Happy American Thanksgiving to my friends south of the border! Does anybody else find it ironic that Bill Peters was effectively fired on “Black Friday”?… I’m sorry, that attempt at humor is pretty dark. Here are some rumors flying around the blogosphere for your entertainment!
The Rumored Cost to Acquire Taylor Hall
Dan Rosen from NHL.com recently wrote in a mailbag what he figures the ask is on Taylor Hall,
“I think New Jersey should push to get back a young defensemen, preferably someone in the NHL now who can jump right into their lineup, along with a high draft pick and/or a top prospect.” (source)
BLH’s Thoughts: Well, coming at this from and Oilers POV, I’m thinking that Ray Shero is going to ask for one of Philip Broberg or Evan Bouchard in addition to a first-rounder or one or Tyler Benson, Kailer Yamamoto, or Raphael Lavoie. Fair play to him to expect that too, but I don’t like the idea of adding another $10M forward to Edmonton’s top-six. I’d prefer the Oilers use that money to add further depth to the roster.
I’d offer defender Dmitri Samorukov and the pesky winger Kailer Yamamoto.
Look, I get it. There’s unfinished business for Hall in Edmonton and he’s probably one of a handful of players who’d be willing to go back and play there. That said, I’d have no problem if he was coming back on a discounted “team-friendly” contract. I like how Benson and Bouchard are trending in Bakersfield and in two or three seasons, Philip Broberg and Raphael Lavoie are going to be lighting up the NHL on ELC contracts.
Besides, if I’m Hall, I’m looking at the Colorado Avalanche and drooling at that potential and all of that cap space. That’s definitely a team he could go to, have a solid chance at winning a Cup, AND make major skrilla. Say he signs a shorter deal, maybe a three-to-four year contract, he can still go to Edmonton after that. It’s possible the Oilers could be even better then than they’re shaping up to be in the short-term.
Did the Oilers GM Reveal His Asking Price for Jesse Puljujarvi?
The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman recently conducted an interview with Oilers GM Ken Holland and asked him what the ideal package or type of player was that he was looking for in return for Puljujarvi,
Something young. It’s gotta be young. I’m not looking to trade him for somebody who’s old. It’s gotta be young player for young player – or maybe younger player/prospect, pick. It’s gotta be something that can go onto our team and be a young player – much like he’s gonna be – or it’s gonna be more futures. Now, if we get past Sunday, obviously I’ll re-evaluate as I go forward. (source)
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BLH’s Thoughts: If you’ve been following this saga as long as I have, then this isn’t new news. The ask has always been a young player. Names like Julien Gauthier (CAR), Alexander Volkov (TB), Klim Kostin (STL), Lias Andersson (NYR). The Detroit Red Wings reportedly had an offer on the table a few weeks ago and Bruce Garrioch said earlier in the year that Edmonton and Ottawa had been talking.
To date, none of the proposals Holland has received have been up to snuff. Every player offered up is still an AHL player who’s had a cup of coffee with their NHL clubs. I realize that Puljujarvi is playing in a league that is a shade below the AHL but he’s head and shoulders better than every one of those players listed above.
In my opinion, there are two scenarios waiting to be played out here,
1) Holland uses Puljujarvi to beef up the Oilers for the upcoming playoff run. Be that in an attempt to acquire JG Pageau from Ottawa, Taylor Hall from New Jersey, or Chris Kreider from New York.
2) Puljujarvi is dealt at the draft for a player on a bigger ticket when Edmonton’s plethora of players on one-year deals become free agents and they’ve got much more cap space to work with.
Two wildcard plays might be A) trading the big Finn to Arizona for Marian Hossa’s contract and a sweetener like a high draft pick or prospect (Victor Soderstrom) or young player (Christian Dvorak) or B) Edmonton packaging their first-rounder plus Puljujarvi to move up.
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Local legend, Allan Mitchell Aka Lowetide, wrote a piece over at The Athletic speaking to this search for a stronger option at third line center for the Oilers and named three players, JG Pageau (OTT), Joel Eriksson-Ek (MIN), and Mathieu Perreault (WPG) as possibilities. (source)
BLH’s Thoughts: I don’t mind Perreault and Pageau, but Eriksson-Ek doesn’t appeal to me as a fan of the team. That said, the Jets are very much in the playoff race and the war to acquire Pageau is going to drive the price sky-high.
I’m still of the belief that this Oilers team is playing with house money and they could very well stand pat and see where this roster takes them. Edmonton is battling the reigning Stanley Cup champs for first in the Western Conference, why fix what’s not broken?
