Tag Archives: Schultz

Breaking News, Edmonton Oilers, Rumors, Zach Laing

Oilers and Kings close to a deal for Purcell and Schultz

This deal has fallen through, and Teddy Purcell has been traded to the Panthers for a 3rd round pick.


 

This just in from David Pagnotta of TFP:

And this is from earlier today from John Hoven of Mayors Manor, a great blog about the LA Kings. This was RT’d by TSN’s Bob McKenzie:

A little Dreger for your eyes:

Hoven also tweeted about Nikolai Prokhorkin who he feels will be included in the trade. Prokhorkin is an interesting prospect, and is 2012 4th rounder of the Kings. Prokhorkin has played only eight games in North America. Hoven spoke about the Prokhorkin saga in this May 2015 article:

At the far opposite end of the spectrum – at least in terms of prospects we get asked about the most – it appears the book on Nikolai Prokhorkin has been closed. For those new to the story, this uber-talented forward first showed up on the radar when the Kings selected him in the fourth round of the 2012 NHL Draft. He began the following season in Manchester, but then all hell broke loose a few weeks later. In short, the KHL claimed he was under contract, via a deal he said he never signed. Legal threats went back and forth in a story well-documented here. Then, last summer, he bought his way out of his KHL contract and led the Kings to believe he was bound for North America, only to re-sign with CSKA Moscow. Enough is enough, we’ve been told, as the Kings don’t plan on perusing him any further.

Hockey’s Future:

Prokhorkin possesses great puck-handling skills, impressive creativity and on-ice vision and plays a big physical game. He needs to pack on more muscle, but Prokhorkin is not opposed to, nor does he shy away from contact and playing in tight spaces. Like some other talented young Russian players, the Kings face some uncertainty as to whether Prokhorkin will come to North America if he is not assured a spot with the NHL club.

Elliotte Friedman suggested that the tie up on this deal is that the Oilers are trying to figure out if he will commit to North America or not. EDM wants to see if he can be signed this week.

As always, stay tuned to BLH for all the breaking news around deadline time.

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Kris Hansen

BLH Edmonton Oilers Weekly Recap Jan 24th-31st

Taylor Hall Celebrating in front of Mark Giordano, who’s a big tough guy that likes to hit people into the boards.

Hey guys! I’m back from a one week hiatus (I had a Basketball Coaching Clinic last Sunday).

During that one week break….the Oilers didn’t lose a game! They also didn’t win a game. Or lost in Overtime. Or the shootout.

There were no Edmonton Oilers games this past week. A weird blip on the schedule as the All Star Festivities are taking place in Nashville this weekend.

The most notable Edmonton Oiler event was the Skills Competition which took place last Sunday.

Which, if you’re like me, who missed out completely, here is the Skills Competition in it’s entirety.

Edmonton Oilers Three Stars

There are none. Nobody gets a gold star due to lack of participation.

Seriously though, kinda hard to give three stars when there are no games.

IF I had to give one, I’ll go with Taylor Hall since he is representing the Edmonton Oilers today in the NHL All Star Game. Surprisingly, it is his first NHL All Star game. A bit shocking, but considering his injury woes and his career best year of 2013-14 had the olympics, it’s reasonable.

Edmonton Oilers News and Rumors

There’s some rumblings out there concerning the Oilers.

First off, last week the Edmonton Oilers claimed Adam Clendening off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks. Clendening is now officially on his fifth NHL team since last season (7th professional team if you count the AHL)

What does he bring? Clendening is a Right handed shot, offensive defenseman who is on his last year of his Entry Level Contract. His downside is that he is a bit slower and struggles defensively.

Personally, this guy is the Justin Schultz replacement. He brings the same skill set as Schultz and is 3.2 million dollars cheaper in terms of cap.

Another rumour out there: Hamonic to Edmonton from Elliotte Friedman. Friedman was on Oilers Now saying to host Bob Stauffer that he believes the Oilers are working hard to get the deal done, with Jordan Eberle being the most likely candidate. He also mentioned Justin Schultz being on his way out, possibly to Buffalo.

Now it’s important to note that Friedman would tell Staples, the author of the link, that it was more of him speculating. I wrote at Oilonwhyte a few months ago that Eberle would be the most likely piece to be moved, depending on the fit. With it sounding that the Islanders are having trouble working on an extension with Kyle Okposo, maybe a fit is there?

Around the League

John Scott has an awesome Players Tribune Article.

