Tag Archives: Ryan Strome

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

(12/12/2020) – BLH’s NHL Rumor Roundup AM Edition: “They’ve Put a Few Names Out There.”

December 12, 2020 Beer League Hero

BLH provides you with the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation featuring Ryan Strome, a million-dollar rookie card, Nick Robertson, Mike Babcock, and some hearsay from NHL Insider extraordinaire Elliotte Friedman!

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NHL Rumors and Speculation

Rick Carpiniello (The Athletic): Believes the New York Rangers have a tough decision to make with Ryan Strome coming up,
- “Ryan Strome, the No. 2 center at the moment, and Panarin’s most likely partner, just signed a two-year deal. He is almost certain to be traded by the ’21-22 trade deadline, though, because by then the Rangers will either be sure he isn’t a legit No. 2 center going forward or his Panarin-driven stats will be so good that they can’t afford to re-sign him as an unrestricted free agent.”

BLH’s Thoughts: Unless Strome starts putting up 80pts/yr, I believe he’s hit his ceiling with regards to how much he’ll be making. The Rangers should just sit down with him and see what he wants. I mean, if I were him, I can see the writing on the wall, but I can also see what the future holds for the Rangers. He’s still young and there might be a chance he’ll be centering Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko one day… Would you take a hair cut to play with those talents every night?

Sportsnet: Last Friday, The Great One’s 1979 O-Pee-Chee Edmonton Oilers rookie card sold for a record-breaking $1.032 million… More than 20 years after his last game, Wayne Gretzky is still breaking records.
Harman Dayal/Thomas Drance (The Athletic): Reckon that the Vancouver Canucks depth could be as bad as the rebuilding Ottawa Senators’
- “Top-end talent stacks up really well in the all-Canadian division.” But, that’s where the advantages stop. Vancouver’s top six and top four are in the top half of the expected Canadian division. At the top of the lineup, they’re probably the second-best team in the country. … At the bottom end of the lineup though, well, the Canucks look like Ottawa West.”

BLH’s Thoughts: GM Jim Benning kinda spit the bit this summer when he let Tyler Toffoli, Chris Tanev, and Jacob Markstrom go for nothing… That being said, this team has a lot of heart to go with its remaining skill (which is nothing to joke about). I can see them taking a step back this year but coming back strong next season.

Bob McKenzie (TSN): Says Team USA could be without star forward Nick Robertson because the Toronto Maple Leafs want him at NHL Training camp. The situation is ongoing.

BLH’s Thoughts: The US team is still pretty stacked with Trevor Zegras (ANA), Matt Boldy (MIN), Cole Caufield (MTL), John Beecher (BOS), Alex Turcotte (LA), and Brendan Brisson (VGK)… Plus they’ve got a really good goalie in Spencer Knight (FLA) and a stud on defence with Jake Sanderson (OTT). They’ll put up a good fight at the 2021 World Juniors.

Elliotte Friedman (Sportsnet): Says ex-Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock was a finalist for the coaching job in Washington.
- “They interviewed Babcock and I heard heard Babcock’s interview was fantastic. The Story I was told was at the time you were allowed to do it, there were no travel restrictions but Caps GM Brian MacLellan met Babcock at his place and apparently they had an unbelievable meeting and there were some people who told me they thought that Babcock was going to get that job.”
- “One of the things that worried Washington was the noise around Babcock from how it ended in Toronto and they weren’t prepared to deal with that.”
- “I think he’s going to be coaching in the NHL in the future.”

BLH’s Thoughts: Seattle? They could do a lot worse than Babcock, to be honest. But unless he’s rehabbed his image a bit, will the fanbase in that area accept someone like Babs or is that franchise willing to hire someone with the kind of reputation that Babcock has?

Friedman on the Pacioretty Rumors: “I think what’s going on there is, after they made the Nate Schmidt deal they only needed to make one more deal to get cap compliant. They’ve been looking at some things trying to create some flexibility. I think they’ve put a few names out there. I heard Ale Martinez’s name but I don’t think that’s going on anymore. Jonathan Marchessault’s name is out there. I heard Nashville was talking about Marchessault.”
- “The toughest thing with Pacioretty is the number. It’s three times $7M now and a lot of teams don’t have that flexibility right now.”

BLH’s Thoughts: I’d like to say that I’m happy that somebody else has taken over the daily rumor notifications from Mike Hoffman, but I’m not sure I am. That said, if there’s any truth to the idea that in-season trading between American and Canadian teams might be close to non-existent due to the border being closed and local health protocols, should we expect a massive wave of transactions prior to camp getting started?