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Could Taylor Hall Be Acquired by the Calgary Flames?
The deal from Calgary was centred around forward Dillon Dube, RHD Rasmus Andersson, and a first round pick. The Devils are trying to stay in the eastern conference race at the moment, so don’t expect them to move Hall until their socks are blown off.
While I wouldn’t necessarily consider this an official rumor per se. These kind of sites are known to be very hit and miss, but I do think that the content within the provided link is worth discussion. (source)
BLH’s Thoughts: Salary cap anybody? Apart from that, I have to say, that’s a pretty solid offer and I’m not sure if any other offer is going to get much better. Dube’s got top-six forward written all over him and Andersson is already a qualified second pair defender. Now, if the Flames miss the playoffs on the off chance after picking up Hall, NJ could be getting a pretty good player via the draft.
If the Oilers are interested in bringing back Hall and the above offer is the line in the sand, would it make sense for Ken Holland to offer Jesse Puljujarvi, Dmitri Samorukov, and a draft pick? Other pieces would need to be included to set off the financial parts of the trade.
What’s Next for Olli Juolevi?
According to The Athletic’s Rick Dhaliwal, last week, oft-injured Vancouver Canucks defender Olli Juolevi was sent to Vancouver from Utica to get a lower-body injury looked at by the Canucks’ doctors. That’s not too much of an inconvenience, but the problem is, nothing has emerged as to what the problem is. (source)
“I was hoping to get details last week, but it is taking a little longer,” said his agent, Markus Lehto. “We hope to find out in the next few days.”
BLH’s Thoughts: It’s been a very difficult beginning to Juolevi’s career. I hope the latest bump in the road is a small one and he comes back stronger than ever as he’s still quite very young and as an Oilers fan, I can remember Oscar Klefbom going down with an injury almost every year (knock on wood). By all accounts, Juolevi was having a good start to the year down in the AHL.
Here’s a discount codefor a subscription to The Athletic should you be without. If you sign up through that link you’ll get 40% off and I’ll get a tidy little coupon for Amazon.
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Man, did the Edmonton Oilers really shit the bed against the worst team in their conference last night? As good as Leon Draisaitl has been playing, he was horrid in that game. Same goes for Mike Smith, whose play has been either rock solid or cotton candy soft this season. Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy and I don’t expect him to put up all-star numbers, but can we get some consistency?
The good thing is, they’ve got a back-to-back coming up against two really good teams (Vegas and Arizona), so we should see a much higher quality of effort shortly. It’d be a shame for them to hit a rut after such an impressive start to the year like the one we’re seeing Buffalo hit right now.
What better way to soothe one’s soul after such a piss poor display from his favorite team than to get into some current trade rumors going around the NHL.
Taylor Hall to the Montreal Canadiens?
Eric Engels via Twitter: “Elliotte doesn’t mention it, but speculation is bound to increase on the possibility Bergevin will look to rent pending UFA Taylor Hall. No intel on that right now, but given Habs good play and the fact that they’re armed with 12 picks and a strong prospect pool, you have to think it’s possible. With the draft in Montreal this summer, would think Bergevin would prefer to move a 2021 first-round pick if need be. Anyway, I repeat, all quiet on this front. But with Drouin’s long term injury, speculation won’t exactly cool on this front.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Hall is going to be a helluva rental for someone. No doubt Devils GM Ray Shero is getting a feel for the market as we speak. I don’t think the Oilers will mortgage the future to bring Hall back but teams like the Habs or the Avs could make some very promising offers to the Devils that would include high draft picks and bluechip prospects. Could a team like Tampa or Calgary or Nashville step in and make a shock trade for the former NHL MVP though?
Will Big Buff Return?
Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman spoke briefly about Dustin Byfuglien’s ongoing situation in Winnipeg in their latest 31 Thoughts podcast. One thing that stood out was Friedman saying (I’m paraphrasing) that he isn’t sure if there’s an appetite from either side for the rearguard to go back and suit up for the Jets.
BLH’s Thoughts: I like this player A LOT and would love to see him in Oilers silks. Given it’d take some time for him to get back up to speed, but Edmonton hasn’t seen a defender of his quality since Pronger was in town. Depending on how desperate the Jets are to move him out, could Edmonton send Kris Russell, Sam Gagner, and a prospect like William Lagesson to Winnipeg to pry Byfuglien out of the airport-less city?
Will Calgary Move Kylington?
