-old. Where does a 34-year-old future Hall of Famer fit in the plans of a rebuild, if that’s what Jeff Gorton plans to do.”

• Eric Engels: Have been told that Daniel Briere is high up on the list of potential candidates for the Montreal Canadiens ‘GM’ position.
• Shawn Simpson: Even if the Senators retained salary, no team is trading for Matt Murray at this point.

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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Weekly Rumours – Trade Targets, DeBrusk, and the Habs next GM

• Jake DeBrusk: I don’t see a way for the Oilers to squeeze in DeBrusk without screwing themselves over once everyone is healthy.
• Joonas Korpisalo: If I’m the Oilers though, I don’t think I touch him. He had a great run in the bubble back in 2019-20 but since then he’s been posting below-average numbers. He’s not an upgrade on any one of Smith, Skinner, or Koskinen.
• Other Names: If the Oilers wanted to add a forward though, I think that both Rickard Rakell (MY BOY!) and Reilly Smith would be good fits considering they’re both pending UFA’s. The fact that they both play on division rivals would make a trade difficult though.
• Habs GM: Daniel Briere, Martin Lapointe and Mathieu Darche are three that really stand out to me. Roberto Luongo would make sense but it’s unclear if he would leave his post in the Panthers organization.

BLH’s Thoughts: In my mind, the only way to bring in DeBrusk is to send Kassian back in the same trade and move Yamo to the third line and Hyman over to Leon’s RW. Then you can stick DeBrusk up with Connor.

If the trade didn’t pan out, no big deal because you’re only out a prospect or a pick that’s been included in the deal to Boston and that $4M-ish in cap space can be used on somebody else in the offseason. 

I love Rakell too, but Anaheim is having a good year and if I’m not mistaken, team success tends to play a factor in a player’s decision to re-sign with a team or not. Reilly Smith is gone either way but again, we find ourselves doing the same mental exercise when talking about the DeBrusk deal. 

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The Hockey Writers

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Oilers’ Mikko Koskinen Is NHL’s Most Underappreciated Goaltender

• He is a 12-2 goalie, tied for second in the league in wins, and doing so in just 14 games.
• If Koskinen was being paid half of his salary, he would be praised with a record of 12-2. But since his contract hasn’t matched his play throughout the three years, that’s all people seem to remember about him.
• Despite only losing twice, it seems as though the consensus is that both of those losses were Koskinen’s fault, but wins are just a result of the offence and outscoring the opponent.
• No other goaltender with more than 10 wins has played fewer than 16 games, and Koskinen sits at only 14 games played thus far.
• I mentioned that Koskinen has the second-most wins in the NHL. Only Jack Campbell of the Toronto Maple Leafs has more (13).
• Koskinen has a SV% that is above league average. He sports a .914 SV% and has a better quality start percentage (QS%) than the league average, as well as the highest by a good margin to his career-best.
• Quality starts is defined as starts with a better SV% than the average SV% for the year. Koskinen has seven quality starts after 13 games started, good for a .538 QS%. His previous high was .515 and this season is his only above the league average of .530.
• Koskinen’s goal-against percentage (GA%) and goals saved above average (GSAA) are also better than the league average… Though Koskinen has just a 0.7 GSAA, it’s better than his numbers in two of the three prior seasons in Edmonton where he had a minus-6.2 and minus-6.4 GSAA.
• Among the top goaltenders on teams that are at the top of the league, who do you think gets the least amount of credit? Koskinen.
• If we look at the teams with over 30 points in the standings, there’s Shesterkin, Talbot, Campbell, Frederik Andersen, Sergei Bobrovsky, Samsonov, and Jacob Markstrom. Yes, most of them have been playing elite, but their team’s defence also hasn’t been decimated by injuries this year, losing four rostered players.
• Goaltenders like Darcy Kuemper, Robin Lehner, Thatcher Demko, and Jordan Binnington all have a worse SV% than Koskinen and all have a negative GSAA.
• Though Koskinen is only above average in most categories, he is seen by many as one of the worst goalies in the league, despite his stats and performance this season.