Friedman on the proposed NHL season start date: “There are people in the league that don’t believe they’ll start Jan. 13th.”

BLH’s Thoughts: I would be surprised if there weren’t any hiccups leading up to that supposed target date. The COVID #s aren’t slowing down at all in North America and my guess is it’ll be a while until they do. Would the summer time be a fair prediction as to when things start to look better?

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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.

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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, NHL Entry Draft, Prospects, Rumors

Edmonton Oilers: Mike Gillis, Ryan Strome, and Where the Oilers Will be Shopping for Players

March 31, 2019 Beer League Hero

I woke up this morning to see the Oilers Twittersphere still going bananas over Ryan Strome and Mike Gillis and who can blame them really. It’s not as if the fans of the team have anything to be happy about. They wanted McLellan out and they got their wish. They wanted Chiarelli out and they got their wish. Now there’s a sentiment out there that had the Oilers now made the Strome and Caggiula trade that the team would be in a better position in the standings, possibly in the playoffs?

Yikes…

Take a second and think about that for a second. Does that make sense?

The trades overshadow the players I think more than anything here. At the end of the day, the return that Chiarelli got for Strome and Caggiula wasn’t satisfactory but I do understand the reasoning for the trades.

Drake Caggiula did have seven goals for the team before being traded right after Christmas but he hadn’t scored the 12 games prior and there were no Ginos for another nine after the deal. In fact, he’s only scored 4 goals in Chicago. The Drake has a total of 18 points and is dash seven on the season. Don’t tell me that he was the missing link in Edmonton. That’s almost as bad as blaming Toby Rieder for the team NOT making the playoffs.

Good player, fun to watch, but obviously not the guy Edmonton was expecting when they signed him out of NoDak.

As for Strome, he had seven points in his previous 35 games in Edmonton before being dealt to the Big Apple. Three points in 18 games this season. THREE! Nobody can argue that that is brutal production and he was given a defined role on the team (3C/PKer) to boot. So it’s no wonder that in a season that meant so much, the Oilers felt they needed to move him on.

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My friend, SPR, had some interesting things to say on Twitter today regarding Strome that I will share with you here.

Question for the masses. Are the failures of Lucic, Rieder & Strome all Chia’s fault, or should we be looking at the philosophical approach of both coaching staffs too as a culprit? If u look at their #’s pre-EDM & post-EDM (Strome), guys tend to have success in different systems. I’m almost of the thought that it doesn’t really make a difference which bottom 6 players u bring in, if u take away all their offensive creativity & just tell them to dump & chase all game, like Yamo & JP were told to do, no one will have real success. It’s more of system thing

Two old school, heavy hockey coaches now in TMac and Hitch. Why do guys like Chiasson and Kassian have success? Is it because they play with 97 & 29 or is it because they’re ALLOWED to play a more creative style when they play with them?

Dump and chase from lines 2-4 and not getting there 75% of the time seems to be the M.O. of this team for years. If u want 3 scoring lines, u have to let 3 lines be offensively creative. Forcing them to dump and chase every night won’t achieve that.

Those teams do it with a purpose and immediately look to get puck to the slot for a high danger scoring chance. EDM continuously looks to cycle the puck back and forth till they get it to the point for a weak shot on net with anyone in front. It’s like all Edmonton does is stall and try and maintain possession on lines 2-4 till McDavid is ready to come back out. Let him open it up offensively then back to what doesn’t work again. Rinse, repeat.

I think there’s a lot of wisdom in what Sean is saying there. I mean considering that the skilled creative types were moved out (with the blessing of a couple of the greatest coaches in NHL history I might add) in exchange for players who were more predictable, it’s fair to ask what SPR is asking.

MIKE GILLIS

Today you might’ve read what Cult of Hockey Journalist (and Oilers insider) wrote about Mike Gillis. If not, you can do so here. The overriding sentiment is that Gillis should be interviewed, had information gleaned from, and ultimately not hired. But my question is, he’s going to know this going into any interview, so how much gold do you think you’re going to get out of him?

I don’t know if Gillis will get hired in Edmonton or Seattle or any other team looking for a new GM but I do know that he wants to wipe the front office clean in Edmonton if they’re interested in hiring him and I can see how that would rub people the wrong way in Edmonton. The Edmonton media doesn’t seem to like him because he’s not a nice man to deal with.

