Tag Archives: Zack Kassian

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Edmonton Oilers: Is It Time to Move On From Some Players?

Every now and there comes a time in a player’s career when they’ve surpassed their best before date with the club they are currently on. Sometimes that’s because they’ve gotten a bit long in the tooth, other times it’s because the fit isn’t there stylistically anymore, and lastly, circumstances can change in a player’s life that makes it difficult to continue on with the team.

Is it possible that there’s a player on the Edmonton Oilers who falls into one or more of these categories?

First things first, this post has nothing to do with that tweet from Ms. Lane and I LOVE that Zack Kassian is an Edmonton Oiler. I am in no way, shape, or form suggesting that he be traded, bought out, or anything of the such. I would, however, like to explore the idea of the team moving him regardless of how opposed I am to the idea.

For whatever reason, Kassian didn’t show up for the play-ins vs. Chicago. The Oilers could’ve really used him but, and this is just me talking, I’m not sure how badly he wanted to be there. He has a young family at home and I just reckon he was good with not playing but being the team guy he is, he put that aside and did what he felt he could do to help the team.

But getting to some even-strength numbers, Kassian had 19 goals and 15 assists this year, all at even strength since he was pulled from the penalty kill and only gets the odd shift on the Oilers’ second PP unit. Kass’ pts/60 relative increased from 1.41 in 2018/19 to 2.21 this past season (good for 19th in the NHL amongst wingers who played more than 400 minutes this year during the regular season). He was on the plus side of the ledger in nearly every shot and goal metric found on Natural Stat Trick save for expected goals for/60. Even his PIMs/60 came down by nearly half (4.21->2.29). So one could argue he’s really rounding into a solid hockey player who’s ironed out some of the risks, but then he goes out and gets suspended for kicking a guy in the chest… So all of that good stuff is forgotten and he’s back to being “Crazy Kassian”.

It’s funny. He’s one of the rare players who doesn’t drag McDavid down when they play together yet Edmonton’s coach saw him bad in the play-ins and that was that. Kassian was down on the third line getting TOI with Riley Sheahan (who wasn’t having the best play-ins of his own).

So we know that Kassian’s new 4-year deal at $3.2M per year kicks in next season, right? He’s already spent close to five seasons with the Oilers and now he’s set to extend that another four. It’s not often that a player will come from outside of the Oilers’ organization to spend almost a decade with them and this is what I’m talking about when I bring up a player’s best-before date.

Kassian has wanted out of Edmonton before and I do wonder if this deal that he signed has a handshake agreement element to it. Meaning, was there an agreement made to move him in the following offseason if he signed on the dotted line. I mean, a four-year deal, in my mind, might be a tad easier to move than one with less term. His recent stats help his cause as does his ability to move up and down the lineup.

Whether you like that contract or not, it’s a really decent contract for a 30-35pt winger who can actually co-exist with Connor McDavid. What I want to ask though is, could the Oilers find a cheaper option or one that will benefit the team a bit more down the road?

  • Bryan Rust (PIT), 28 yrs old – Not a cheaper option since he makes $3.5M for another two seasons, BUT, he’s a safer player and he knows how to operate with highly skilled generational hockey players. 33 even-strength points last year and 17 on the PP. His pts/60 was 2.54 (6th in the NHL this past regular season). Bob Stauffer did talk about Rust with Mark Spector just last week.
  • Ilya Mikheyev (TOR), 25 years old – I wouldn’t think this player is available but before he had his wrist cut, he was emerging into a very good player for Leafs this year. He’s big, fast, and very skilled. His pts/60 in 39 regular-season games was 2.44. He’s an RFA this offseason and James Mirtle was recently quoted as saying he thinks this player will only receive $2M maximum on a new deal with Toronto… What’s that sound? Is that opportunity knocking I hear?
  • Oliver Bjorkstrand (CBJ), 25 years old – Would the Oilers add another Dane to the team to play with Patrick Russell? Who knows, but this one only makes $2.5M for one more year and his pts/60 is very comparable to Kassian’s (2.25). The one thing I really like about this player is that the ice tilted HARD in his team’s favor when he was out there in 2019/20.