BLH’s Thoughts: The Giant Son of comedian Bill Burr and Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus has certainly done his part to contribute to Edmonton’s current record, but I’d have to say that any negative connotation connecting to Koskinen is down to that contract Chiarelli saddled the team with before they axed him. As Mr. Couch said in his post, if Koski were making the kind of money that a backup in the NHL usually makes, he’d be getting talked about with much more positivity around the league. 

https://twitter.com/BeerLeagueHeroe/status/1461233923485499392

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The Hockey Writers Rumors

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• Based on quotes in a recent Sean Leahy of NBC Sports article, Patrick Roy would be interested in the GM job in Montreal… Roy tried to shoot down speculation he might not be good in a team environment but there are many still many who wonder how he’d fare in a tandem with Jeff Gorton who will be a key player in all of the Canadiens’ major decisions moving forward.
• Sam Carchidi of Philly.com believes Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher may need to make some tough decisions if his team continues to lose…There is some chatter about possibly asking captain Claude Giroux to waive his no-trade clause as Giroux is slated to become an unrestricted free agent. The other option is changing the coach.

“Alain Vigneault has term left, I think teams are really not thrilled about eating money right now coming out of COVID, they’re definitely not interested in that…I’ve wondered about a guy like Rick Tocchet, it’s just me kind of speculating.” – Elliotte Friedman, Sportsnet

• Knowing the “The Sabres are definitely looking for an upgrade.” Friedman also tweeted that he’s heard the Sabres are talking to the Chicago Blackhawks about a Malcolm Subban trade. He announced a few minutes later that the deal was done and just needed to be made official. Kevin Weekes also reported the trade was finalized.

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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The Oilers Prospect Report: Let’s talk World Juniors

• Xavier Bourgault, has been selected for Team Canada’s World Juniors camp this month. Bourgault has dominated the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with 17 goals and league-leading 33 points.
• The biggest surprises, though, are the snubs… Also missing from the list were Matthew Savoie’s older brother Carter and Oshawa Generals forward Tyler Tullio.
• Denezhkin is currently with Lada Togliatti in the VHL in Russia. He’s producing at just under a point per game rate with 8 goals and 23 points in 29 games for them.
• The Condors fell 2-1 after Buddy Robinson beat Olivier Rodrigue midway through the third period.

BLH’s Thoughts: Filip Engaras is up to 8pts in 14 games after scoring two in two this past week. Another World Junior snub but for Russia, Matty Petrov score 6pts in three games recenty taking his totals to 33pts in 22 games for the North Bay Battalion of the OHL. 

That’s about it as producing prospects in the Oilers’ system goes.

As for the World Juniors, I think it’s a shit show when a 16yr old who’s not even scoring at a point per game pace gets invited over a 19 year old that is dominating the NCAA goal scoring charts, two-way game be damned. I can near guarantee you that Savoie’s a better defensive forward than Connor Bedard. Tyler Tullio would’ve been a better selection than Bedard at this point as well. 

Don’t get me wrong, I get that the Regina Pats aren’t great this year and Connor Bedard is going to be a fantastic NHL star someday, but Hockey Canada is so deep at forward that it could afford to take an older player who’s having a better season to round out the roster’s depth. Ty Tullio is an energy guy who with one hit could change the momentum of a hockey game and Carter Savoie’s got a Jordan Eberle-like aura to him.

Now, if someone on Team Canada’s coaching staff watched this video of Bedard and chose him off of that, I probably wouldn’t blame him… The kid is magical. 

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Cult of Hockey

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Four reasons the monster Edmonton Oilers power play is that much more deadly this season

1. More Grade A shots.

• Last year the Oil’s power play generated 1.24 Grade A shots on net per two minute power play. This year, it’s conjuring up a remarkable 1.6 Grade A shots per two minutes.

