Tag Archives: Raphael Lavoie

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

2023/24 Edmonton Oilers GM10: Oilers Vs. Predators- 3P2W – Can Anything Save This Sinking Ship? The Grim Reality of NHL’s Most Hopeless Team

November 4, 2023 Beer League Hero

Hey y’all! Welcome back for another season of Edmonton Oilers hockey! I’m BLH and I’ll be giving you the skinny on today’s game!

If you’re new here and are wondering what 3P2W means, well, it stands for Three Players to Watch and seeing I’m as lazy as I am, I figured we’d shorten it to 3P2W.

So with that out of the way, let’s talk a little bit about what’s been going on lately in the Oilogospehere and then get into the player’s I’ve put under the spotlight for today’s matchup!

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Random Pontifications

In the heart of NHL’s desolation, the Edmonton Oilers trudge wearily toward yet another battle, their pursuit of hope a mere illusion. Last season’s echoes of greatness have faded into a cacophony of defeat, painting a grim portrait of a team lost in a labyrinth of losses. Even the valiant efforts of Sam Gagner, a lone beacon in the darkness, fail to dispel the pervasive hopelessness that shrouds the Oilers.

Once celebrated for their offensive might, the Oilers now stand as a pitiful spectacle, their defensive frailties laid bare for all to witness. McDavid and Draisaitl, once titans, now resemble mere mortals in the face of relentless onslaughts and a woeful save percentage. The locker room exudes an eerie calm, a facade masking the bitter acceptance that has settled in like a festering wound. Evander Kane’s rallying cries echo hollowly, drowned out by the deafening silence of resignation. The injury to Connor Brown serves as a cruel reminder of the team’s misfortunes, casting a looming shadow over their already shattered spirit.

The @EdmontonOilers are not done yet with moves @EdmontonOilers have had some talk with @NYRangers and talks should resume this weekend…….as per Garfield

— Tracy Lane (@TreenasOil) November 4, 2023

Raphaël Lavoie’s call-up feels like a desperate attempt to salvage a sinking ship. Despite his AHL success, it’s hard not to see this move as a mere band-aid on a gaping wound. Replacing the ineffective Connor Brown, Lavoie might bring temporary excitement, but can he truly mend the deeply-rooted issues plaguing the team? The third-line gamble seems like a feeble attempt to inject life into a lackluster roster. In a season marred by disappointment, Lavoie’s promotion appears more like a grim reminder of the team’s unraveling than a genuine solution to their woes. The Oilers cling to hope, but in this relentless cycle of despair, even the most optimistic glimmers fade into darkness.

In the gloomy saga of the Edmonton Oilers, defenseman Philip Broberg becomes a casualty of the team’s lack of accountability and vision. Hindered by minimal ice time and an ambiguous role, Broberg’s plight highlights the coaching staff and GM’s failure in fostering his development. The Oilers’ decision to exile him to the AHL reeks of desperation, an admission of their own ineptitude in nurturing young talent. Former player Jason Strudwick’s skepticism mirrors the prevailing sentiment, emphasizing the team’s utter confusion regarding Broberg’s potential. Amidst this murky landscape, Broberg’s demotion echoes the broader organizational failure, epitomizing the Oilers’ dire state of affairs and their glaring inability to harness and cultivate promising players for a team drowning in disappointment.

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Three Players to Watch for the (team)

#82 Tommy Novak (5g 2a 7pts) – This guy has burst onto the scene this season and has positioned himself as the Preds no.2 center. Along with wingers Kiefer Sherwood and Luke Evangelista have combined for 17points in Nashville’s last five games. Their fast, physical, and skilled. They have the potential to give Edmonton’s swiss cheese defense and goaltending some trouble.
#10 Colton Sissons (5g 1a 6pts) – Now, this is what you want from a 3C. Sissons is very much a throwback player in that he’s going to make life very difficult for the opposition physically. He’s got no qualms getting into the muck and his five goals on the year is a reflection of that high-end work ethic.
#59 Roman Josi (2g 4a 7pts) – Josi’s hit his stride here production-wise. He’s on a PPG pace in his last five matches. He’s the kind of defenseman that can dismantle another team from his own end with his elite vision and playmaking ability and with the way the Oilers are playing defensively, he very well could ruin Edmonton’s day on his own. Especially when he’s got an all-star winger in Filip Forsberg sitting on 1 goal for the year…

Three Players to Watch for the Oilers

#62 Raphael Lavoie (0g 0a 0pts) – The clamoring from the media and fanbase finally paid off. Now, I’ve always said that Lavoie is a better skating version of Alex Chiasson. Meaning he’s a big guy with an amazing shot but so bloody inconsistent. The other thing is, he’s not a mean player. He’s got the size and he’ll engage from time to time (check out his scrap in the clip below), but he’s not a banger. I don’t know if he’ll get a lot of TOI as the Woodcroft’s got Gagner up on the 2nd line with Nuge and Kane as well ass Foegele is back to the 3rd line with Holloway and McLeod. So, he’ll be lining up with Derek Ryan on the 4th line but on the bright side, he’ll have one of 97, 29, or 93 as his center. i
#91 Evander Kane (3g 5a 8pts) – Ever since that comment on HNIC Kane’s been on fire. One could argue he’s been the Oilers’ best player since then. So I bet he’s probably wondering when the rest of his teammates are going to follow suit. A guy like this can only play that sort of style for so long before he realizes his efforts aren’t being appreciated.
#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2g 6a 8pts) – Two assists in his last five games… He’s slowed down considerably. Maybe having Gagner and Kane on his line will light a fire under his ass.