I don’t know if Pittsburgh (they’ve had interest in the past), Toronto, or Columbus would have interest in these sort of swaps and if I were a betting man, I’d think that Kassian would love to get closer to home (Windsor, ON) or maybe somewhere in California since he heads there every off-season on his motorbike. I remember that Todd McLellan (LA) used him in all sorts of situations when he coached the Oilers.

I think the fact of the matter is, should Jesse Puljujarvi come back, he’s under the impression that he’ll be given every opportunity to make the team and if the Oilers have Kassian, Yamamoto, Archibald, Chiasson, and (possibly) Patrick Russell already penned in, there’s really no space for the Finn. Someone has to move and only Kassian’s contract could be considered problematic. Some might argue Chiasson, but he has a role on the PP plus there are no question marks regarding his level of compete night-in/night-out. Others might say Russell is surplus, but the coach loves him. You’re not trading Yamamoto and Archibald is important for the PK.

I really dig having Kass on this team, he’s one of my favorites, no doubt; that said, if Edmonton moved on, I would wish him good luck on his new team and be very grateful for the memories he gave us when he was in Edmonton.

With all of this in mind, I don’t think he’s moving. I don’t get any Earth-shattering indications that the Oilers are looking to trade him and depending on who you ask, the man with the mutton chops will be back.

What do you think? Would you shop Zack Kassian if you were GM? Let us know in the comments below!

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2019/20 Edmonton Oilers GM58: Oilers @ Panthers – 3P2W – Kassian Suspension a Joke!

The Florida Panthers have won two out of six games so far in February and have been forced to dress defencemen as forwards recently. In addition to that, their $10M goalie is playing like the next coming of Hardy Astrom.

I know. This Oilers team is down some major talents at the moment and they’re going to be without those players for a good two weeks yet. But you’d be surprised where a strong will and razor-sharp focus can take you. The Oilers were sticking in there with Tampa last night were they not? Mike Smith was fantastic and if not for that shorty and some right alien-like goaltending from Vasilevskiy, Edmonton might’ve pulled off a win.

This is Dave Tippet’s bread and butter. Taking a team with so very little and squeezing every last bit of potential and talent out of it. I get that it’s hard to be optimistic right now, but it’s basically all we’ve got right now. That and the Oilers second line that appears to be the best in the NHL right now. Frankly, with the way that Florida is playing right now, I wouldn’t be one bit surprised if the Oilers won handily today.

There are some things that I’m going to need to see from this team though,

  • Hard, fast forechecking. We need Archibald, Khaira, Russell, Benson, and Haas really engaged in this manner.
  • A revamped PP zone entry. It’s obvious without Connor, the Oilers’ PP is going to have to alter its entries. The other teams are simply going to stack themselves along the blue line and hope that Leon or Nuge attempt to dangle around them.
  • Smart play with the puck. No throwing it around the boards in hopes that a winger will pick it up and carry it out. Against TB, the Oilers defenders were moving the puck up the middle and it was working very well.
  • Got shots on net and crash the M*ther F*cker. Make life difficult for FLA’s netminder and their defenders.

I think if they can do three out of those four things well, they’ll have a good game.

The Zack Kassian Suspension is a Joke

Seven games is a tad overkill in my opinion and if you think that he should’ve been gone for the season or 10+ games, you’re completely out of touch with how incidents like this are judged. Especially in comparison with something like Zdeno Chara’s crosscheck to Brendan Gallagher’s Adam’s apple.

In that instance, there was an actual intent to injure and George Parros and his buddies at Player Safety thought it was only worthy of a $5000 fine. Now, I’m not going to go all out and say that Chara tried to decapitate Gallagher, but I’m surprised that no real damage was done as I’m equally surprised that nothing has come up regarding Evander Kane’s elbow on Neal Pionk… A play that was far more dangerous that what Kassian did.

