Tag Archives: Tyler Ennis

Armchair GM, Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL

2019/20 Edmonton Oilers Thoughts: The Flames Game, Puljujarvi, and Broberg

Now that we’ve had a couple of days to digest some hockey, what have you thought so far? That Edmonton Oilers/Calgary Flames game was fantastic. It was intense but not out of hand and I know for myself, I was concerned that things could get overly violent given how the season series had gone throughout the season. The amount of violence I witnessed… 100% acceptable.

The broadcast was great! I didn’t notice the lack of fans in the crowd and the synthetic “crowd” noise was palpable. I mean, you kind of wish there were folks in the stands because they add so much more to the experience when goals are scored or big hits are laid out.

That Colby Cave tribute hit me like a tonne of bricks, how about you?

Let’s get the Philip Broberg stuff out of the way first, shall we?

Who makes a save like that in his first-ever NHL game? A bloody gamer, that’s who.

I thought he was fantastic given the circumstances. He started off quite tentative but as the game wore on he really settled in. Some of the pros I found in his game was that he wasn’t phased by Calgary’s attempts to intimidate him physically. Matt Tkachuk was on his ass hard from the get-go and the Swede looked like he hardly noticed him at each confrontation. Even Mikael Backlund gave him a cheap shot late in the game that had “Bro” wondering how the mosquitos got in the arena.

The skating that we’ve all been hearing about for a month, on full display. The way he moved around the ice, he looked like a seasoned vet. He was smooth and rarely caught out of position and the times he did get caught out, it was only momentarily. I’m of the belief that his skating is the reason he could be ahead of the curve a bit with regards to other prospects like Evan Bouchard and William Lagesson. The fact of the matter is, you could count on one hand the number of players, not just defenders, I mean everyone, on this Oilers team who can skate as good as or better than Broberg.

What I didn’t like about his game was that he seemed to be out of position in his own end from time to time and since he’s used to transporting the puck himself, he didn’t move the puck very quickly. That’ll all get worked out though. I think he could’ve been more physically assertive in his own end too, but then again, nobody ever complained about Nik Lidstrom’s lack of physicality.

I’ve read some folks criticizing how the young man pinches and rushes with the puck in addition to comparing him to Darnell Nurse. I don’t agree with those armchair scouting assessments though. While both Nurse and Broberg are fantastic skaters, it’s the Swede who has the higher offensive IQ and ceiling in general.

https://twitter.com/TheOilKnight/status/1287979654909956096

Nurse has never been an offensive defender. He can skate the puck up the ice when there’s room but he’s really lost in the other team’s zone. Most of the time he sends a blind pass into the slot, holds onto it, and goes around the net or gets checked. This season though he’s added the Eberle button hook to his arsenal, which is good. A lot of the points he gets at the NHL level are due to Klefbom being hurt so he gets time on the 1st PP unit and most of his TOI has been with McDavid.

I’ve said this in the past and I’ll say it again, Nurse is a hammer, not a scalpel. And that’s fine because the Oilers need a hammer or three on their blueline. On the other hand, Broberg has the smarts and the skills to be a scalpel.

Check out these highlights above, you didn’t see Nurse making those kinds of plays when he was that age and you don’t see him making them now. Yes, Broberg will most likely tone down the one-man rushes, but as he gets older and stronger and smarter, he’ll develop into a very dangerous “4th forward” option and that’s largely to do with how well of a skater he is. See, he has the ability to catch the opposing forwards on a backcheck because he skates so well should his play break down.

Some people say John Klingberg as a comparable, others say a more skilled Noah Hanifin. Would Jay Bouwmeester be off base? I reckon he’ll be more of a risk-taker in his early years, Karlsson-like, and then morph into a Bouwmeester-style of defender.

Jesse Puljujarvi

Recent reports out of Finland have him showing a much more mature side. “I’ve grown and I see things a bit differently.” is one of the things Pulju has said recently that have folks in Edmonton feeling optimistic that we could see the big Finn back in Edmonton as soon as next season.

What I’m lead to believe is that he could sign with the Oilers but start the year with Karpat and then come on over once the 20/21 NHL season gets going.

Now, in that scenario, if the roster goes unchanged, there’s possibly one spot on the roster open for him and that’s on the LW. With Zack Kassian, Kailer Yamamoto, Josh Archibald, Alex Chiasson, and Patrick Russell (most likely) occupying all of the spots on the RW, there’s nothing available for Jesse there.