The Next Twelve Games (#2-#13)

10/14 vs. Canucks – I think the Oilers will take 2/2 vs. Vancouver to start the year. (W)
- (4-3 LOSS)
10/17 @. Predators – The Pred don’t scare me. Their roster is in shambles. Poor Jusse Saros and Roman Josi. (W)
- (6-1 WIN)
10/19 @ Flyers – Their forward group looks entertaining but they’ve got nobody on defense. (W)
- (4-1 LOSS)
10/21 vs. Winnipeg – The Jets are always a tough out. I like their chances. (L)
- (3-2 OTL)
10/24 @ Wild – Minny isn’t as good as they used to be but still very solid. (W)
- (7-4 LOSS)
10/26 vs. Rangers – I like NY’s defense and goaltending here. (L)
- (3-0 LOSS)
10/29 vs.Flames – Calgary is going to surprise a few this year. (L)
- (5-2 WIN)
11/2 vs. Stars – This will be a very tight game. (W)
- (4-3 Loss)
11/4 vs. Predators – Leon will continue to light the Preds up. (W)
11/6 @ Canucks – I’ll take Edmonton for a third time here, Alex. (W)
11/9 @ Sharks – I don’t even recognize half the names on SJ’s roster… (W)
11/11 @ Kraken – I like Seattle’s roster. Well-rounded. (L)

(predictions made 10/11/2023)

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Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Prospects

2019/20 Edmonton Oilers: How Soon Can This Player Help the Oilers?

March 25, 2020 Beer League Hero

I don’t know if you were around to catch it, but last night I was a guest on the Oilers Live podcast. We talked about the Edmonton Oilers roster in general, what we liked, didn’t like, what changes we think it could use. We also touched the young player I’m going to talk about today in addition to the Hart Trophy debate. As always, there was some rumor talk too!

https://youtu.be/yz54PZ9e0q8?t=3150

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Over the last week or so I’ve been trying to get in contact with as many hockey scouts based in Quebec as possible because I wanted to know more about the player that the Edmonton Oilers just signed to a 3-year ELC contract, Raphael Lavoie.

Now, it’s probably been a while since you’ve read any reports on this fella so let me bring you up to speed on a few of the things the 2019 NHL Draft Book had to say about him and keep in mind this was after that 20-goal post-season in Halifax and the Memorial Cup where his team lost in the final (and he scored a beauty of a goal in).

He’s not a high-end skater but for a 6’4″ kid his skating won’t hinder him at the next level.
Lavoie is at his best when he competes hard and is involved in the play.
When he’s on, Lavoie is a threat. He has a big-time shot and can score from almost anywhere in the offensive zone. It’s an NHL-caliber shot which is accurate, has great velocity, and he’s quick to get it off.
He’s got above-average vision, can make plays for his teammates with some high-caliber passes.
He does good work using his big frame to protect pucks along the boards and with his long reach, it’s tough to take the puck away from him.

That was the good, now here’s the bad.

Our biggest issue with him as he’s not a consistently hard-worker and you don’t know what you’re going to get out of him each game. With his skill level, size, and being one of the older players in this draft class, we expected him to be a dominant player in the league, but he was just barely over a point-per-game over the course of the year. This is a bit concerning when you consider he played in the QMJHL which was weak this year and played often against Saint John and Acadie-Bathurst, two teams he should have dominated but didn’t.
Even with his big frame, he’s not a physical player, he lacks a good compete level and won’t throw many hits on the ice.

Now for a few quotes from scouts,

“He is playing bad teams a lot and he isn’t exactly lighting up the league. The Sea Dogs and Acadie are like tier II teams and he’s invisible.” – NHL Scout, December 2018

“A lot of his skill is individual skill. He doesn’t see the ice well and didn’t make guys around him better. He isn’t good at all defensively but the hope is you could fix that.” – NHL Scout, April 2019

“Had two scouts mention him to me as one of their weaker interviews.” – HP Scout, Mark Edwards, June 2019

I think there’s a reason he dropped to the 2nd round and possibly those reasons are due to what’s between his ears. That last quote I find funny because Lavoie was interviewed by Bob Stauffer on his radio show recently and the young man came off as quite a good speaker. So I wonder if he’s very headstrong and unwilling to give answers that those scouts wanted to hear or if possible he’s really improved his speaking game.