As for Kassian, we all know that from time to time his wires touch and he does something that is deemed questionable, but that’s part of why we love him. That said,  after watching the other angle of the kick, I maintain he was simply pushing a player off of him and his teammate because the bloody refs were preoccupied with something else apparently. There was ZERO intent to injure and his skate barely touched Cernak. Not that the fact excuses the action, mind you, but let’s calm down with the “attempted murder” and “his career should be over” tweets, okay? If that’s you saying that, get your head out of your ass and grow up while you’re at it.

Now, of course, you cannot use your skate blade in this manner, everybody knows this, and I’m not arguing if he should’ve been suspended or not. I’m saying the suspension was too long. This wasn’t the Skinner incident or the Chris Simon one. Not even close.

The fact of the matter is, the Department of Player Safety is sitting Kassian for seven games because he embarrassed them. He was just hauled in to get a rap on the knuckles for tuning Matthew Tkachuk in (after at least one suspendable hit to the head that wasn’t called) and the message didn’t sink in apparently. So they tacked on a couple more games onto something that really should’ve been no more than three games.

Three Players to Watch for the Panthers

  • #11 Jonathan Huberdeau – An absolute magician with the puck and one of the most underrated forwards in the NHL today. He doesn’t get enough credit for how good he really is in my opinion and anybody who tries as hard as he did in the All-Star Game deserves more attention.
  • #21 Vincent Trocheck – I love his speed and tenacity. The Oilers have always had interest in this player and it’s obvious why. He brings something to the table that no other Oiler has been able to until Kailer Yamamoto came to town.
  • #77 Frank Vatrano – This former Boston Bruin is having a helluva season on Florida’s 3rd line. He’s a great meat and potatoes kind of player with a ridiculous shot.

Three Players to Watch for the Oilers

  • #82 Caleb Jones – Had a glorious outing against the Lightning the other night and scored a really nice goal. It’s good to see Jones and Bear finding their feet at the NHL level. They bring a much need element to Edmonton’s blue line.
  • #56 Kailer Yamamoto – Has been an absolute buzzsaw since his recall. It wouldn’t shock me one bit if he carried on this heater for some time. He reminds me of a cross between Tyler Johnson and Brendan Gallagher. What about you?
  • #49 Tyler Benson – I’m not 100% sure he’ll be in the lineup but if he is, you’d have to think that he’ll get some time win the top-6. He’s gritty, smart, and very skilled but those boots… The speed of the game will cause him to struggle and so I’ll be looking for him to use his smarts to overcome that.

No lines posted by the team yet. Markus Granlund was recalled and Connor McDavid was put on the IR but I’m not sure if that will mean Benson is in the lineup or if Granlund will be. If I had to take a wild guess, I would say Granlund. Then again, he’s on a bit of a wonky ankle so you never know. Even the starting goalie is a mystery. I wanna say Koskinen today and Smith tomorrow, but it might be the other way around. All I know is that the team is going to be in tough to beat the Panthers tonight.

The Next Ten Games (51-60)