Another topic from the 31 Thoughts podcast was Oliver Kylington. Marek and Friedman bantered about the young Swede and in Friedman’s 31 Thoughts blog, he said this,
One interesting possibility: Oliver Kylington, who would like more opportunity. But, again, other teams have indicated the Flames are being careful not to undervalue their own players during tough times.
The Sportsnet insider mentioned that Kylington would like to play a lot more than he is at the moment.
BLH’s Thoughts: The feeling out there is that the players are going to have to dig themselves out of this one. Calgary already axed one coach (Glen Gulutzan) because the players quit on him and from what I’ve gathered, they’ll be sticking with Bill Peters here. Calgary’s stars are going through a funk and eventually, they’ll break out of it, but how long can the Flames wait? Personally, I don’t think they need a blockbuster trade here. There’ve been lots of Hall for Gaudreau rumors going about but that doesn’t make sense to me. They’ve got Johnny hockey locked up for a few more years at a very affordable price. That said, if some sort of roster shakeup is needed, moving Kylington isn’t going to hurt the roster in my opinion but maybe they’d be better off moving Travis Hamonic…
JG Pageau an Oiler?
The Oilers have been interested in this player for a while now and it’s my belief that they’d be willing to pay the price to acquire him. What that price is at the moment is unknown. It wouldn’t surprise me if it was a first-round pick and a prospect though. To me, that seems high, but I think there’ve been some contemplations regarding a Jesse Puljujarvi/Pageau swap in the past though.
Look, Pageau is the perfect third-line center for the Oilers and I get that he’s an Ottawa boy, however, he’d have a much higher chance at winning a Stanley Cup with the Oilers. One has to consider what he’d be looking for in a contract extension though as he’s set to hit the open market as a free agent this summer.
Babcock to Seattle?
The GM of the new Seattle franchise, Ron Francis was asked what he’s looking for in a coach and this is his quote from the most recent 31 Thoughts blog,
“The most critical thing for me is the experience,”
Both Pierre LeBrun (The Athletic/TSN) and Jared Clinton (The Hockey News) recently wrote about this as well.
BLH’s Thoughts: Well, you can’t get much more experienced than Mike Babcock, but would he want to join an expansion team? I could argue that he’d be much more comfortable with Ron Francis as his GM than Kyle Dubas was and he’d have a hand in building the team he prefers. To add to that, since the rules are going to be the same for this expansion as they were for the Vegas one, there’s a good chance that Seattle is going to get some good players. Not sure they’ll get the kind of trade offers that the Golden Knights did this time around though.
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By now, if you haven’t heard the Elliotte Friedman quotes regarding Taylor Hall’s potential summer plans, you must be living under a rock. The Edmonton Oilers have been long-linked to Hall since he was traded to New Jersey back in 2016. Anybody who’s consistently listened to the daily radio show, Oilers Now, since then can attest to the fact that the host, Bob Stauffer, has hinted at a return for some time now. And even at this blog, we’ve been writing about it.
Also, for what it’s worth, I was sent a message yesterday saying that things are more serious now in Edmonton regarding their pursuit of the former Hart Trophy winner.
I had my issues with Hall when he was an Oiler. I thought he was egotistical, selfish, childish, and was irresponsible at that time. Since then though, my stance has softened on him. The trade forced him to grow up and the mature Hall is much more palpable for me. I always thought he was one of the league’s most dynamic and dangerous player though. That’s never changed. I know some of you might be thinking that the change in opinion has to do with the MVP he won a couple of years back and you’re wrong. I think he only won that because his backup goalie went on a heater and got the team into the playoffs. Had they missed the post-season that year, he wouldn’t have been the MVP.
So getting back to this supposed return, I think there’s a sentiment out there that Hall is open to a return to City of Champions to finish what they started all those years ago and that’s fine. It’s a wonderful story and for at least one season until RNH went UFA, the Oilers would have the best top-six in the NHL.
My problem with this idea is that the team would be WAY to top-heavy. Think about it. If Hall returned next season, he’d be coming in on a big ticket, right? Thus, sacrifices would have to be made. The general thought is that the team would move Russell and Larsson, therefore freeing up $8M dollars or so, but the problem with that is, we’re back to square one when Hall was with the team before. A top-heavy team with a couple of older capable defensemen. Sure, Bouchard, Jones, Bear, and Lagesson would be there, but it doesn’t concern anybody that those young players would be tasked with holding the fort with assumably Darnell Nurse and Oscar Klefbom?