As for not dominating the opposition, that must’ve been an issue in his draft year because this season he’s had his way on the scoresheet more or less with 82pts in 55 games. 32 of those points being goals and 20 of those goals coming after his trade from Halifax to Chicoutimi where he rang those up in a mere 25 games.

Edmonton Oilers Director of Player Development, Scott Howson had this to say on Lavoie,

“He’s going to have to check hard, be reliable,” Howson continued. “He’s got a great shot. He’s a one-shot scorer who only needs one chance. His pace of play isn’t always terrific, as it is with a lot of the top players in junior because they play so much that they rest on the ice a lot of the time. And there was no resting on the ice at the World Juniors.

“Leg strength, core strength, power,” began Howson. “He’s a good skater in junior — there’s nothing wrong with his stride. It’s just power and strength. He’s got to get a little more powerful off the mark. He’s got to separate from people, because when you’re a pro it’s all about getting the time and space for you to make plays or get a shot off. His separation isn’t what it’s going to need to be once he gets to the NHL.” (source)

As for what the scouts said that I talked to, here are a couple more quotes from them,

“Everything will fall into place when Lavoie finds his compete level and consistency. I believe Lavoie is probably two years away from the NHL and will be a very effective top six forward for the Oilers.” – QMJHL Scout #1

“He is a very exciting player to watch, A large and skilled player. Offensively, his release stands out, whenever he has the puck expect a scoring chance. His biggest asset is his shot. I believe it will take him a bit to transition into the pro game from junior and he will need time but once he gets comfortable he will be very fun to watch.” – QMJHL Scout #2

“Sure, Raphael Lavoie is the kind of big goal scorer that can put the puck in the net from everywhere. Powerful, NHL shot, quick hands, solid on his puck. Not sure he’ll play for the Oilers before maybe 2-3 years in the AHL, but he’s the kind of guy that could turned out really well, or he’ll be not much. I’ve heard the kid has not the best work ethic and attitude. He’s not the smartest guy on the ice, but could play in a complementary role in the NHL as a 2nd liner at his best in my opinion. You’re getting a natural goal scorer that could also maybe play in a bottom 6 role with his toolbox, but will need to work harder than he is. He was a good pick, but not one that I think deserves too much hype!” – QMJHL Scout #3

“He has dominant tools that he over uses at junior level, but not the guy that has really needed to be a complete package in his life to dominate. He could be so much better if he was trying harder, but at the end is Hockey sense is not something really impressive and it’s something that can’t improve much. I like the comparison with James Neal.” – QMJHL Scout #3

I’m quite on the fence with this player. My feeling is that at worst he’ll be an Alex Chiasson-type of player who has the ability to be dangerous considering his shot but lacks the consistency and drive to be someone who spends a lot of time in the top-6 of an NHL club’s forward group.

What I do like about him is that he was willing to take on a different role when he was with the gold-medal winning Team Canada group at the World Juniors this past Christmas. That shows me his maturity is growing.

At best, I think the Oilers could have a James Neal-like player on their hands but as the gentlemen above stated, Lavoie is going to need to kick up his game (in all aspects) a bit. Something Bakersfield Condors head coach Jay Woodcroft has some recent experience with as he’s been working in Kirill Maksimov this past year in trying to make him a more consistent player.

At the end of the day, I don’t think that Ken Holland will rush this player. It’s not how he does things and considering the experience he had with Anthony Mantha, I think he’ll be more than happy to have his staff in Bakersfield work their magic with Lavoie over the next two seasons but that’ll also depend on the Chamby, QC native. How bad will he want it? All we can do is wait and see.

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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects, Rumors

Edmonton Oilers Rumors: Pageau, Strome, Broberg, and Edmonton’s Summer Plans

January 22, 2020 Beer League Hero

Edmonton Oilers insider and play-by-play colorman Bob Stauffer has had some really interesting things to say this week regarding his feelings on some of Edmonton’s future plans. I’m going to show you some of his comments over the week that has passed so far where he’s touched on the Oilers 2020 trade deadline plans, who he thinks the Oilers will target at the 2020 NHL draft, and some very fascinating news on some of Edmonton’s prized prospects.

Two things before we get into all of that though. I recently wrote that I thought the Oilers should forget about adding a significant piece to their top-6 and focus on improving their bottom-6. Most notably their third-line center. Well, to my surprise, TSN’s Frank Seravalli has pointed out that Ryan Strome could be someone who might be available over the next month according to long-time New York Rangers beat writer Larry Brooks.

Listen, if Ryan Strome is available it really is incumbent on Oilers GM Ken Holland to see what he can do about re-acquiring him. He’s the perfect 3rd line center who probably won’t cost the team an arm and a leg, unlike JG Pageau.

A better scenario would be Holland bringing both in, but that would most definitely cost the Oilers dear and it doesn’t sound like something that would fall under Holland’s plan for the Oilers since he was hired.