  • vs. St. Louis Blues (31-12-8) – I’m not 100% sold that the Oilers will be focused on this game seeing as they play Calgary the next night. They have played well against the league’s best this season at times though. Can McDavid and Draisaitl beat the Blues in this one as they did at the All-Star game? (WIN) WIN
  • @ Calgary Flames (27-19-6) – If you thought last night’s game was fun with all the fights and cheap shots, this game is going to be bonkers. It always seems to be in Calgary. Losing three times to the Flames and that post-game celly by Rittich will be eating away at the Oilers. They’ll be doing their damnedest to bring home the two points. (WIN) WIN
  • @ Arizona Coyotes (26-21-5) – The Oilers put up a touchdown on the Coyotes right before their bye-week and I don’t imagine that sat well with Taylor Hall and co. That said, they’re on a bit of a slump in their last ten (4-5-1) and Edmonton is flying high as of today (6-2-2). On the other hand, just when the opportunity presents itself to the Oilers they usually take the night off. (LOSS) LOSS
  • vs. San Jose Sharks (22-26-4) – Man, this Sharks team is bad. With Vlasic, Karlsson, and Burns on the back-end no less… Can you believe the Golden Knights fired Gerard Gallant to hire San Jose’s old coach? I think this will be a scheduled win for McDavid’s boys. Watch out for shenanigans from Evander Kane and Timo Meier. (WIN) LOSS
  • vs. Nashville Predators (23-19-7) – Since the Preds hired NJ’s old coach, they haven’t been scoring much and that’s not a good sign when you go into Edmonton. Couple that with Pekka Rinne’s game falling right off of a cliff and the Oilers should be able to walk away with two points. (WIN) WIN
  • vs. Chicago Blackhawks (24-21-6) – The Hawks are coming on as of late and I think they could pull this one off in Edmonton. Maybe Drake Caggiula does the ex-Oiler thing and scores. (LOSS) WIN
  • @ Tampa Bay Lightning (30-15-5) – This will be a fine test for the Oilers. Tampa has found their stride at the right time and are looking very dominant. Might we see another ex-Oiler in Pat Maroon score or drop the flippers? I expect McDavid to be flying in this one. (LOSS) LOSS
  • @ Florida Panthers (28-16-5) – This match-up is going to be a fun one. The Panthers have some really fun players to watch like Huberdeau, Barkov, and the very underrated Vincent Trochek. Which Sergei Bobrovsky might we see if he gets the call though? (WIN)
  • @ Carolina Hurricanes (29-18-3) – It’s hard not to like what they’ve built in Carolina. Andrei Svechnikov is already a scoring phenom at 19-years-old and it’s hard to overlook the wonder Finns (Aho/Teravainen), right? How will this team be sans Dougie Hamilton though? Can the Oilers sweep back-to-backs again? (WIN)
  • vs. Boston Bruins (29-10-12) – Edmonton goes from one team who doesn’t lose in OT to a team that seemingly only loses in OT. The Oilers gave the Bs a pretty sound beating last time they played and we’re close to the trade deadline here so I’m not sure what the rosters will look like. I like Boston for this one though. (LOSS)

(Standings as of January 20th, 2020)

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2019/20 Edmonton Oilers GM50: Flames @ Oilers – 3P2W – It’s All Happening! Or Is It?

Everybody is going to be in the building tonight when the Edmonton Oilers take on the Calgary Flames for part three of five in this season’s Battle of Alberta. George Parros (Head of the Department of Player Safety), Stephen Walkom (NHL’s Director of Officiating ), Colin Campbell (Director of Hockey Operations) will all be in attendance for this one leading some to believe that there might be some messages sent that are the kinds you only get in person… So they can’t be traced or brought up at a later date… No evidence any talks actually took place…

The local media has been hyping the living sh*t out of this game as if it was the next coming of Christ, but I have a feeling that she’s gonna be toned down a bit. I’ve heard some media believe that Matthew Tkachuk will drop the gloves with Zack Kassian at the earliest convenience and that’s fine but do you really expect Tkachuk not to just tie Kassian’s hands up and hold on for dear life or for the officials to jump in as soon as a helmet falls off like they did when Darnell Nurse and Sam Bennett got into their tilly last year?

Both teams have inserted some extra muscle into the lineup for this one. Bud Robinson, a 6’6″ behemoth was called up right after the all-star game for Calgary and Edmonton is throwing Jujhar Khaira and Matt Benning into theirs. Both Benning and Khaira can chuck the knucks and offer some real sandpaper.

I wonder though might it be a bit quieter than expected? Oilers play-by-play colorman Bob Stauffer noted on his radio show yesterday that most recently the shenanigans have been taking place down in Calgary. I mean, there’s a ton on the line for Edmonton here. They really need to come out of this game AND the next installment of the BoA that takes place on the weekend with at least three out of four points in order to further solidify their place in the playoff race this year. But should this game be a throwback, the Oilers are fully capable of handling whatever Calgary wants to throw at them. It’s not even a question.