2. More skill net front.

• …newcomer Zach Hyman and Jesse Puljujarvi, have more skill shooting and passing the puck.
• Hyman and Puljujavi are also getting off a higher rate of Grade A shots on net than did Chiasson and Neal combined. This is giving the Oilers power play a better net front weapon that the opposition can’t overlook.

3. Connor McDavid is getting more Grade A shots.

• In 2020-21, McDavid fired 33 Grade A shots in 235 power play minutes, 0.28 per two minutes of power play time. This year, he’s already fired 19 Grade A shots in 78 minutes, 0.49 per two.

4. Familiarity.

• It took some time for Barrie to sync up with his new power play mates, in particular with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who had to adjust his behind-the-back passing angle. Now this group knows Barrie and he knows them.

BLH’s Thoughts: Hmmm. I’m not going to buy the familiarity option. Nuge, McDavid, Leon, and Jesse have been playing together for quite a while now on that unit and I believe you could toss Eddie Shore’s Skeleton to man the blue line and the Oilers would still have a dominating power play. 

Improved skill in the net front position? I suppose. My feeling is that Hyman and Puljujarvi are quicker to the pucks and harder to compete with for opposing defensemen whereas Chiasson and Neal used a less direct tactic and more veteran savvy to get their opportunities. Hyman and Pulju simply bulldoze their way to their chances. 

If the Oilers grade ‘A’ shots have gone up .4 shots/2 minutes, how long would it take them to get another grade ‘A’ shot compared to last year? The number seems too minute to make a big deal about in my mind.

The real reason that Edmonton’s powerplay has been so good is the unit’s unpredictability and its insane amount of skill. The other team’s penalty killers quite frankly don’t know where the shot’s coming from if the Oilers are doing things right. 

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The Daily Goal Horn

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• Larry Brooks of the NY Post reported on Wednesday that the Rangers and Strome have at least begun to discuss a new contract.

“The Post has learned that president-general manager Chris Drury and the pending unrestricted free agent center’s representatives have begun to engage in talks aimed at maintaining the Strome-Artemi Panarin connection well beyond this season.”

• One source tells me if the term is right, Strome may accept $5.75M. Strome is well within his right to ask for more.
• Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher held a press conference yesterday that this was critical week. Losing to the Rangers 4-1 last night wasn’t the start they were looking for. This has many believing change is coming soon and at some point it will include Giroux.
• One team that many thought might have put in a claim for (Matt) Murray was the Sabres. They did not, but the interest is still there.

“It doesn’t sound like there were many trade talks prior to the waiver move, and we’ll see if there’s any fit while Murray tries to get his game back at AHL Belleville,” Elliotte Friedman reported. “Buffalo makes the most sense, but will want salary retention or some other sweetener. The Sabres are definitely looking for an upgrade.” – Elliotte Friedman, Sportsnet

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

Cult of Hockey

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The Edmonton Oilers rookie blue hangs in there, in 5-2 win over Pittsburgh: Cult of Hockey Player Grades

• MIKKO KOSKINEN . 9. The primary reason the Oilers had a puncher’s chance entering the 3 ^rd period… Is now 12-2 on the year. The game’s 3 ^rd Star.
• CONNOR McDAVID . 8. A 4-point night and was +5. 
• ZACH HYMAN . 8. The Oilers best forward over the full 60-minutes… Also chipped in a perfect 2:01 short-handed. +3 on the night… Named the game’s 1 ^st Star. Hell of a performance.
• KRIS RUSSELL . 7.  Following up a classy pre-game ceremony honoring his NHL record for shot blocks, the veteran served up 4 more while playing a heavy 26:53. Also logged just shy of 4:00 on a perfect 0-3 PK.
• TYSON BARRIE . 7. Like his partner Russell, Barrie bucked up and turned in a gutsy performance. Played 26:28 on the 1 ^st pairing. 2 hits and 4 blocks.
• RYAN McLEOD . 3. One of his weakest 2-way games of the season. 0 shots, 0 hits. Only 25% on draws. -1. A team-worst 5v5 CF of 5-17, 23%.
• WARREN FOEGELE . 4. Had his moments, including a couple nice defensive plays in the 1 ^st Period. But ultimately didn’t accomplish much.
• PHILIP BROBERG . 4. 2 blocked shots, -1. Like Lagesson, Broberg hung on for dear life and received considerable help from his goalie. Was pinned deep often. The heaviest fore-check he has likely seen.
• DEREK RYAN . 4. A better night on his draws (50%).
• MARCUS NIEMALAINEN . 5. Played 10:10 in his first career NHL game. Played physical, credited with 5 hits.
• TYLER BENSON . 3. Benson took a needless interference penalty almost 200 feet from his own net, forcing his mates to kill off the minor to preserve the (at the time) 2-2 tie. 0 shots, 0 hits in 6:41.