The other thing, Elliotte Friedman reported in his 31 Thoughts post that the Oilers are working on extensions for a trio of players. Riley Sheahan, Josh Archibald, and Joakim Nygard. Man, Edmonton’s GM works his ass off, eh? In addition to those three players, he’s been trying to nail down a deal for Zack Kassian and has had preliminary talks with Darnell Nurse’s camp too. Toss in the trade negotiations he’s been going through… Respect.

Now, speaking of JG Pageau, the aforementioned Bob Stauffer recently had this to say about the Sens star pivot,

Now, I did hear over the weekend, ’cause I was of the belief that Pageau there was a high likelihood that he would re-sign in Ottawa. I was told “Not so fast there Stauffer. There’s been a little bit of fatigue that has taken place in that relationship.”

That changes things a bit, doesn’t it? Pageau has been on Edmonton’s radar basically all year and it wouldn’t surprise me if they did find a way to acquire him. This situation reminds of the draft when about a week (I think) before the draft it came out that the Oilers were going to take Philip Broberg. Nobody believed they’d let everyone know who they were picking, but that’s exactly what they did.

As for Pageau’s price, Stauffer said this,

I’d heard that Pierre Dorion (Sens GM) was looking for a guy back with term. Like a guy like Nugent-Hopkins. Seriously. Which I would not do. I would not do that trade. OR a first round pick. Now if we’re talking Puljujarvi and a second-round pick, I might consider doing that, but Ottawa would have to take a swing on Puljujarvi.

I know what the immediate reaction to the RNH comment is and I can’t blame you. That said, what if the Oilers could pick up both Pageau and Strome with contract extensions that didn’t eclipse the $8M per year total?

I agree that the first-rounder shouldn’t be in play for Pageau if it wasn’t in play for Taylor Hall. The second-rounder and Pulju is an intriguing proposition though but I think you have to pass on that too. Could the Oilers pick up a player better suited for their team’s development plan for that package?

A lot of debate this season has been which defenseman might be on the move and from the beginning of the year, two names have dominated that discussion, Adam Larsson and Kris Russell. Mr. Stauffer commented on both of those players this past Monday during the call-in portion of his show.

People say, would you trade Larsson, as an example right now, for Kasperi Kapanen? I wouldn’t do that deal during the season. I may evaluate something in the offseason and in terms of Kris Russell, he’s a $4M cap hit. I think there’d be some limitation on the takers around the league on that. I do think Larsson would have some currency for teams looking for defensive shut down D, but the Oilers need him right now. – January 20th on Oilers Now

The next day Stauffer and Sportsnet’s Mark Spector also spoke about the pair of defenders,

They need Larsson right now, do you now agree on that? Well, let’s see what happens in the offseason… Here’s the thing, there’s teams in the league that like Larsson, no disprespect to Kris Russell, he’s got a year left at $4M; that’s a tough contract to move.

Adam Larsson? You can move that contract. There’s teams that would do a deal. I mean, I think Toronto would probably consider doing a deal sooner rather than later, I just don’t think the Oilers can afford to at this time. Edmonton’s built a bit of depth there. Benning, we’ve got to see where he’s at as well in terms of his return to the lineup cause I think he’s a useful player. Some might say he makes too much at $2M. – January 21st on Oilers Now

I don’t know what it sounds like to you, but to me, it sounds like Bob is of the belief that the Oilers will be moving on from Adam Larsson or at the very least, IF they wanted to, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to do so.

Personally, I wouldn’t move him. I get the urgency to transform the defense into more of a mobile puck-moving unit, but the Oilers do not have another right-shot defender that can do what Larsson does at his current ability coming. Plus I reckon Ken Holland likes his physical shutdown defenders that come from Sweden. We have to consider what a great contract Larsson is on too. Two more years at $4.166M for a top-pairing 20+ minute per night defender is damned good in today’s NHL.

As for Russell, Edmonton might have to include a prospect with him in order to facilitate a trade. That said, there are teams like Colorado ($17M), the Islanders ($14M), and the Jets ($10M) who have a ton of cap room who would value a gutsy player like Russell for a playoff run. Would those teams be on his 10-team trade list though?

OILERS PROSPECTS AND THE UPCOMING DRAFT

I’m just going to put these comments in point form for the sake of time. If you’d like to check what Stauffer or his guests said if full, I’ll include the audio at the end of this segment.

Oilers Director of Player Development Scott Howson said Phillip Broberg might be spending another season in Skelleftea next year.

Howson also believes that if the European players aren’t ready to come over, the Oilers should just keep them over in Europe and allow them to come over when they’re ready. He felt that Evan Bouchard will be more of an offensive defender than Broberg but that the Swede would end up being a top-4 defender.

Due to improved skating, Broberg’s d-partner in Skelleftea, Filip Berglund has more than put himself into consideration for the Oilers to sign him before they lose his rights this year.