As for the left-wing, only Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and James Neal have a spot locked up there. I’m skeptical of Tyler Ennis as well as Andreas Athanasiou. I’m not sure they’ll both be brought back for 20/21. If I had to guess, I’d think Ennis is much more likely to return than AA if the Greek Streak can’t get his mojo back for this playoff run.

I reckon Holland could get a decent draft pick in return for Athanasiou and since Edmonton only has to qualify Puljujarvi, re-signing him and Ennis could cost them under $2M. Then you’d have RNH, Ennis, Pulju (who’s much more suited for Edmonton’s 3rd line than Athanasiou in my opinion), Neal, and Nygard.

Get your “Stanley” today!

The Flames Game

My man, Patrick Russell with 2pts in 33 seconds (I think)! Too bad it wasn’t an official game as The Great Dane is still waiting for his first proper NHL goal. Hopefully, this is just the start of many more.

I thought the Oilers were dominant from the drop of the puck and really toyed with the Flames until the goalie switch. After that, I found the Flames started to pick up the pace and really hold Edmonton’s zone a lot longer. Luckily for the Oilers, both their goalies were on the ball, which is something that could be said for Calgary’s netminders.

What I hope they’ll try to do is stay out of the penalty box. Chicago, as inferior as they may look on paper, do have some players who can put the puck in the net at will. I also hope to see their intensity level increase.

Ethan Bear… Wow! Brian Lawton was saying yesterday on Oilers Now that he thinks out of Evan Bouchard, Philip Broberg, and the young defender of Cree descent, that Bear would be the most likely to be a no.1 defenseman in the NHL. I felt that he was Edmonton’s best defender along with Adam Larsson, who now healthy, is an uncaged beast.

As for the forwards, Connor McDavid was obviously the best, but I thought near every other forward had at least one good highlight throughout the evening. Be that a hit, a scoring chance, or some nifty puckhandling, even Gaetan Haas… I hope his ankles are okay!

Puck Racism

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Beer League Hero, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Trades

2019/20 Edmonton Oilers GM63: Oilers @ Ducks – 3P2W – How Good Did Ken Holland Really Do?

That was some trade deadline for the Edmonton Oilers! Ken Holland played his cards close to his vest and made everyone think that he was going to maybe make one small move to tinker with the lineup and BAM! He comes away when all is said and done with a top-6 winger, some help in the bottom-6, as well as a veteran defender to help out with the PP while Klefbom is out. It makes me wonder where all those Oilers fans that were getting all pissy that Holland wasn’t making roster moves on their time were. Maybe they were sitting on their own hands feeling some shame…

Speaking of hands… I’ve got the BLH Instagram account all fired up! Been getting followed like crazy the last couple of days thanks to the trade deadline. If you’re on the “Gram”, head on over and follow us! I like to throw up some content over there that doesn’t reach Twitter and the website.

  • Tyler Ennis, another local boy comes home to help the Oilers! He’s going to provide some skill, speed, and veteran leadership to a locker room that will need it after the departure of Sam Gagner. This is a player that can move all around the lineup where ever he is needed, he’s positionally fluid like that. I believe this stint will be an audition for a contract with the team next year as there was interest in him over this past summer but he was more interested in going to Ottawa to play for DJ Smith.
  • Joel Persson was moved in a last-second deal to the Ducks for an ECHL goalie and a conditional 7th rounder. This deal was purely to move an NHL contract and get the team under the 50-man maximum as well as clear some cap space. Persson showed flashes here and there and both the NHL and AHL levels but he had trouble with keeping a consistent level of play over the course of the year. I think staying healthy was another problem.
  • Keep an eye on Kailer Yamamoto tonight. He got tangled up in the corner vs. LA and his ankle might be less than 100%. If he’s a no-go this evening, it won’t shock me.

Andreas Athanasiou

I’ve got a few things to say about this fella. Of all the players acquired yesterday, Athanasiou brings me the highest level of unsureness. Not because he’s having a bad year. Edmonton played the Red Wings earlier this year and he was making the Oilers’ defense look pretty bad with his speed, so I know there’s a player there. I think the doubt is stemming from a media narrative that is attacking his two-way game and a possible personality issue (more on that below).