What I will say is that it hasn’t been working in Edmonton with the nice men. Thirteen years and one playoff appearance to show for it. Most of the front office has been the same in that time frame. So don’t you think it might be time to flip the switch here?

Maybe it’s time to hire the mean man and make things uncomfortable.

Is everyone projecting Mike Gillis in the wrong role though? Should we be talking about him as the Oilers’ President of Hockey Operations? How much would he be dealing with the media then? He could still implement his forward thinking and install whatever analytics department he wanted in this role but all the things that everyone shits on him for wouldn’t so much as apply to my belief.

Thoughts?

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WHERE THE OILERS WILL BE SHOPPING FOR HELP

I’m of the thought that the Oilers will be sending a pretty solid group of scouts to the World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia this year in hopes of unearthing some affordable additions to the team next season.

Names that have come up in the past are Joakim Nygard (W), Jacob Lilja (W), and Anton Wedin (W) from Sweden. Oula Palve (C), Otto Leskinen (D), Oliwer Kaski (RHD), and Ville Leskinen (W) from Finland. Perhaps Ilya Mikheyev (F) and Vlad Tkachyev (F) (Remember Vladdy Hockey?) from Russia as well.

Interim-GM Keith Gretzky did make mention of procuring some talent from Europe that is a bit more pro-ready on Oilers Now recently.

THE DRAFT

At this very moment, the Oilers are sitting at 8th overall. This means if the standings were to remain the same, they could draft either in the top-3 with a lottery win or move down as far as 11th if I’m correct on that.

Obviously, the Oilers will be looking for the best player available where ever they end up.

They can’t go wrong with 200pt man Jack Hughes if they win the lottery outright. Kaapo Kakko IS the winger they need and if you’re worried about another Finn getting picked and taking a bit more time to settle in, don’t. Kakko plays a much different game than Puljujarvi. His English might not be as good as yours or mine but the game is played on the ice and he reminds me of Matt Duchene in how he uses his edges and Joe Sakic with his shot. He’s lighting up the SM-Liiga as a 17-year-old…

After those two players, here are four more that impress me.

Alex Turcotte -C/W- (USNTDP)
Trevor Zegras -C- (USNTDP)
Vasili Podkolzin -RW- (SKA St. Petersburg)
Bowen Byram -D- (Vancouver/WHL)

Turcotte is a wrecking ball out there, not only with his physicality (he never gives up on the puck) but also the scoresheet. For the USNTDP U-18 program, he has 53pts in 30 games and for their junior team that suits up against USHL and NCAA teams, he has 34pts in 16 games.

Trevor Zegras is often referred to as Jack Hughes-lite. He’s a crafty line driver that doesn’t rely on others for point production according to Evan Oppenheimer.

https://twitter.com/OppenheimerEvan/status/1075869454192558081

“Betweenness” is a new metric that I’ve discovered that intrigues me. The most basic way I’ve seen it described is from DraftGeek’s Sam Happi,

Betweenness is a metric that estimates the influence of a player within his team’s scoring network. I like to look at it as a measure of how much the team would suffer if that player was suddenly removed from the scoring network of his team— the higher the betweenness, the more the team would feel the negative effects.

Of course, this stat isn’t the be-all, end-all that should determine a player’s worth. Its creator sums it up like this,

A player’s betweenness score may provide us with a lot of information about that player’s context, but it is only one way of doing that. Employing betweenness scores in one’s analysis may be extremely valuable — but it’s more like a thermometer than it is an actual doctor.

Zegras has also been racking up the points for that stacked USNTDP roster. For the U-18 team he’s amassed 76pts in 53 games and for the junior club he has 40pts in 27 games played.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-jv-71HZLM

Vasiili Podkolzin is a contested figure. He lit up the Hlinka-Gretzky tournament in Edmonton this past summer but he’s failed to really shine for his teams in Russia.

Admittedly, I have only seen a shift-by-shift video of him for SKA St. Petersburg but I was impressed with how smart he played. He’s quite good at being in the right spot at the right time both offensively and defensively.

I’ve said in the past, his aggressiveness is something I really enjoy. He reminds me a bit of Peter Forsberg or Evgeni Malkin in that manner sans Malkin’s size. Meaning he doesn’t take any shit out on the ice and he’ll come right at you if he feels he’s been done wrong by.

He’s probably going to stay in Russia for another season or two and that might be exactly what the Oilers need. Just to prevent them from rushing another 18-year-old kid into the lineup and blowing his development as their so apt to do.