If Evan Bouchard graduates to the NHL by next season, the Condors will be in need of an offensive defender on the right side. I suppose Joel Persson could be an option should he agree to re-sign with the Oilers, but I’m not 100% confident of that happening. Phillip Broberg could come over as well and be paired up with his SHL partner and in fact, that very well could be one of many determining factors for him.

Markus Niemelainen is another player the Oilers need to make a decision on. Howson said that he’s now playing 20-22 minutes a night for his club in the SM-Liiga as a defensive defenseman. He noted that he moves really well, has range and size (6’5″) but he’s average with the puck and that will be the issue with him but there are lots of guys playing like him in the NHL that can skate and move but are merely adequate puck movers. Howson also said that Niemelainen is content with who he is as a player and not worried about point production.

This player sounds a lot like Martin Marincin, doesn’t it? There’s a possibility that both players (Niemelainen and Berglund) could come over and play in Bakersfield next season but it sounds like there’d need to be some extra work into convincing Ken Holland that they’d be worth it given they’re not his guys. Howson felt that these players have really improved to the point to where they’ve forced the Oilers to seriously consider them.

Howson believes that Raphael Lavoie has get stronger and become a better skater cut out some of his junior habits like taking breaks on the ice when he’s been playing too much. He figured that since Lavoie’s TOI has been cut down since his trade to Chicoutimi that this would happen naturally. Howson called him a “one-shot scorer”.

I’m not as convinced with this player as some are. To me, he could end up being either an Alex Chiasson or a James Neal. Depends on him. I like how he’ll graduate to the AHL next season though as I want to see more of him. He was decent at the World Juniors but not a game-breaker. What I want to see from him is more urgency in his game. He’s a big guy so I want to see him use that frame accordingly.

Stauffer mentioned that he wouldn’t trade either the first or second-round picks in the next draft and he’d try to acquire a forward using Jesse Puljujarvi in order to replenish Edmonton’s cupboards.

If the Oilers were drafting today, they’d be picking 19th and 50th I believe. In those spots, I reckon Edmonton could come away with a very good shooter like Jack Quinn (Ottawa 67s) or possibly Hamilton’s newest import forward Jan Mysak in the first round and in the second round, it wouldn’t be out of the possibility to see a player like Barrie’s Tyson Foerster, Sarnia’s Jacob Perreault, or Sherwood Park Crusaders forward Carter Savoie still on the board.

I wonder though if Edmonton Oil Kings star Jake Neighbours is around when Edmonton is picking after the first round, would they take him? He’s got a ton of heart and as much skill to go with it.

So could you imagine Holland being able to add that much firepower to the pipeline in Edmonton AND another talented player with a Puljujarvi trade over the summer? Now think three years down the road when these players are closer to being NHL ready and the Oilers are an annual playoff team. Holland is sitting pretty with a bunch of talented young forwards that he could either use in the lineup OR as trade fodder at the deadline.

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Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

Edmonton Oilers: Four Training Camp Thoughts + Possible Alternate Jersey Leak

September 15, 2019 Beer League Hero

The Edmonton Oilers will play their first pre-season game versus the Winnipeg Jets tomorrow night and I’d have to say things have been interesting in camp this year so far. We’ve got a couple of veterans who’ve yet to make an appearance in Kris Russell (concussion) and Mike Smith (flu) and some who’ve had lots of exposure but haven’t taken the bull by the horns yet.

As promised, full highlights from today's #Oilers intrasquad scrimmage that includes four points for Bouch, some nifty playmaking from Benson & plenty of finish to get you all primed for preseason action tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/j708QnnmPb

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 15, 2019

1. Cooper Marody

The annual Joey Moss Cup went this evening and it was a landslide 7-1 win for Team White over Team Blue, here were the rosters:

Team Blue: G: Wells, S. Starrett D: Persson, Bear, Jones, Lagesson, Kulevich: F: Malone, Peluso, Currie, Gambardella, B. Starrett, Esposito, Safin, Marody, Maksimov, Jurco

Team White: G: Rodrigue, Skinner D: Manning, Lowe, Desharnais, Bouchard, Samorukov, Day F: Nygard, Cave, Hebig, Benson, P. Russell, Lavoie, Vesey, McLeod, Haas

I wasn’t at the game for obvious reasons, so I’m left making judgments on it via the information I can gather from social media and once again, the lack of positive reports on Cooper Marody after a summer of hype is concerning, but not a surprise to this writer. There wasn’t even a mention of him in Bruce McCurdy’s review of the game…

In two rookie games and an intra-squad scrimmage (without the team’s top players involved no less), he’s found a way to become irrelevant.

How long can we give him the benefit of the doubt here? He was asked about his skating by Jason Gregor in an interview not too long ago and he brushed it off like it was nothing.