Sticking with the Players tribune, Taylor Hall was part of the “What the Blank” series.

Commissioner Gary Bettman signed an extension to remain Commissioner thru 2022. 

 

Highlights

It’s an NHL All Star Clip Show!

Weber nearly breaks Chara’s hardest shot record, recording a 108.1 MPH Shot

 

John Tavares showed why he’s one of the best snipers in the NHL

 

Subban won the Breakaway Challenge because he was Jaromir Jagr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmDBwmoAxvQ

 

Here’s a throwback: Gordie Howe’s final NHL All Star Game at Joe Lewis Arena, which was also Gretzky’s first NHL All Star Game

 

The week Ahead:

Connor McDavid’s Return on February Second against the Columbus Blue Jackets! (Or at least, it looks like it)

On Thursday, the Oilers visit my second favorite team, the Ottawa Senators.

Finally, on Saturday, on Hockey Day in Canada, The Oilers visit the Montreal Canadiens at noon.

That’s all for the week that was. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter. Have a wonderful week Oil country!

Edmonton Oilers, Kris Hansen

BLH Edmonton Oilers Weekly Recap Jan 3rd-Jan 9th

 

The Oilers should be 2-0-0 this week after two games.

Somehow the Oilers managed to score five goals against Tampa Bay unfortunately three of them were on themselves.

Honestly, I have never seen something like that while watching hockey. Maybe one of the pucks go off the defender and in, sure that happens.

But THREE times? That’s witchcraft right there. It’s a damn shame too because I thought the Oilers outplayed the Lightning in that game.

The Oilers have four games this week, including one tonight against the red hot Florida Panthers, who have won 11 in a row.

Edmonton Oilers Three Stars 

3. Justin Schultz (!?!). Yeah, this one is surprising considering that Justin Schultz is Tom Poti 2.0 in the eyes of Oilers fans. He’s the whipping boy of the team. That said, the whipping boy looked pretty solid these last few games, He’s looked slightly better in his own zone and has rebounded since his awful game against Calgary on the 27th of December. He was solid against the Lightning, earning the second star for the night by having a goal and five shots.

2. Andrej Sekera. Chiarelli’s free agent acquisition is starting to look really good right now. He’s the defacto number one defenceman and it would be debatable that he is still that when Klefbom returns. He’s easily the best defenceman on the Edmonton Oilers right now. He’s the type of player who does everything right, but not flashy. He’s not a physical player, it’s not his game, and that drives people crazy. He scored the lone goal in a snoozer against his former team, The Carolina Hurricanes, in Overtime no less. I was thrilled when we signed Sekera and I’m still happy we have him.

1. Cam Talbot. Remember when people were declaring they were done with him after 12 games played? I do. It was silly to proclaim that. He’s been very good for the Oilers and has taken the number one job from Anders Nilsson. Woodguy55 of becauseoilers.com mentioned this after his game against Carolina:

That’s a starting goalie’s save percentage right there. Ten games isn’t a huge sample size, that’s granted, but it sure is a lot better than saying “I’m done” after twelve games. Talbot is starting yet again against a strong Panthers team and while he took the loss against Tampa Bay, there was no way any of those fluke goals were his fault.

Edmonton Oilers News and Trade Rumors

That’s too bad, but at least we have a date when McDavid will be returning. Not going to lie, I thought McDavid would be back by next week, but then again, I’m no doctor. I understand and fully support Management’s decision on this injury: there have been far too many times where the Oilers would rush players back from injury and it impacted them negatively. It stinks not having McDavid for another month, but we’ve lived without him for two.

Even worse news was the revelation that Oscar Klefbom would not be back until after the all star break. It’s rough news as fans were expecting a huge boost when both players returned.

One big name that is thrown out there is Kevin Shattenkirk. It was reported earlier that his name is receiving calls and the Oilers for sure should be involved there, but I’m wary of his contract status. There are not many options out there for a Right Handed top four defenceman for the Oilers right now, with Seth Jones recently traded and Hamonic injured. You can bet that Chiarelli would be interested.

Jonathan Drouin requested a trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was revealed via his agent, Allan Walsh on Twitter, but the requested dated back to November. Can’t really blame Drouin here: he wasn’t getting any playing time and was recently sent down to the AHL. I don’t think the Oilers will be runners in this race, but St Louis has been mentioned a few times.