Lastly, if Edmonton can get their hands on Bowen Byram, they should be jumping for joy. He’s the best defender available and he’s the perfect partner for Evan Bouchard if we’re projecting three-to-five years into the future.

Byram is a clutch goal scorer (I think he has 6 GWG OT goals this year). He can skate, shoot, and pass. He hits like a freight train despite not having a massive frame and he oozes leadership. Edmonton would be nuts to pass up the opportunity to grab him.

Might a good comparison to him be Morgan Rielly?

If the Oilers find themselves drafting lower than 8th, I would hope they explore a trade then. Either to upgrade the roster, which could be by subtraction (Lucic) or to trade down and pick up additional draft picks where they could select a forward like,

Cole Caufield (USNTDP) -W- Debincat 2.0. This kid scores at will.
Bobby Brink (Sioux City/USHL) -W- Fast rising up the rankings. Very smart and very skilled.
Phil Tomasino (Niagara/OHL) -W- Barzal-lite? You want speed and skill, Tomasino’s got it.

None of these players are big, apart from Kakko, who is 6’4″ and 200lbs plus but none are as slight as Kailer Yamamoto either.

Check out how the rest of the draft class is doing here.

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

Edmonton Oilers Rumors: Spooner Acquisition Just the Beginning?

November 18, 2018 Beer League Hero

She’s been a busy weekend here in Taipei and I haven’t had the chance to comment on the Strome/Spooner trade. So I’d like to do that right now and also address some possibility of future moves being made by the team.

The Trade

I like the trade but how much longer will Peter Chiarelli put up with Todd McLellan’s BS? More on that in a second.

Ryan Strome was spinning his wheels in Edmonton on the third line and the PK. Funny, this was the second season in a row where the elder Strome started the year horribly. Remember when Nick Kypreos went on Hockey Night in Canada early last year and let it be known that the Oilers weren’t happy with Strome’s performances and might be looking to move on from him?

Well, I guess Chiarelli didn’t want to wait for Kyper to get his meathooks stuck in again this year and pulled the trigger on a deal to bring in a former 2nd round pick of his.

Full disclosure, I have never really paid close attention (or any attention at all really) to the career of Ryan Spooner so I had nothing to really go on until I watched him vs. Calgary last night and what I saw didn’t disappoint me. Although, he’s got to tie his man up a bit better than that in front of the net.

He’s quick and he looks like he doesn’t mind taking a shot which is good. I think the Oilers could use a few more shoot-first players.

Getting back to Strome a bit here. I never really minded his game but one of my pet peeves regarding how he played was that he spent far too much time on the perimeter. He can skate and he can stickhandle and shoot but he really had no time for the interior of the ice and that’s not how you’re going impress the coach. I thought he could’ve done more to become a more dominant defensive player though.

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More Deals Coming?

Maybe. What I was told was that if the Oilers keep up with the sub-par performances, changes will come. They still want that PP QB and possibly another centre.

The way I interpret that is the coach will be replaced. We can talk about how the Oilers could move Zack Kassian or Milan Lucic but trades are difficult to make I feel. Axing the coach and bringing in a new one is just a matter of getting the owners approval because it’s going to hit him in the wallet.

Now, I can’t say one way or another if the Oilers would hire Joel Quenneville but I will say with certainty, if the Oilers do go out and get him, they’ll be paying a very dear price to hire him on.

My question would be, do you think he’d only come in on the interim basis? The reason I ask that is that Pittsburgh is absolutely floundering right now. Would they axe their coach and bring Quenneville in? Which sort of team would Coach Q prefer?

Before I end this, I just want to float a few names your way and you tell me if you think they’re too far-fetched, ok?

Nikita Zadorov (COL) – LHD – The hard-hitting Russian is in Bednar’s doghouse.
Phil Kessel (PIT) – RW – How long will Rutherford keep Phil the Thrill during this slump?
Jeff Carter (LA) – C – How far will LA go in dismantling things?

Lots of questions to be asked and so… We wait.

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

Edmonton Oilers Rumors: Oilers Getting Calls on Cam Talbot but He’s Not the Only One

November 12, 2018 Beer League Hero

It’s safe to say that Oilers fans, myself included, thought that we’d be seeing a different version of Cam Talbot than the one who presided over the Oilers net in 2017/18. I don’t think any of us thought we’d be seeing a goalie whose current stats read as such:

GAA: 3.09
SV%: .895
W: 5
L: 7
OT: 1

Now before we get into this, I didn’t see the post over at The Fourth Period nor the one that David Staples wrote in response to it. So that could make this post a bit redundant but in my defense, I only share what I’ve been told. Simple as that. It’s up to you if you’d like to believe what I’m sharing or you think it’s all BS and like I’ve said countless times before and I’ll say countless times again, things change all of the time and these “rumors” rarely come true. So don’t take them too seriously.