The former London Knight plays a similar style to Taylor Hall in that he is a zone entry machine in my opinion. He loves to carry the puck through the neutral zone and into the opposition’s end as like Hall and also McDavid. Personally, I don’t think that he is a great fit for Connor’s wing. I think he’d be a better fit for Leon Draisaitl’s but good luck convincing Coach Tippett to break that line up right now.

I asked my friend SPR (The Oil Knight) who is, as you know, a big London Knights fan (where Athanasiou played junior) and a fan of the Detroit Red Wings, if I should believe what the media is saying about AA’s lack of a two-way game and selfish play and this is what he told me,

I think it’s been way overblown. He played on Detroit with guys like Glendenning and Nielsen a lot so he had to be the driver because they weren’t. It’s not like he was playing with Mantha and Larkin. Obviously he has ridiculous speed and can push the pace but I’m confident he can adjust to whoever he’s playing with in EDM. That being said, his style does remind me a bit of Taylor Hall’s in that he does attack you with a lot of speed. Would Hall and McDavid be a fit? I’m sure they could make it work. But, Draisaitl has proven he works so well with that type (Hall, McDavid), longterm that might be better option and put Nuge with Connor instead. AA is a top 6 guy, no doubt its gonna be fun to see him with McDavid tonight but dont be shocked if eventually he ends up with Leon.

So we’re on the same wavelength there. The fact of the matter is if he scores 30 goals for the Oilers in a given season, nobody is going to care how his defensive game is or if he’s a jerk.

The other thing going around is that Athanasiou played with Larkin a lot and I decided to look into which forwards he’s played with the most at 5×5 since joining the league. I just used players that had over 200 minutes with AA if possible.

  • 2015/16 (37gp 7g 5a) – Brad Richards (84:13), Gustav Nyquist (81:31)
  • 2016/17 (64gp 15g 8a) – Frans Nielsen (208:36), Thomas Vanek (200:37), Dylan Larkin (198:25)
  • 2017/18 (71gp 13g 14a) – Dylan Larkin (413:58), Tomas Tatar (239:30)
  • 2018/19 (76gp 21g 15a) – Luke Glendening (324:07), Frans Nielsen (294:13)
  • 2019/20 (46gp 6g 7a) – Valtteri Filppula (301:04)

You can come to your own conclusions but it looks to me that Athanasiou has played a lot of hockey with bottom-6 linemates. Now, is that to limit his line’s exposure defensively or were the coaches doing that thing where they put a skilled player with more defensive-minded vets to try and see if something will wear off on the kid? Something we saw countless times in Edmonton from Taylor Hall to Nail Yakupov to Jesse Puljujarvi to Linus Omark… It’s a weird habit NHL coaches have.

AA’s PDO is 0.916… That’s horrid. Ideally, you want something closer to 1.000, right? Anything down where his is tells me that it’s just not his year. Also, his SH% is hovering around 7.5% and he’s usually in double digits. To add to that his GF% rel is -11.6%. That’s… Uh…  Not great. I mean Detroit is a shitshow on an epic level this year and it’s obvious that Steve Yzerman is comfortable having a year or two like this before flipping the switch. Unfortunately, there are some good players over there that are having to sacrifice their stat lines for the greater good, Athanasiou being one of them.

One last thing, and it was something passed on to me before the Oilers traded him, that is the fear of Athanasiou’s personality clashing with a locker room that seems very tight at the moment. This is a legitimate concern but the saving grace is going to be one of the other players that Ken Holland brought in. Mike Green is going to be able to sit down with his new teammates and coaching staff and let them know everything they need to about AA. What gets him going, how he responds to certain communication tactics, any notable instances of immatureness and how to handle that. Green will be a very valuable asset in this journey with the enigmatic winger. All I can say is that I’m damned happy that it’s Dave Tippett and not Todd McLellan behind the Oilers bench right now.

Three Players to Watch for the Ducks

  • #49 Max Jones – A very strong power forward with some edge to his game. Jones can be a buzzsaw out there, but he’s also got the ability to play a skill game. If he pans out, he could be a top-6 winger for years to come in Anaheim. He’s a bit old school at times. Gotta keep your head up when he’s on the ice.
  • #34 Sam Steel – Highly skilled playmaking centre from Sherwood Park if I’m not mistaken. Spent all of junior tearing up the WHL for the Regina Pats and will someday be a no.2 center for the Ducks.
  • #2 Brendan Guhle – Was once a highly regarded defensive product for the Sabres. Injuries have slowed down his progress but there’s still time for him to recoup his career. He’s a tough two-way defender that might be trying to model his game after Josh Manson. Time will tell if he becomes that good or better.