With young players comes bigger peaks and valleys. The key to success is organizational balance. Yes, Hall would drive play and the more possession the team has in the other team’s end, the less defending it has to do. That said, the team still has to defend from time to time and you don’t want the opposition scoring every time.
I posed the question on Twitter the other day, if money was equal and the Oilers could have one of Taylor Hall, Roman Josi, or Alex Pietrangelo, who would you pick? All three have expiring contracts this summer. The majority of the great Oilers fans who replied said Hall and I respect that, but I’d argue vehemently that Pietrangelo is the guy you’d want if the idea is to become a consistent contender for the Stanley Cup for years to come.
I truly feel that with an elite top-pairing of say Klefbom and Pietrangelo followed by Nurse and perhaps one of Evan Bouchard or Ethan Bear, would be the sturdy base to which the Oilers could build another great dynasty upon. I’m just not sold on playing four rookie defensemen just so the team can scrape a little bit of money together to further pad the forwards. Not only that, but I have more confidence in Pietrangelo staying healthy in that time frame than Hall.
Now, I get that the likelihood of Pietrangelo becoming an Oiler is about as realistic as Milan Lucic being a 50-goal scorer, but you get the gist, right?
Should the Oilers want to upgrade their top-six or top-nine forwards, they’ve got plenty of ammo down in Bakersfield that they could use. I mean, apart from just recalling a player like Tyler Benson or Kailer Yamamoto, Dmitri Samorukov is one defender that a lot of teams have interest in and he could bring in a skilled forward via trade. Caleb Jones could as well, I believe. It just depends on how the Oilers want to go in the post-Kris Russell era.
I do, however, have time for David Staples’ idea of a Hossa-like signing with Hall.
Jesse Puljujarvi
This guy can’t stop scoring in Finland and IT’S AMAZING!!! It’s what he’s been doing at the AHL level for two years prior to this one. All he needed was some confidence in himself, his teammates, and his coaches. Oh, and not to be converted into a 3rd line checker…
PULJUU GOAL!!!
(Anybody else know why Puljujarvi even bothers scoring goals anymore? It's not like any of them would even have a hope in hell of beating a REAL NHL goalie like Henrik Lundqvist or Jonathan Quick… What? You mean he's already scored on them?)@nielsonTSN1260https://t.co/937XCTr1ws
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) October 17, 2019
On Insider Trading, Darren Dreger said that the… Wait for it… Carolina Hurricanes are looking to shore up their top-9 and they’re kicking tires on Josh Ho-Sang and Puljujarvi.
If the Hurricanes’ offer is still Julien Gauthier, then Carolina can go get Ho-Sang in my opinion. My eyes are on Martin Necas in any Puljujarvi negotiations. That’d be a tough deal to make for the Hurricanes as Necas has five points in eight games to start the year, but it should be a tough deal for any team to acquire Pulju.
Going a different direction on JP for a moment. Does anybody else think that there might be a chance that Holland is trying to get the Big Finn to change his mind and come back to Edmonton?
Oilers 5-0, lead Western Conference McDavid (4-8-12), Draisaitl (4-7-11), 1-2 in NHL Scoring Neal 7 G/5 PPG leads NHL in G and PPG… PP-2nd 41.2% PK-2nd 94.1%
And the Oilers last 4 #1 picks "ripening" Broberg-Skelleftea Bouchard-Bako Yamamoto-Bako Puljujarvi-Karpat
When I see tweets like this, it makes me wonder a bit. If Jesse is widely thought to never be an Oiler again, why mention him with Edmonton’s other blue-chip prospects?
If Jesse can come back and spark some much-needed offense in the Oilers’ bottom-six, that would go a long way in upping his trade value. It would also make Holland’s job that much easier.
*Sigh* Along with my Pietrangelo idea, Jesse coming back to Edmonton is probably just a pipe dream though.
Oh! Quickly, to take this full circle. Friedman did say that he felt that the Devils wouldn’t wait until the trade deadline to take advantage of a Hall trade. Puljujarvi’s NHL-out clause is December 1st… You’d have to imagine that if Edmonton were to trade for Hall that Pulju would have to be apart of that trade, right?
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
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Most years I’m chomping at the bit for the Oilers season to get going but for some reason, I’ve got very little to be excited about this year. That’s kinda weird, right? Given Edmonton has the best duo in the world in McDavid and Draisaitl as well as the acquisition of James Neal, you’d think there’d be more reason to be jacked up. But I’m not. In fact, I’m thinking about just being a casual follower this year and perhaps focusing my efforts on Bakersfield and the draft (the first round is so f*cking good this year).