So maybe things get concluded early on and then the two teams settle down and play some hockey. I’m thinking with the way the standings are right now, that sounds exactly like what both coaches will be preaching before the game starts. Leave it all until game 82…

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The Next Ten Games (41-50)

  • vs. Calgary Flames (19-15-5) – The Oilers should be bitter as hell coming back from the Christmas break and looking for retribution. In terms of gf/ga on the year, the Flames are -12 and Edmonton could feast on that. The Oilers have taken two of the past three contests. (WIN) LOSS
  • vs. New York Rangers (17-15-4) – Edmonton will get its first look at 2019 2nd overall pick Kaapo Kakko and welcome back former Oiler, Ryan Strome. This should be a scheduled win for Edmonton as the Rangers aren’t anything special this year. The Oilers have won three on the trot vs. the Rags. (WIN) WIN
  • @ Buffalo Sabres (17-14-7) – Generally, over the years the Oilers have had pretty good luck in Buffalo, but this year Jack Eichel is a man possessed and last time Rasmus Dahlin was out of the lineup. If Dahlin is back in for this game, he’ll add a significant threat. I like Edmonton’s chances here though. (WIN)  OT LOSS
  • @ Boston Bruins (22-7-9) – The Bruins went into the Christmas break on a bit of a slump going 2-4-4 in their previous ten. This is going to be a challenge for the Oilers to win even when Boston is at their worst and there’s no better team to bust a slump against than Edmonton, right? (LOSS) WIN
  • @ Toronto Maple Leafs (20-14-4) – Toronto’s confidence was sky high before baby Jesus’ bday, but guess who comes to play each time he’s back home. That’s right, Connor McDavid. It will take a complete team effort for the Oilers to beat their nemesis, Freddy Andersen, though as he’s really had Edmonton’s number. (OT LOSS) WIN
  • @ Montreal Canadiens (18-13-6) – I really enjoyed Edmonton’s performance against the Habs in their earlier match. If the Oilers can replicate that, I don’t see why a win is out of the question. (WIN) WIN
  • @ Calgary Flames (19-15-5) – Round two! Ding. Ding. In Calgary, I think the Flames might be able to muster up a win here. (LOSS) LOSS
  • vs. Nashville Predators (18-12-6) – Is Pekka Rinne in net? If so, I’ll give this one to the Oilers. If it’s Saros, the Preds have a much better chance of success. They’ve been an interesting team to watch this year and are playing in a tough division. Their 42pts at the break had them in 3rd last in the Central… (WIN) WIN
  • vs. Arizona Coyotes (21-14-4) – Hallsy’s back and if the Oilers would like to go that extra mile, they could show him how much of a powerhouse they plan to be next season by wiping the floor with Arizona, but it’ll be a tough game. Arizona is a lot deeper than the Oilers and their netminding has been much better. This needs to be a game where Edmonton’s defense shines. (OT LOSS) WIN
  • vs. Calgary Flames (19-15-5) – Coming off of a 10-day break, Mikko Koskinen and the Oilers will be well-rested. In theory, they should be as ready as they’re ever going to be to take on their inter-province rivals. (WIN)

(Standings as of December 26th, 2019)

I thought I was being a tad facetious when I predicted that the Oilers’d come out of this 10-game stretch with 14 out of a possible 20 points. Well, they’re going to get at least 15 points if not more here. 6-2-2 (7-1-1) and that’s just fine by me. I hope this long break gives them the rest they’re going to need going into the final 32 games because they’re going to be playing nearly every two days until their last game of the year against… Calgary… Where they’ll have their longest break since the one they just had, a three-day rest. So buckle up Oilers fans, the rollercoaster is just about to begin.

Tonight’s Game

  • Calgary went 3/4 on the powerplay against St. Louis last night, so it’s probably safe to say that the Oilers need to stay out of the penalty box. That’s what burnt them last time out against the Flames and they certainly do not need a sequel to that movie.
  • That advice is something the Geoff Ward’s troops will need to heed as well. Edmonton has the best PP in the league and with the director of officiating watching, maybe the game gets called a bit tighter…
  • As I mentioned above, Calgary is on the back half of a back-to-back, the Oilers need to capitalize on their fresh legs and early because the Flames have scored most of their goals this year in the final frame and the least amount in the first period. Whereas Edmonton has scored the majority of their goals in the first and the least in the third.
  • That said, Calgary is the 2nd-best team in the NHL this year when trailing first. Edmonton is 26th in the league.
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Three Players to Watch for the Flames