Expect the lines below to change given Ritchie is no longer with the team. Maybe the player he was dealt (Danton Heinen) for slides right into his spot.

Three Players to Watch for the Oilers

  • #28 Andreas Athanasiou – The Oilers have the three fastest players in the league right now in McDavid, Nygard, and AA. I am curious however to see how Connor and Athanasiou mesh. They both like to carry the puck with speed and we know there’s only one player on this team with the green light to do that. I figure this was why Taylor Hall was ultimately moved off of McDavid’s line back in 97’s rookie year. Just because a player is fast, doesn’t mean he’ll be a good complimentary piece to McDavid’s wing. It does give Tippett some options though if Draisaitl’s line goes cold.
  • #27 Mike Green – John Shannon said that Green was brought in to run the PP and that makes sense to me. I don’t know why it’s taking so long for Coach Tippett to give the wheel to Ethan Bear but we might be waiting a little longer for the rookie defender to be the PP1 QB full-time. Is this addition akin to when Lowe acquired Jaro Spacek in 2006?
  • #63 Tyler Ennis – Ennis is an older version of Killer Yamamoto with maybe a bit less tenacity in his game. Small, skilled, great hands, and adds offense to the team’s bottom-6. Now, will Ennis be Samsonov or Desharnais here?

I’m not sure how safe it is to assume this, but I think Athanasiou will go right up with McDavid immediately and Ennis could be inserted onto the Sheahan/Archibald line whereas Mike Green most likely will play on the 3rd pair with Matt Benning as his partner. It’s the first half of a back-to-back so I’m thinking Koskinen gets the start and then Smith will get Vegas tomorrow.

The Next Ten Games (61-70)

  • vs. Minnesota Wild (28-24-7) – Edmonton is 0-2 against the Wild this year and it’s about time the Oilers beat Bill Guerin’s boys. (WIN) LOSS
  • @ Los Angeles Kings (22-34-5) – I have to say, the Kings are a dangerous team right now. They have nothing to lose and can spoil a lot of teams’ seasons. The Oilers have won 2/3 this year against their old coach but Connor McDavid might be back in this one. Keep an eye out to see if anybody out of the ordinary is sitting for this one because the next day is the trade deadline. (WIN) WIN
  • @ Anaheim Ducks (24-29-7) – Last time out the Oilers put up six on Dallas Eakins’ Ducks. I expect Edmonton to equal that this time around and who knows how the roster will look as this is the game that follows the trade deadline. (WIN)
  • @ Vegas Golden Knights (32-22-8) – The Golden Knights record might hover around Edmonton’s but I feel like this team is a bit better on paper plus this is the second game in a back-to-back. (LOSS)
  • vs. Winnipeg Jets (32-25-5) – Big Buff sank this team when he decided he wasn’t going to play but the Jets have stuck in the race the whole season pretty much. You have to love the heart! (LOSS)
  • @ Nashville Predators (29-23-7) – I think the Oilers can sweep the season series with Nashville. The Preds defense isn’t what it used to be and there seems to be a bit of a dark cloud floating over the team at the moment. Pekka Rinne has hit a wall too… (WIN)
  • @ Dallas Stars (35-19-6) – Edmonton and Dallas have each won one game-a-piece against each other this season so far. This will be the rubber match and I like Dallas here. (LOSS)
  • @ Chicago Blackhawks (26-26-8) – Going into Chicago to play the Blackhawks is never an easy task and the Oilers have always had a tough time winning in the Windy City. (LOSS)
  • vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (30-19-3) – Edmonton is 21-8-0 at home vs. Columbus all-time. It’s hard to argue with those numbers, right? On the other hand, John Tortorella has his team right in the running for a playoff spot in the East. This game should be a war of attrition to see who comes away with the two points. (WIN)
  • vs. Vegas Golden Knights (32-22-8) – I like Edmonton’s chances at home against the Golden Knights. History tells us they have a better chance at beating them in Edmonton than in Vegas. (WIN)

(Standings as of February 21st, 2020)

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2019/20 Edmonton Oilers GM62: Oilers @ Kings – 3P2W – Latest Trade Rumors and Rumblings

The Edmonton Oilers have turned up the heat on this year’s trade deadline since we last chatted here. Last time around we were talking about Tyler Ennis and now some more names have come up, but let’s talk about this game tonight before we get into the rumors.