BLH’s Thoughts: All the Oilers had to do was hold on until the third period when Pittsburgh was sure to run out of gas and Edmonton could do what they do in the final frame, outscore their opponents. Koskinen played a huge part in that plan and I wonder when the whispers of Holland rewarding him with another contract start to creep out… 

Zach Hyman is having himself a week eh? Good on him, he’s probably the hardest worker on the team and with that, he puts himself at risk every time he hits the ice. He had two chances for the hatty, three if you include the empty-netter from Connor, but the Hockey Gods had capped his night at a brace. Better luck next time Zach! 

That Benson penalty was weird. Is his edgework that bad that he couldn’t have gotten out of the way. I mean, he went right through the middle of the crease where Jarry was standing or was he offering up a bit of gamesmanship? If it was the former, that’s not going to cut it in the NHL and if it was the latter, that’s not going to cut it in the NHL. That was a really tough play for him.

I won’t be surprised if we hear that Puljujarvi takes the night off against Seattle after taking a hard check in the 3rd period. Apparently his wrist bent all sorts of ways and even though he stayed in the game, you could tell that wrist was in a bad manner. I’d imagine by the time this post has been published, you might’ve heard something on this though. 

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Oilersnation

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GDB 21.0 Wrap Up

• Giving him four points on the night, Connor McDavid closed things out with an empty-net goal (5-2) to punctuate what can only be described as a spectacular effort from the captain. 
• Had it not been for Koskinen, this game would have been a lopsided loss but he kept his teammates in the fight and afforded them the time they needed to get going. Ideally, he wouldn’t have had to do it for 40 minutes but that’s what he had to do to secure the win, and the big man deserves all kinds of love for the way this finished. Koskinen finished the night with 32 saves and a .941 save%.
• The Oilers’ PK was excellent again tonight as they were able to handle all three of Pittsburgh’s opportunities with the man advantage.
• I looked at the shot clock midway through the second period and was absolutely stunned to see that Edmonton had only generated seven shots on goal. It’s like my brain knew it was true because I was watching the disaster unfold, but it took actually seeing the number to fully realize how bad things were.
• If you’re a fan of xGF% then I apologize for letting you know the Oilers had a miserable 34.66% on the night.
• I think the worst part about Zach Hyman’s hat trick goal being disallowed is that there was a tonne of hats on the ice that were thrown for nothing.

BLH’s Thoughts: Man, are you waiting for this train to go off the rails like I am or what? How many games are we going to watch the Oilers get their asses handed to them for 40 minutes and then witness the very same team snatch victory from the hands of the opponents in the last 20?

The Pens were on the back half of a b2b and they lost in OT to CGY the night prior. So, did the Oilers simply play possum and wait for Pittsburgh to tire themselves out or were they that poor and a 2nd intermission rallying cry from one of the vets give them enough (*buzzword alert*) “juice” to carry them to the peak of the mountain?

At the end of the day, that’s two points in the bag and a spot at the top of the NHL’s standings though. Who’s going to complain about that?