“For me, I don’t see that being an issue. There are a lot of players in the NHL that fly around the ice, but I’m more of a thinker and there is no wasted strides, no wasted movements. I know the NHL is another step but you can’t point to one time where my speed or quickness has prevented me from making a play, or getting to a puck, or winning a battle in the American League all year.”

I could probably point to a couple of times in those rookie games where his lack of speed and quickness prevented him from making a play. And that game was full of junior players and minor leaguers…

Lots of talk, but not a lot of walk to date.

The sentiment I got was that he thinks he knows better than the scouts and coaching staff. I don’t care how good his hands are or if he can see the play five steps ahead of his opponents, his lack of explosiveness and quickness is what will keep him on the outside looking in.

Cameron Hebig has outplayed Marody (and a few others) so far and it’s not even close. Maybe another year in the minors will help adjust Cooper’s attitude a little there.

2. Lavoie and Rodrigue Cut Early

Don’t read into these young men getting sent back to Junior early. Every team is doing it and it’s for the best. They had a very low chance of making the club and they’re better off joining their QMJHL teams as they head into the preseason.

Lavoie showed glimpses of what made him a highly-regarded player going into the 2019 NHL entry draft, but he also showed his age and inexperience. Personally, I think he’s looking forward to at least one or two seasons in the AHL after completing his Junior career.

Rodrigue had an outstanding rookie game versus the Flames (sans the early goal he let in) but his team in Moncton requires his services more than the Oilers. I’ll be interested to see how he does this year as he’s one of the front-runner’s for Team Canada’s starting goalie at the World Juniors in the Czech Republic this year.

3. Speed Kills

From all accounts, the speed and quickness of European signings Joakim Nygard and Gaetan Haas is standing out. Check out the scrimmage highlights above and you’ll notice at the beginning a goal where fellow SHL-signing Joel Persson tries to seal Nygard along the boards, but the speedy Swede slips by and subsequently sets up Cameron Hebig for a goal while Haas takes the defender with him to the net. A lovely play!

One of the things I’ve been wondering since more information has been released regarding these Euro signings is if there’s a possibility we might see them in the top-6 in Edmonton at some point. Haas has the size, the speed/quickness, the hands, he shoots right… Then there’s Nygard who is a grittier version of Carl Hagelin.

All I know is that youngsters like Tyler Benson and Cooper Marody are competing with Haas and Nygard for a spot on this roster. To me, the kids are losing the battle… So far.

4. Evan Bouchard vs. Everyone?

Are we really looking at the Oilers possibly starting the season with a 20-year-old on their blueline? Evan Bouchard has been fantastic so far and it’s really hard to ignore that. Four points in a scrimmage is a lot for a forward let alone a defender.

It sounds like Joel Persson is still adjusting to the ice in North America. He’s getting tons of reps to get him acclimated quickly and I’m not sure if that’s a good sign or a bad one. Even if he does need a bit of time in Bakersfield, the Oilers have the players to cover for him.

From McCurdy’s recounting of the scrimmage, it sounds like Caleb Jones, Ethan Bear, and William Lagesson still need to pick it up a notch.

Could all four be sent to the AHL and Bouchard start the year in Edmonton? I’m very leery of that tactic and it doesn’t sound like one Oilers GM Ken Holland would use. That said, he did use 20-year-old Dennis Cholowski for 52 games last season.

I say, send him to Bakersfield regardless. I don’t imagine these performances will continue against NHL competition and he’s got some work to do on his defensive game. Coach Tippett said that he’s still got some “Junior habits” in his game that need working out. He mentioned that Bouchard and Dmitri Samorukov played so much in Junior that they rested on the ice at times and in the NHL you can’t do that.

It’d be fairer to guys like Ethan Bear, Caleb Jones, or William Lagesson to keep them up instead. We’ve also got fan-favorite Brandon Manning sitting there and who knows what Holland or Dave Tippett has in store for him.

An Alternate Jersey Prototype Leaked?

Do you remember that CCM commercial with Brent Burns and Connor McDavid not too long ago where they were having a shooting competition and they’d give each other cheeky prizes to whoever won? Well, I think I might’ve found something very interesting in the video and I’m surprised nobody else did or maybe they did find it but I didn’t read anything on it.

Look at the uniform that the teddy bear is wearing. I don’t have any confirmation on this, it’s just a hunch on my part, but I believe that could’ve been an alternate jersey the Oilers were looking at using as the colors and the scheme match up with the orange ones they use today. It also matches that of the uniform their AHL affiliate uses.

My feeling is that there’s a strong possibility that we’ll see the uniform that Brent Burns’ teddy bear is wearing at some point in the future. I mean, that’s the jersey they should’ve come out with this year if not a throwback uniform like other teams in the Pacific division are using.

Or maybe this observation is nothing at all and that’s a fakey up there or this is old news…

Just before I go, Jesse Puljujarvi scored a goal and an assist in his second SM-Liiga match of the year. He’s got 12 shots on goal in those two games and is averaging over 15 minutes per game of ice time.