LA played last night, so they could come out flying and then peter out hard. It’ll be up to the Oilers’ defense to stand strong during the King’s push and for the forwards to take advantage of any opportunities afforded them early on. McLellan’s boys haven’t been scoring much and they got their only goal against the Avs on a penalty shot yesterday, so this could be a prime chance for Holland’s men to really get on LA and keep them down.

Now, Jonathan Quick played last night so I’d assume Cal Petersen will start this one and depending on how cynical you are, you might be happy about getting the backup or you might be a tad wary since the Oilers have made some pretty bad goalies look good in recent history…

I like Edmonton’s chances tonight but with that said, the Kings still have the likes of Drew Doughty and Dustin Brown playing for them and they aren’t the most honest of hockey players in the league. Knock on wood, I hope the Oilers come away from this one without any additions to the IR.

THE RUMORS

First off, I want to let you know that I’ve been posting a few more of the things I hear over at our BLH Instagram page lately. I feel like my website’s server has let us down a bit too much this year so I’ve been releasing some stuff on the IG platform. Please, head over there now and follow our account if you haven’t already!

I talked with my sources last night and finally had a nice long conversation so I can let you in on a bit more this morning.

  • Jesse Puljujarvi: Not too long ago Edmonton Journal veteran scribe Jim Matheson asked Oilers GM Ken Holland about Pulju and GMKH said that he wasn’t shopping him and nobody was asking. Well, I believe the reason for that is that the Oilers intend on trying to bring him back into the fold. The GM and head coach really want to work with him and on no less than three occasions this year the Oilers have sent representatives to Finland to speak with the young lad. Puljujarvi felt hurt from the last regime (Chiarelli/McLellan/Hitchcock) and that’s one of the main reasons he stayed in Finland this year aside from wanting to get his mojo and love for the game back. I’ve said this to many people who’ve asked, if there’s any person who could convince Jesse to return, it’d be Ken Holland and to add to that, I don’t think JP wants to spend another year in Finland. GMKH did say he wanted to go fishing in those waters in an interview with Bob Stauffer last week, did he not? “Those waters” being Europe. If you’re wondering what kind of impact he could have, look no further than that of Martin Necas’. I believe Puljujarvi could be a 30-40pt winger starting next year.
  • Anton Slepyshev: Speaking of players lighting it up in Europe. My source said he expects Slepy to be in camp next season. The 25-year-old Russian left because the management and coaching couldn’t get their shit together and now that the KHL will be implementing a salary cap next season there might be a solid exodus of players heading to NA, including Anton. It sounds like he’s fine with a bottom-6 role too.
  • James Neal: We heard Bob Stauffer and Sportsnet’s Mark Spector talking about Neal possibly going on LTIR to shake loose some cash and to avoid giving that 3rd round pick to Calgary from the Lucic trade last week on Oilers Now. Well, there’s some serious consideration being given to this option.
  • Tyler Ennis: This one is basically done barring the Sens backing out. Just a few more wrinkles to iron out. What I was told is that Ennis is possibly the player that will go up with McDavid if this deal goes through. Personally, I’m not sure if that’s a good plan or not… Has Ennis ever been a top-6 player? Is an add like this going to be more David Desharnais or Sergei Samsonov?
  • Mike Green: Hold up on this trade is money/picks. Detroit is willing to retain but this will have to be a hockey deal. Money will have to go out from Edmonton in order to bring this player in. I like this sort of trade for Edmonton though. You can never go wrong with more vets of Green’s caliber.
  • Andreas Athanasiou: My source said AA has NEVER been a target of the team and Holland hasn’t asked about him. The feeling is Athanasiou wouldn’t fit the Oilers’ team dynamic right now. We’ve heard the term “lone ranger” thrown around with him and I was told he’s a bit too “self-contained”. So I’d say that the Oilers are looking for players who are good in the locker room and easy to coach.
  • Oilers Heading Out: It sounds like Toronto and Carolina made some inquiries as to the services of Jujhar Khaira and Matt Benning (TOR), as well as, Kris Russell (CAR). The Maple Leafs are shitting the bed right now and might be looking for a shakeup of sorts. Khaira and Benning have been connected to the Leafs for over a year and because Toronto is in a bit of a bind, I think the Oilers are probably asking for Kasperi Kapanen there. I can’t see them getting the Finn but it doesn’t hurt to ask. Caleb Jones has made Russell redundant at this point.