To compound the dark cloud hovering over me, I’ve got a strange feeling that McDavid’s knee was a lot worse than previously thought or it’s not healing as fast as the doctors had previously anticipated it would. I’m going to go as far as saying that I think he won’t lead his own team in scoring let alone the NHL. I think that honor will go to Leon Draisaitl.
The impression I’m getting from my sources, what Ken Holland has been preaching and with his actions over the last couple of months, is that this is a transition year. Just look at how he’s been signing players this summer, mostly to one or two-year deals. He’s doing his best to improve the penalty kill and the Oilers’ bottom-six on the short term with one move that has a chance at improving the top-6.
Looking at the roster as it currently stands, does it really have your heart racing?
I suppose there’s a little bit of intrigue when it comes to Nygard and Haas… But nothing to get hard over. I don’t think Brodziak makes it this year. It might make more sense to send him to Ference Island or to Bakersfield. No kids from the Condors either. One more year of marination and domination in the AHL.
I’m still adamant that Jones/Bear will be running the show in Bakersfield and I think that’s the right thing to do. There’s no sense in having them up in Edmonton sitting in the press box when they could be getting 20-22 minutes a night for the Condors.
Koskinen Smith
How will Mike Smith’s puckhandling ability impact the opposition’s zone entries and his team’s exits?
Isn’t it obvious, he’s going to go for broke in the summer of 2020 when the UFA class could be staggering.
Taylor Hall
Alex Pietrangelo
Niklas Backstrom
Braden Holtby
Mikael Granlund
Tyson Barrie
Justin Schultz
Torey Krug
Mike Hoffman
Jared Spurgeon
Brayden Schenn
Robin Lehner
Alex Galchenyuk
Chris Kreider
Tyler Toffoli
Evgeni Dadonov
There are a shite ton more but these are the cream of the crop.
Ken Holland, with enough cap room, could add a proper difference-making player to each forward line, defensive pair, and in the net, if he so chooses to and in a single off-season no less. The Oilers would be contenders not just for the playoffs, but the Stanley Cup!
Now, by then, the likes of Marody, Yamamoto, Benson, McLeod, Maksimov, Safin, or Gambardella might be off the farm and playing for the Oilers, but I have to say only Benson and maybe Yamamoto have a real shot. If Marody’s skating has improved immensely by then, he could be an addition, but I don’t get the feeling that’s something he’s concerned about. As for Gambardella, his skating also concerns me and he’s aging out, to be honest.
One wildcard addition to the team in 2020 could be that of Jesse Puljujarvi. If the team doesn’t trade him and he has an excellent season, surely it’d be incumbent on both parties to re-visit a conversation themed around Pulju coming back to Edmonton. He’d be 22 years old and on a cheap contract, possibly only one or two years long too.
So what would that forward group look like if we threw in some free agents and prospects?
So how much do you think it would cost to sign Jesse Puljujarvi, Taylor Hall, JG Pageau, Melker Karlsson, Austin Watson, and Daniel Carr? $18M-$20M? I’ve got Hall taking under $10M, Pageau asking for over $4M but under $5M, Puljujarvi taking $1M-$2M, Karlsson around $2M-$2.5M, and Watson/Carr
If the cap stays the same, the Oilers might have around $25M to play with, that’s not too bad. It won’t leave them with a lot to help the defense though. As usual, I’m most likely blue-skying this… #Wishin’
The defense in 2020 is an interesting conundrum. Darnell Nurse is coming along nicely and he’d be great on the 2nd pair as the clean-up man with a mobile right-shot defender who can move the puck. A player like Tyson Barrie or Jared Spurgeon would be ideal in my opinion. But this is predicated upon Doc signing a team-friendly contract and I don’t think that’s going to happen. Add to that the impression I’m getting from sources close to the team that Nurse could be trade bait if his ask is too high. He’s not going to have a lot of leverage with the crop of talented defenders coming out of Bakersfield and Sweden…
Bob Stauffer (Oilers PxP colorman) said not too long ago that the Oilers are going to have a “mechanism” to open up salary next summer. Is that a buyout in Kris Russell’s case? Not much savings in 2020/21 ($1M) but the next season they’re only paying 500k and that’s the year that the salary cap is expected to spike. I reckon just sending him to the minors would be a better move as it costs them only $2.5M to put him there as opposed to spending $3.5M over two years on a buyout. That or trade him…
However the Oilers choose to open up the cap space, there is going to be a push to have younger players overperforming on their ELC contracts but they do have to be careful of who they play and how much they play him as the expansion draft for the new Seattle franchise will be in the summer or 2021. They could play their cards right and give someone 35 games in each season and then leave him exposed. Say William Lagesson?