  • #19 Matthew Tkachuk – Does anybody know the last time this guy actually scored an even-strength goal?
  • #10 Derek Ryan – Three points in his last five matches and now he’s up on the 2nd line with Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau. The former U of A Golden Bear is a crafty player and can be used in nearly all situations thanks to his skill on the dot.
  • #33 Dave Rittich – Big Save Dave will have to be on his mark for this one as I believe the Oilers are going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at him. He’s had a down year but in his last three outings, he’s 1-2-0 with a 2.32 GAA and a .925 save percentage.

Three Players to Watch for the Oilers

  • #44 Zack Kassian – Kass has already been downplaying what his plans are for this game. I reckon he’ll play the game and try to help his team win but if there’s an opportunity to hit a guy or if someone wants to go with him and the time is right, he’ll do it. He did say he got his licks on Tkachuk already though… So we’ll see where this goes.
  • #54 Jujhar Khaira – The ice couldn’t be any thinner for JJ. He needs to make an impact in this game and show his coaches what he’s got to offer or he’ll be playing somewhere else shortly. I think he’ll drop the mitts with someone. Maybe Lucic?
  • #25 Darnell Nurse – He was pretty invisible before the break and these are the kinds of games we need him to step up. Be that on the scoreboard or with his fists, Nurse needs to remind these boys from down the QE2 that the Oilers are far from pretenders.
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Edmonton Oilers Rumors: Pageau, Strome, Broberg, and Edmonton’s Summer Plans

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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Zack Kassian Is More Important to the Edmonton Oilers Than Some May Think

Now that we’re well into the bye week for the Edmonton Oilers, there’s been a slight shift in the discussions online from where the team is in the standings and how well they’re playing at the moment (6-3-1 in their last ten games) to how much Zack Kassian is going to get in his next contract. I think we can thank Mark Spector for this…

Interestingly enough, this is near exactly what I was told right before Christmas. And they say I make everything up…

Anyways, I’ve been reading tweets like the following for a while now and it’s almost insulting that “supporters” of the Oilers would publicly say these sorts of things. That’s the VM (vocal minority) for ya though…

If the Oilers pay more than $2M for Kassian, I’ll be genuinely pissed. If they were smart, they’d do what they should have done with Chiasson.
Dont pay Kassian anything more Than 2M.

Three years ago Kassian‘s contract was 2.6% of the upper limit. I’d start in the same place today, that’s $2.2M per, and negotiate on length, adjusting the dollars accordingly. My upper limit on cap hit would be $2.5M, the term would be three years max.

Per Jones’ contract, hoping the Oilers are telling Kassian “Here’s 2x$2m, that’s solid value because if you go to market, everyone knows your numbers are McDavid and you’ll get Marooned”.

In terms of expected numbers, I would likely be trading Kassian using 2 years, 2M AAV as sort of my outer limit on an extension instead of a trade. But that would also depend on his trade value
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I get it, everybody wants the team to shave as much off of every contract extension as possible in order to fit Taylor Hall (-5 against Edmonton in his last game by the way) back into the lineup and that’s all find and dandy, unrealistic though.

But what I’m reading here is that these gentlemen don’t believe that Zack Kassian is worth keeping if he won’t take a 500k raise… NAY! Sorry, I’ve got that wrong… They’re saying that Kassian can walk if he won’t take a 50k raise! Fifty thousand is their line in the sand… You’ve got to be kidding me. Get f*cked is what I say to that. What a crock of sh*t. It’s okay for these players to make a little extra than you’d pay them in your simulation hockey league you know…

Now the obvious clap back is, “Look at Pat Maroon and what happened to him!” or “Anybody could play on McDavid’s wing and thrive.”

Both statements have flaws.