Three Players to Watch for the Kings

  • #11 Anze Kopitar – According to Dailyfaceoff.com, Kopitar has 8 assists in LA’s last five games. No goals though. He’ll always be a threat whenever he’s on the ice, right? Leon Draisaitl, no doubt, will be seeing a lot of Kopitar this evening as well.
  • #42 Gabe Vilardi – There was a time when folks thought this kid’s career was in doubt but he’s worked his ass off to come back and make a go of it. : might be this generation’s Jason Allison. Not the fastest or best skater by any means, but he is a helluva playmaker with elite vision.
  • #29 Martin Frk – Frk and his hardest shot in pro hockey will be something to keep an eye out for. Was once the property of Ken Holland’s Red Wings. He’s been up and down throughout his entire career but LA is horrid right now and since trading Tyler Toffoli, they could use him on the pro team. Edmonton has to be careful not to let him get an open shot because he could actually start hurting guys with a clapper that hard. Lord knows, the Oilers don’t need any more bodies on the IR.

Three Players to Watch for the Oilers

  • #73 Ethan Bear – It finally sounds like Ethan Bear is going to be QB-ing the Oilers’ first unit PP… Finally. It was basically his bread and butter in junior and the AHL so I have not idea why it took Coach Tippett so long to come to the conclusion that he should be the one running that unit, not Darnell Nurse.
  • #89 Sam Gagner – Gags took a bit of shot during the Minnesota game that had him clutching his shoulder/chest. So I’m not sure how healthy he is right now, but the reason I have him as a player to watch is that I feel like the next player in our list here will be playing and Sam will be his linemate.
  • #97 Connor McDavid – The Oilers didn’t send Colby Cave back to Bakersfield for nothing. I think the Captain is coming back tonight and that will bode well for this team. I mean, I’ve nearly puked watching the team try to gain entry into the other team’s zone during a PP since he was out. It’s so apparent that they need him there but it won’t hurt to have him 5×5 either.

No lines have been posted yet. It’s the day before the trade deadline and as I said above, some players might be sitting out in lieu of a deal. Keep your eyes and ears peeled and that should give you a good idea as to who is possibly heading out. I do expect Mike Smith to be in the net though and for the forwards to basically be the same as they were against Minnesota.

The Next Ten Games (61-70)

  • vs. Minnesota Wild (28-24-7) – Edmonton is 0-2 against the Wild this year and it’s about time the Oilers beat Bill Guerin’s boys. (WIN) LOSS
  • @ Los Angeles Kings (22-34-5) – I have to say, the Kings are a dangerous team right now. They have nothing to lose and can spoil a lot of teams’ seasons. The Oilers have won 2/3 this year against their old coach but Connor McDavid might be back in this one. Keep an eye out to see if anybody out of the ordinary is sitting for this one because the next day is the trade deadline. (WIN)
  • @ Anaheim Ducks (24-29-7) – Last time out the Oilers put up six on Dallas Eakins’ Ducks. I expect Edmonton to equal that this time around and who knows how the roster will look as this is the game that follows the trade deadline. (WIN)
  • @ Vegas Golden Knights (32-22-8) – The Golden Knights record might hover around Edmonton’s but I feel like this team is a bit better on paper plus this is the second game in a back-to-back. (LOSS)
  • vs. Winnipeg Jets (32-25-5) – Big Buff sank this team when he decided he wasn’t going to play but the Jets have stuck in the race the whole season pretty much. You have to love the heart! (LOSS)
  • @ Nashville Predators (29-23-7) – I think the Oilers can sweep the season series with Nashville. The Preds defense isn’t what it used to be and there seems to be a bit of a dark cloud floating over the team at the moment. Pekka Rinne has hit a wall too… (WIN)
  • @ Dallas Stars (35-19-6) – Edmonton and Dallas have each won one game-a-piece against each other this season so far. This will be the rubber match and I like Dallas here. (LOSS)
  • @ Chicago Blackhawks (26-26-8) – Going into Chicago to play the Blackhawks is never an easy task and the Oilers have always had a tough time winning in the Windy City. (LOSS)
  • vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (30-19-3) – Edmonton is 21-8-0 at home vs. Columbus all-time. It’s hard to argue with those numbers, right? On the other hand, John Tortorella has his team right in the running for a playoff spot in the East. This game should be a war of attrition to see who comes away with the two points. (WIN)
  • vs. Vegas Golden Knights (32-22-8) – I like Edmonton’s chances at home against the Golden Knights. History tells us they have a better chance at beating them in Edmonton than in Vegas. (WIN)