There will be a lot of focus on Evan Bouchard, Joel Persson, Caleb Jones and Ethan Bear At training camp. But William Lagesson has a great chance to make the Oilers. Had 8-19-27, +25 in 67 GP with @Condors last season. Staunch defensive D, who saw a few games on the right side.
How does their defense look if updated in 2020? Maybe Nurse signs a friendly contract (that is easily traded down the road) but Russell is traded for picks.
I think William Lagesson would cost the Oilers less than what Matt Benning is being paid right now. So that would put the gritty Swede at around $1M-$1.5M. But Jared Spurgeon is a whole other bucket of balls. He’s going to be around $7M or $8M. So how do you fit that in with only $5M or less in space available?
You have to ask yourself if it came down to JG Pageau and Jared Spurgeon, who would you sign? The local lad or the guy that will anchor your 3rd line and PK for the foreseeable future? Or possibly forget about Pulju coming back, would you be comfortable filling the hole on right-wing internally with one of Kiril Maksimov of Kailer Yamamoto? Would Raphael Lavoie be ready by then?
As for the goalies, I wouldn’t be shocked if the Oilers found a way to move Koskinen on and have a completely different tandem in net for the season after this upcoming one. Maybe one of those is Shane Starrett? He’s definitely paid his dues.
Anyways, I think you get the point of that exercise. Holland is gearing up for a big swing but not this season. He’s going to watch a few pitches go by this season before digging in and hittin’ that dinger in 2020/21.
THE 2020 NHL ENTRY DRAFT
Another reason for the Oilers to just ice a sub-par team is the 2020 NHL entry draft. This might be one of the best drafts in NHL history. The battle for first overall today is looking like it belongs to Rimouski winger Alexis Lafreniere, but I’m here to tell you that it could go as deep as four or five players.
Quinton Byfield – C – (Sudbury) – The 6’5″ centre reminds me of Rick Nash with his size, skating, and soft hands. He’s also one of the youngest players in the draft…
Lucas Raymond – RW – (Frolunda) – If you’re a fan of Carolina’s Sebastian Aho, you’ll love this crafty winger!
Anton Lundell – C – (HIFK) – Being called the next Barkov. Highly intelligent two-way centre.
I’d add possibly the purest goal-scorer in the draft, Swedish winger Alexander Holtz (Djurgarden), and the next great Russian~ neh! NHL goalie Yaro Askarov (SKA) to that list of players who could challenge Lafreniere. It’ll all depend on the Oceanic winger’s season really. If he slips one bit, those players I mentioned above are poised to pounce.
Even if they didn’t wind up with a top-5 pick in the draft, there’s literally a great player at every position for them to select should they miss the playoffs.
Cole Perfetti – C – (Saginaw) – Will rival Holtz as purest goal-scoring forward available.
Dylan Holloway – LW – (Wisconsin) – As balanced-a-player as you’re going to get. AJHL MVP as a 17-year-old last year.
Noel Gunler – RW – (Lulea) – Talented sniper but comes with concerns re attitude.
Hendrix Lapierre – C – (Chicoutimi) – The silkiest of hands and one of the best playmakers in the draft. Elite vision.
Kaiden Guhle – D – (Prince George) – Hard-nosed defender that can skate and make a play.
Jamie Drysdale – D – (Erie) – A fantastic skater, maybe best skating defender in 2020. Very smart, poised, and confident with the puck.
Justin Barron – D – (Halifax) – Built in the Thomas Chabot/Shea Theodore molding. Might be better.
Rodion Amirov – LW – (Tolpar) – Another flashy Russian you don’t say? He scores in bunches too.
Tim Stutzle – C – (Adler) – Outstanding shooter. Quite dynamic. Very fast with great edges.
Marco Rossi – C – (Ottawa) – Short, stocky, and very strong. Very effective down low. Great shooter. Excellent two-way game.
There is SO MUCH (small) skill available in 2020. You can’t tell me the Oilers couldn’t do with one more high-end pick… My feeling is that they need to focus their attention on the centres slated to go in the first round. They don’t really have any high-end pivots in the system, do they? I mean centres who are projected to be top-6 players.
So Oilers fans, what do you think? Is there much to watch for this year or should you hold off, like the Oilers are poised to, until 2020/21?
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