Between the Finnish league and the Champions Hockey League, he’s got 3 goals and 3 assists and 35 shots on goal. A point-per-game player in Europe is the least we could ask for and he’s delivering! Go Yessa Go!

What do you think about Oilers training camp so far? Let us know in the comments below!

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Elias Pettersson’s nickname is “Alien”. Here’s a shirt to celebrate it! Click the image to buy one!

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Edmonton Oilers: Bob Stauffer On the Potential Return for Jesse Puljujarvi

June 25, 2019 Beer League Hero

Every day it’s going to be touch and go with regards to my favorite Finnish Oiler, Jesse Puljujarvi, isn’t it? Yesterday morning on Oilers Now, after opening the show up with “Rock You Like a Hurricane” (can you lay it on any thicker Bob?), Bob Stauffer really sort of laid out what the possible return for Pulju might be in a trade and went as far as to explain why in detail. I’ll put the transcriptions below so you don’t have to chase down the audio.

Well, here’s where we’re kind of at right now. Logic dictates, the teams that are interested in JP, they’ve probably let the Oilers know at this stage because they probably want to have things in place by July 1st.

Let’s say you have a RFA forward that’s played roughly the same amount of games as Puljujarvi, Puljujarvi by the way is an RFA as well, and you’re thinking, “You know what? We think Puljujarvi has a higher upside than our guy and our guy is probably going to be required to be paid $1.75M-$2.25M. Maybe we bring Puljujarvi in and we just qualify him and he gets, you know, 10% bump on 925k base, which would take him just over a million bucks.”

You’re going to need to know that before you dip into free agency. Mmmkay? If you’re the Oilers, you’re going to want to know what you’re getting back for Puljujarvi and I would suggest to you that there’s multiple teams that are in on him, Ok? And if you’re Edmonton, you’re going, “Are we getting back a guy that is $2M-$2.5M, cause if we do get that guy back; that might take us out of the mix of some potential mid-range free agents that we’re looking at up front.

Clearly the Oilers have experienced defensemen. They’ve got a plethora now, especially with the addition of Broberg, of some young “D” that are coming. It’s probably the deepest part of the organization, Evan Bouchard, Broberg, Dmitri Samorukov. Caleb Jones, Ethan Bear, William Lagesson… Not out of the realm of possibilities in three years from now, three or four of those guys could be in the Oilers defense moving forward.

So why not use one as a sweetener in a trade to open up some cap space?

But up front there’s movement that’s potentially available. I put a tweet out last week believing the Oilers could spend $2.5M-$3M, maybe $3.5M at the high-end on one forward and then sign a couple other forwards one 1-way deals at like 800k. So, we mentioned Brett Connolly yesterday on Twitter. Could he get $4M somewhere? He might. I’d have to talk to Gerry Johannson about that. In a perfect world in Edmonton, if he could get him at $3Mx3, he might make sense. I’m just not convinced they can get him at that price point.

Some names out there, assuming that maybe a guy like Brett Ritchie doesn’t get qualified out of Dallas, he was making $1.75M last year… Daniel Carr was a free agent, he is a UFA by the way, Ritchie an RFA. Maybe those are guys you can get in the 800k to $1M range. In fact, I’m sure you could if you offered them a 1-way deal.

You know… If you deal Kris Russell out, that will open up a significant amount of cap space and then you wouldn’t really have to worry about this sort of thing… The Oilers might even be able to sign TWO mid-range free agents. Imagine that! Picking up Joonas Donskoi AND Brett Connolly… Crazy, right?

So time will tell on that front, but you need to know what you’re going to get back. An argument could be made what makes the most sense for Edmonton is a guy who has spent the last couple of seasons in the minors and is ready to take the next step. So, for the sake of argument, we’ve mentioned Julien Gauthier out of Carolina. Sebastian Aho is with the Carolina Hurricanes, Gerry Johannson is gonna be busy cause he’s got Aho and Brayden Point and those guys are huge players for the organizations they’re with. My guess is with Sebastian Aho believes he can make Jesse Puljujarvi a player and if I was Carolina, Tom Dundon, and trust me, it’s Tom Dundon, I would be willing to make that bet.

The analytics folks are probably just salivating at the idea of buying low on Puljujarvi here and given how involved they are in Carolina, it makes perfect sense why they are getting the push here from the media.

So the Hurricanes look at moving a prospect to Edmonton for Puljujarvi, I’d think they would contemplate that. Would Tampa Bay do it? They have tons of 2nd round and 3rd round players over the last few years contributing on their farm team, they need a younger cheaper guy. Maybe they look at Puljujarvi. People mention Pittsburgh, possibly. And again, what’s the return going to be?