(Standings as of February 21st, 2020)

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Edmonton Oilers Trade Rumors: Holland About to Make a Sens-ational Trade?

The trade dominoes are starting to fall as we edge closer to the Feb.24th trade deadline. Tyler Toffoli is off to Vancouver, Marco Scandella is a Blue, and Brendan Dillon is going to try and win a Cup with Ovechkin in Washington. Dylan DeMelo will now be flying with the Jets and Julien Gauthier WASN’T traded for Jesse Puljujarvi! He was dealt to a team that’s long been in the Puljujarvi rumor mill though, the New York Rangers!

But what are the Edmonton Oilers planning on doing here. Well, I want to address a few things here that have been published in the media or said on sports talk radio point-by-point just to try and keep things brief. But there’s quite a bit…

  • If the Oilers are looking to add some skill to the middle of their forward lineup, Tyler Ennis and Connor Brown from Ottawa might be a couple of targets to keep an eye on. Ennis would bring a lot of what Kailer Yamamoto does plus a metric ton of experience to go along with it. I wonder how he would react to a trade out of Ottawa though? Rumor has it, he wanted to play for the Sens because of their new coach DJ Smith… As for Brown, he’s been in the Oilers sights for a long time given his junior connection to Connor McDavid and his speed/power from the wing. There was a Benning/Brown deal being worked on last year that failed to materialize.
  • There seems to be an Oilers scout at every Leafs game recently and a Leafs scout at every Oilers game. I don’t really think that Dubas is looking to move Alex Kerfoot in a deal for Matthew Benning plus picks/prospects. I’m sure the Oilers would love to, but I just can’t see it. However, I do wonder if Dubas would trade Jason Spezza. The Oilers are looking for a right-handed center who is good on the dot and can provide some offense to their bottom-6 and Spezza has 23pts in 49gp as well as a 53.3% winning percentage on the dot.
  • Two quotes from Jonathan Willis’ latest post stand out for me regarding Andreas Athanasiou, “He’s a pure rush player, of the one-and-done variety in a league where keeping the puck in the attacking zone is the key to both good offense and good defense.” and “No doubt that he’ll use that incredible speed to score flashy goals wherever he plays out his next contract. What is far less certain is whether he’s going to help his line outscore the opposition, which is ultimately what wins games.”
  • To add to that, yesterday, Bob Stauffer (630 CHED) and Mark Spector (Sportsnet) were talking about him on Oilers Now and Stauffer mentioned that he thought that Athanasiou is a bit of a “lone wolf” and the Oilers were playing like a team at the moment. Cap space and asset cost also came up as reasons why the Oilers might take a pass on AA.
  • What I took from that was that perhaps the market is a bit soft on the speedy Red Wing because he’s too much of a defensive liability. Sure he can skate like the wind, but there are two ends to the rink and in a Tippett-lead team, you’re going to need to be able to play at both ends of the rink.
  • Continuing with the Stauffer theme, he also said this on his show yesterday, “I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point between now and Monday if the Oilers added a bottom-6 forward that can play multiple positions.”
  • Chris Johnston (Sportsnet) made this comment about the Oilers’ deadline plans, “The Oilers have had extensive talks with teams over Jesse Puljujarvi. New York Rangers showed lots of interest. The New Jersey Devils and Tampa Bay Lightning inquired. Expect Edmonton to be more active and bring in a forward”
  • I maintain the belief that there’s a better deal for the Oilers that includes Puljujarvi awaiting them at the draft in Montreal this summer. I don’t believe he’ll be moved in a deadline deal but if Detroit came calling and were offering Darren Helm, a player that is very responsible defensively and has spent time on Dylan Larkin’s wing, would you make that trade?
  • One more from the Stauffer files. Last week he and Mr. Spector were talking about a couple of Russians, Anton Slepyshev and Konstantin Okulov, as possible summer targets for the Oilers… If they’re playing at the Worlds this summer, it wouldn’t shock me if some news regarding this emerged.
  • There are only a handful of players that come to mind. I’ve got four for you, Curtis Lazar (BUF), Colton Sissons (NSH), and Melker Karlsson (SJ), and Noel Acciari (FLA). All play both center and right-wing.
  • I’m not as confident on Sissons and Acciari becoming available, but Lazar and Karlsson should be.