Keith Yandle is not talking an extension with the Rangers and that makes him a candidate to be traded. Yandle was acquired last year from the Rangers (with Chris Summers and a 4th round pick) for John Moore, Anthony Duclair and a conditional 1st round pick in 2016 and a second round pick in 2015. It was a heavy price.

Around the League

The biggest trade so far this season took place on Wednesday when Seth Jones was traded to Columbus for Ryan Johansen.  You just don’t see one for one deals of that magnitude in the NHL anymore!

Earlier that same day, the Los Angeles Kings acquired Vincent Lecalvalier and Luke Schenn . Philadelphia received Jordan Weal and a 3rd round pick in return.

Mike Richards signed with the Washington Capitals on Wednesday as well. 

Emerson Etem was traded from the Rangers to the Canucks for Jensen and a 6th round pick in 2016. 

Highlights

Lightning and Oilers game

 

Johansen scored in his first game as a Nashville Predator

 

Here were some of the best radio calls of the week

 

The Week Ahead

The Oilers play four times this week including tonight against the Panthers. They have a two game road trip visiting the Coyotes on Tuesday and the Sharks on Thursday, while hosting the Calgary Flames on Saturday.

Three big divisional games, with no McDavid or Klefbom to save them. It’ll be tough.

That’s the week that was. Follow me on Twitter (I changed my Twitter handle recently) and have a good week!

Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Zach Laing

Oilers vs Penguins Preview – Reinhart down, Schultz up

edit 4:46 PM: Anders Nilsson has been confirmed to start.

TALE OF THE TAPE:

Game: Edmonton Oilers (7-14-2) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (13-8-1)

Location: CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Time: 5:00 PM MT

Where to find it: TV: Sportsnet – Radio: 630 CHED

Edmonton Oilers Preview:

Coming off the heels of a 4-3 heartbreaking OT loss to the Red Wings, the Oilers made the move to activate Justin Schultz off the IR and assign Griffin Reinhart to the Bakersfield Condors (AHL).

The move isn’t one that I am a fan of, but it is one that I can understand. The Oilers still have a log jam of defencemen and something had to give. Reinhart was one of few defencemen available to be returned to the AHL, and I don’t feel that Brandon Davidson or Darnell Nurse are deserving of that. Reinhart still has some flaws in his game, so hopefully he can get some big minutes in Bakersfield.

Jujhar (J.J.) Khaira will be featured in his NHL debut.

“I think I’ve found my game,” said Khaira. “I’m definitely more confident. I know what I need to do when I’m out there, what kind of player I need to be and a lot of it has to do with being a big body and creating room for myself and others.” Source.

At 6’3, 215 lbs that is exactly what Khaira can come in and do. His scoring has caught up with his size this season, as he has potted seven points in 16 AHL games – a definite improvement over the 10 points in 51 games he notched last year.

I am a big fan of Khaira’s, and was happy that we were able to get him in the 3rd round of the 2012 NHL Entry draft. The Oilers are a team that has been lacking size for sometime, so hopefully Khaira will be able to continue to develop into an impact player for the Oilers down the road. His game has been impressive in the AHL.

Tonight, both the Oilers and Penguins are preparing for back-to-back games after both suffering OT losses last night. Last time these two teams met was on November 6th, where the Penguins beat the Oilers 2-1. Anders Nilsson had the start in that game, and boasted an impressive 2.05 GAA and .939 sv%.

Given that Talbot had the start last night, I would expect to see Nilsson manning the crease tonight.

Walter Foddis’ Pregame Metrics:

The Otherside:

Backup goaltender Jeff Zatkoff will make his fourth start of the season after Marc-Andre Fleury made 41 saves in a 2-1 overtime loss at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday. Zatkoff got the victory in Edmonton earlier this month, making 26 saves. Sidney Crosby, who left the game in Columbus briefly after being cross-checked in the neck late in the second period, returned to the game and extended his point streak to four games when he set up Evgeni Malkin for a power-play goal midway through the third period. Crosby has three goals and five points during this stretch. “I’m OK,” said Crosby, who left with 1:20 remaining in the second period but was back for the start of the third. There always concern when it happens, but I’m OK.” – nhl.com

Line Combos and Starting Goalies c/o Daily Faceoff:

As per the Oilers website, “The Oilers did not skate this morning, having flown in from Detroit last night. The lineup will be announced during warmups.”

Oilers (Unknown): 

Penguins (Jeff Zatkoff): 

Any ideas on how to improve my game previews? Send me an email at zjlaing@gmail.com.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq8KHn2TEXI]