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Spector’s Hockey

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• PHILLY.COM: Sam Carchidi believes it could be time for Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher to make some tough decisions if his club falls out of playoff contention… One of those decisions could involve shopping captain Claude Giroux.
• SPORTSNET: Luke Fox also speculated on some of those difficult decisions facing Fletcher… Fox felt any number of options could be on the table for the Flyers, including shopping winger Travis Konecny. While that would be a bold move, he also felt it would be a long shot.
• THE ATHLETIC: Fluto Shinzawa believes it could take some time before Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney pulls the trigger on a Jake DeBrusk trade. The Bruins still need him in the lineup with Brad Marchand serving a three-game suspension plus their farm team in Providence is going through a COVID outbreak.
• THE PROVINCE: Ben Kuzma took note of recent speculation linking the Vancouver Canucks to DeBrusk. He pointed to the Canucks’ limited cap space as a sticking point, suggesting it might have to be a dollar-in, dollar-out deal to take on DeBrusk’s $3.675 million cap hit.
• NBC SPORTS: Sean Leahy believes the Bruins are keeping their crease warm for Tuukka Rask when he’s finally ready to return to action from offseason hip surgery.

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

Lowetide.ca

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• If Edmonton trades for DeBrusk, moving Hyman to right wing and running the top two lines as DeBrusk-McDavid-Hyman and Nuge-Draisaitl-Puljujarvi would be a reasonable idea. Of course, running Foegele on the top two lines would be worth trying before making this kind of trade.
• Bottom line: DeBrusk can post offense and I expect he’ll have success wherever he goes. The Oilers have left wing taken care of now, last summer was the time to trade for DeBrusk.

BLH’s Thoughts: That idea makes a ton of sense and then they could toss Yamo on the third line with McLeod and Foegele and Bob’s your uncle!

I have to say, I love Zack Kassian. He’s been one of my favorite Edmonton Oilers since Chiarelli acquired him for Ben Scrivens, but I think I’m starting to get a little bored of his lack of enthusiasm this season.

Am I missing something? I mean, has Dave Tippett told him to tone it down because ever since he came on board Kassian has been a shell of his former self. The things that make Kassian a dangerous player have been removed or something. He doesn’t have the eye of the tiger anymore, even WITH the fans in the stands. 

Would a Kassian for DeBrusk trade make sense? If not, now would you tweak it?

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Cult of Hockey

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Player grades, Games 11-20

BLH’s Thoughts: Good Lord, who would’ve thought that Kris Russell would be at the top of the grades for defensemen. Good on the guy! That can’t be easy going from spare part to hood ornament. 

I was taking a walk the other day wondering why Skinner isn’t getting more games right now and what I came to the realize was that Dave Tippett is treating him like a rookie and protecting him as much as he can. Or at least that’s what I think he’s doing. We know he prefers vets and will use them over a rookie whenever he can get the chance, but as soon as that thought came to mind, I felt better and then when the game against Pittsburgh finished I felt really good about the decision.

Derek Ryan… Did Holland get him past his best before date or what? I didn’t mind him last night, but Sceviour is taking his job and what happens when Devin Shore comes back? Will they slot him on the left side? I reckon Holland might look to shore up that 4th line this year and nobody aside from Shore and Sceviour are safe. 

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The Daily Goal Horn

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• Jake DeBrusk Trade Demand: “As many as 12 teams, maybe more than 12 teams have already checked in on the Jake DeBrusk situation with the Boston Bruins, but the reality is the Bruins now need Jake DeBrusk in their lineup,” Dreger explained on TSN Insider Trading. 
• “I would say the New York Rangers are among the teams that have expressed some interest. You’ve got the Vancouver Canucks, maybe Montreal, maybe Calgary. Certainly Arizona. Go down the list. Historically speaking, when there’s been other Jake DeBrusk trade situations and speculations, the St. Louis Blues have been near the top of that list as well. You talk about a kid who could score 20 to 25 and he’s scored 16 times in the playoffs. So those stats matter.”
• Patrick Roy back in Montreal?: “Would I be interested? Of course,” Roy told TVA Sports and Radio-Canada on Tuesday, via CTV. “But, at the same time, I am aware that it is a process and that there are several very good candidates who will be in the running. But if I get a call, I’ll definitely listen.”