  • Is Blake Coleman going to be this year’s Ryan Dzingel? Tampa is a pretty deep team…
  • Speak of the Devil(s)… Not too too long ago Jason Gregor was talking about Kyle Palmieri as a trade target he’d consider for the Oilers and just yesterday Elliotte Friedman said on SN590, “Devils have sent a signal that teams should make offers on Palmeri.”
  • Friedman cont. “Tampa outbid Boston for Coleman, but Edmonton made a real push. A couple of teams said they heard he was the guy the Oilers would give up a first-rounder for.”
  • This is pretty much in contradiction to what TSN’s Bob McKenzie said later on yesterday, “The Oilers would ideally want Pageau or Kreider at the NHL Trade Deadline, but the only problem is that KH doesn’t want to give up a 1st round pick. Plus, the Oilers cap situation with McDavid, Neal, Russell, Klefbom, and Kassian all not on LTIR.
  • I feel like Friedman is doing some work for other GMs here. The story all along is that Holland will not part with a 1st, Evan Bouchard, Philip Broberg, or Dmitri Samorukov. Others (Bob Stauffer/Frank Seravalli) have even gone as far as to say the 2nd rounder could be off the table too… I believe this is only for rentals but if Taylor Hall couldn’t get something as good as a first-rounder and Dmitri Samorukov from Holland, it’s clear that the Oilers are holding on to their draft picks very tightly.
  • But what about a 6th or 7th rounder? The Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson wondered, “Holland has been around block 100s of times. He knows you can never have enough veteran depth on defence. So if he can get rental D for sixth or seventh-round draft pick or prospect he can afford to live without (Swedish D Filip Berglund?), with Klefbom and Russell out why not?”
  • Hockey insider John Shannon said this about the trade market on Twitter, “Talked to 3 GMs this afternoon, about the prices for players right now, ahead of the Monday deadline. All used different terms…but had the same sentiment: “The prices are Crazy!” “Nuts!” “Madness!”

The way I see things is that the team is banking on their top-6 consisting of the following going into the post-season:

  • Neal/McDavid/Kassian
  • RNH/Draisaitl/Yamamoto

Teams who have success in the playoffs have a couple things,

  • Good goaltending.
  • Depth at forward and defense.

I think the Oilers defense has an acceptable amount of depth (it could always be upgraded) but their forward group doesn’t.

  • Benson/Sheahan/Archibald
  • Gagner/Haas/Chiasson
  • Khaira/Cave/Russell
  • Granlund

And of course, Joakim Nygard once he’s off the IR will be added to the team. His speed and hard forechecking is missed right now. So, the solution, for me, is to upgrade the bottom-6 with players like Curtis Lazar, Melker Karlsson, or Colton Sissons. Hell, if all three could be added for a reasonable price, that would be outstanding! Then your playoff forward group would look like this,

  • Neal/McDavid/Kassian
  • RNH/Drai/Yamamoto
  • Nygard/Sheahan/Archibald
  • Haas/(Lazar/Karlsson/Sissons)/Chiasson
  • Russell/Gagner/Benson

That 4th line seems to be the one worth tinkering with eh?

  • Benson/Sissons/Chiasson?
  • Benson/Haas/Karlsson?
  • Haas/Lazar/Gagner?

I dunno, you could probably come up with countless combinations until your face turned blue.

I haven’t worked out the roster move logistics of making something like this happen, but I can trust you probably have an idea or could at least come up with one.

What do you think? Are you gonna be pissed of Holland only makes a minor move or two or do you agree with me that this is probably the best thing to do for the long-term future of the team?

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