If I’m looking at the Hurricanes farm roster, I would think Janne Kuokkanen or Morgan Geekie would be players worth considering. They’re 5×5 pts/60 are 0.49 and 0.44 respectively, whereas Julien Gauthier’s sits at 0.37. I mean none of them scream “NHL PLAYER!!!” but we are where we are and I can see why Gauthier would stand out. He scored 27 goals and has seen a substantial increase in his production since the season prior, going from 25 points in 2017/18 to 41 in 2018/19. He’s also 6’4″ and 225lbs too.

I don’t really know what Bob’s talking about regarding Tampa’s “tons of 2nd/3rd rounders that have been contributing. Junior scoring sensations Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh have just finished up their rookie seasons in the AHL and combined for 69pts between the two and really their 5×5 pts/60 wasn’t much better than the Canes’ prospects above (0.20 for Katchouk and 0.43 for Raddysh). Alexandre Volkov is another player who might garner interest but you have to wonder after two 40+ point seasons in the AHL, can he take the next step? The oldest “prospect” of the group, Carter Verhaeghe, is the only one producing for Syracuse but he IS an RFA… Over the last four seasons in the AHL, this young man has produced seasons of 15, 29, 48, and 82 points. This past year he had a 5×5 pts/60 of 0.63 but he’s also 23 years old.

A new season means a new design! Click the image above to get the new Pulju shirt!

Bringing us to Pittsburgh. Do they have any RFA prospects? They do, but they spent good chunks of the year with the Pens. Teddy Blueger is a 24-year-old Latvian forward who posted 39pts in 45 games for the Baby Pens last season and had a 5×5 pts/60 of 0.6. He might be tempting. Another player is Zach Ashton-Reese, he was a highly sought after NCAA free agent but has been a bit riddled with injuries in his two seasons with Pittsburgh so far. He did have a cup of coffee in Wilkes-Barre last year, 11 games where he put up 9pts. I watched him a little bit and he’s a thick guy who goes to the dirty areas. He was a really good scorer at the collegiate level but that hasn’t quite translated to the NHL yet.

I just can’t recommend any of these guys I listed in an exchange for Jesse Puljujarvi though. But what about these RFAs?

Again, not my first choices, I’m just trying to do what I can here. Both players haven’t been able to get going at all with their NHL clubs and have spent times in and out of the AHL for the past two or three seasons.

I do think a US market would probably work better for Puljujarvi, I think he needs to be gradually brought along. But to me, the best place, if I was Markus Lehto, the best place I’d be happiest with for Jesse would be Carolina. So we’ll wait and see on that front but it’s my belief that it has to get done in the next 3-4 days IF it’s going to happen. He’s going to be one of the story lines.

I don’t quite get why Stauffer is saying that Pulju needs to be gradually brought along? Isn’t that part of the reason Jesse doesn’t want to play for the Oilers? Because they’re not giving him the ice-time he thinks he can perform best in?

For Markus Lehto, would he be happiest for himself that Jesse would be playing in Carolina because he has a client there already in Teuvo Teravainen? Jim Rutherford was the GM in Carolina when Lehto was dealing with Teravainen and his issues getting NHL TOI in Chicago, right? What happened there? Chicago needed to unload a contract and Teuvo was included as the sweetener. Rutherford was also the GM in Pittsburgh when another one of Lehto’s clients, Kasperi Kapanen was having trouble getting traction in that organization and what happened with that? He was the main piece of the trade that brought Phil Kessel to Pittsburgh. So there’s a working relationship between Pittsburgh’s GM and Lehto.

One texter wrote in and in so many words told him how stupid it would be for the Oilers to trade Puljujarvi to the Hurricanes for Julien Gauthier and his reply was, “Well. We’ll have to see.” The writing is pretty much on the wall, eh?

I think for myself, I’m having a hard time trying to nail down the want for Edmonton here. I don’t buy this “cap space” narrative at all from the Oilers end. Move Russell, Lucic, or Sekera with the 1st rounder and Voila! Cap space! Or is it that they want Puljujarvi out? Has it been the organization all along that has been pushing this and Lehto and Jesse simply playing along?

Ken Holland was sounding pretty tough before the draft and now it sounds like the stance has softened which is a bit disconcerting. Now we’re hearing that the returns for JP could be a 2nd round pick or middle-6 winger or an RFA who’s played a similar amount of games to Jesse but yet to break through… It’s all over the place and that screams confusion or misinformation…

The best thing, I think, is for the Oilers to give this the Drouin treatment and maybe wait this out until the week before opening night, see who’s in a tight spot and then try to work out a deal there. Too add to that, Kasperi Kapanen and Teuvo Teravainan have turned out pretty well for their new clubs. That should simply be the expectation for Puljujarvi as well here, and with that, the Oilers had better not be accepting an AHL prospect in return.

Some of you might think that Jesse Puljujarvi stinks. He’s not a good player and he has no value at all and that’s fine. I happen to disagree. He does have value and if he didn’t, “lots and lots of GMs” wouldn’t be calling trying to fleece Holland.

So we wait… Will the Edmonton Oilers continue to trade young players and receive pennies on the dollar or will they flip that script and do something different this time?

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