With regards to the timing of me reporting this latest rumor, yes, it’s my fault for not paying attention. So I’ll wear that but I think after last night’s game, the possibility of the Oilers listening to offers on Cam Talbot is that much higher, no? In fact, they’ve got to be listening to offers on a few players with the way the team is performing.

HERE’S THE THING THOUGH

Why on Earth would any team be looking at Cam Talbot with that stat line and think, “We need him!”?

The book is out on Cam Talbot. Glove hand high.

It’s been that way since he joined the team. For whatever reason, he always gets beat there or maybe that’s just my perception. Another thing that is still going on is the early goals. For Pete’s Love, why is he not ready from the get-go?

Now I don’t want to give you the impression that the Oilers woes are because Cam Talbot is performing at a Scrivens-like pace because it takes three to tango (or something like that).

His team isn’t helping him.
He’s not helping himself.
The other shooters are DEFINITELY not helping him.

Cam Talbot is a top netminder in the NHL when he’s on his game but therein lies the rub. How do we know if he’s going to be on his game? If he’s making clutch saves in timely manners, that’s when and no more is that needed when his teammates are struggling in front of him.

When I talked to my source he said his teammates aren’t “playing for him” and that was pissing him off but can you blame anybody? Cam’s not stopping the puck, so the players are pissed and losing confidence in him. Cam’s pissed because he wants the backing of his teammates but can’t get it because the pucks are going in the net.

Sounds to me like there’s some real turmoil going on in that locker room despite what everyone is saying when the microphones are hot.

The return on a Cam Talbot trade isn’t going to be great. He’s got a modified no-trade clause this year meaning he’s submitted a list of teams he’s willing to go to.

So with that knowledge, could trading Cam Talbot be a way of getting some salary cap relief?

He makes $4.16M this year, the final year of his contract. That’s the kind of money that would give Chiarelli the flexibility to make a decent trade where he could shore up the wings or the defense.

Would it be a smart move though? Sure, he’s having a tough go at the moment but we know what he’s capable of. Would you be confident in a Koskinen/Montoya pairing moving forward given the importance of this season? I’m not sure I’d be.

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WHO WOULD BE INTERESTED?

Just off the top of my head, I think LA, Philadelphia, Calgary, New York, and St.Louis would have interest. In fact, and I had to ask why, I was told the Rangers are looking at Talbot.

Really? Admittedly, I don’t follow the Rags at all. They’ve got Hank and the Georgiev kid but maybe they feel like their backup needs more time in the minors and with their improved play and previous relationship with Talbot, he’d be a good fit to return. That’s a lot of money to pay for goaltending in any era though.

I could really see Philly, LA, and St.Louis as teams who’d have serious interest in Cam Talbot.

Would you do a Talbot for Maroon swap? What about Talbot and Strome for Allen and Fabbri?

Boy, the more you think about it, the Blues and the Oilers could really make a massive trade if they wanted to. This is just me thinking out loud but Robby Fabbri is having a tough go trying to come back from those two knee surgeries, Colton Parayko has never left the Oilers rumor mill, and Patty Maroon is a cult hero in Edmonton. I think Jake Allen just needs a change of scenery but he’s got three seasons left on a deal with $4.3M and his numbers are near-exactly the same as Talbots…

Not sure how the GMs would make the money work there but it sure would be fun to see a few of those Blues in an Oilers jersey. Wishful thinking on my part.

WHO ELSE IS GAINING INTEREST FROM OTHER GMs?

The short answer here, Ryan Strome. He’s been connected to the Kings but LA is reluctant to trade within the division.

I didn’t even notice if he was playing against Colorado last night, did you?

I’m pretty frustrated with how the team is performing but to my despair when I asked about a coaching change, I was told “unlikely” even though Joel Quenneville is available. My source said that Coach Q is going to cost big time. At least $7.5M if the Oilers want him.

What do you think? Do you think moving Talbot and making Mikko Koskinen would be a move that would improve the Oilers, make them worse, or do you reckon it’d be a lateral move?

Let us know in the comments!

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