Josh Archibald has benefited really well alongside Connor in 44’s absence, but what he’s doing is the true definition of heater. An 80% GF% with 97 and a 20% one without?… #Heater. He doesn’t have the skill to stick there for 82 games straight and produce whereas Kassian does. Benoit Pouliot was a pretty good player, he didn’t get better with McDavid.

Sure, both Maroon and Kass played (play) significant roles on the wing of Connor McDavid and (have) thrived where more skilled players like Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and Jesse Puljujarvi were given brief opportunities with the 97 and failed to stick.

I think it’s safe to say that the Oilers captain thrives with some muscle that can play the game a bit on his wing.

So, here’s the difference between Kassian and Maroon, Zack can skate much much better. He thinks the game better, he’s faster, he’s got better hands and is a better passer, he’s learned when and when not to take a fight and the same could be said for the amount of bone-rattling hits he throws.

I think Pat had some of those assets as well to a lesser degree but was a stronger player and could hold the puck up a bit better than Kassian. In terms of the new power forward model, Kassian is that guy whereas Maroon is still the older model. I’d add that Zack, since joining the Oilers, has been very durable and my belief is that he won’t see a deterioration in skill as early as some are predicting and even if he does, he’ll still bring value down the lineup in a variety of roles.

Just a couple more things to compare the two players. I can’t recall, did Maroon spend any time on the PK when he was in Edmonton and how much of his scoring was done at 5×5? This season all but one of Kassian’s points have been at 5×5. That’s value folks. Prior to this year, he was part of Edmonton’s PK, but I will admit the Oilers haven’t had a good PK for a while before this season and Kassian isn’t on the kill anymore. Not to say that he was the reason it was bad, because he wasn’t. I’m just stating that he had the trust of his coaches to play there. He’s spent some time on Edmonton’s powerplay this season too.

Funny, after Maroon’s disastrous free-agent experience, he landed himself a deal with his hometown team and won a Stanley Cup. He scored a pretty important goal I recall and now he’s with another Stanley Cup contender. Why would successful GMs look at that guy and see value if he was only useful when he dropped the gloves? They don’t because, during the playoffs, regular season narratives go out the window.

The fact of the matter is, if Kassian goes to market, he’s getting $3.5M to $4.5M. No bones about it. Some will say, let him go, but I was under the impression that you get good players and then you keep them. What part about Kassian’s game says the Edmonton Oilers are a worse team with him in the lineup?

If the Oilers can get him for 3-5 years at $3M-$3.5M and then the salary cap raises in a season or two, THAT’S a bargain contract! Even if he regresses and is only a 30pt player by the second year of it.

The former Windsor Spitfire is on pace for over 50pts and is only making a shade under $2M this year. That’s one of the best deals in the entire league right now and nobody is talking about it.

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NUMBERS TIME!!!

I want to show you one more thing here using some metrics from Natural Stat Trick.

Connor McDavid’s GF% with Kassian is 55.22%, his GF% away from him is 50%, and Kassian’s GF% away Connor is 55.56%.

McDavid’s xGF% with Kassian is 49.86%, his xGF% away from him is 47.38%, and Kassian’s xGF% away from Connor is 51.48%.

Fact: Kassian makes McDavid a better player. No other forward that’s played 50 minutes plus with the Oilers captain has a better goal share this year. (source)

Now, if that’s not enough to make you pause and think about the kind of raise Edmonton’s #44 is going to get and be fine with the rumored amount, let’s take a gander to see if he makes the rest of his teammates better too.

I want to use the forwards that Kass has played 50 minutes or more with 5×5 since that seems to be an acceptable variable online but that’s only been Edmonton’s best players this year, so I think we should take the time frame back a bit and use last season’s results as well. He’ll get dinged a bit here though because predictably (and he knows it, hence the relaxed ask on the new deal) his numbers didn’t really start to shoot up until he was put on 97’s wing near the end of January.

Player TOI GF% w/Kassian Kassian GF% w/o Player Player GF% w/o Kassian
McDavid 1009:39 53.33 45.28 50.00
Draisaitl 820:57 53.27 44.44 46.67
Brodziak 403:42 36.36 57.45 25.00
RNH 247:55 40.00 54.55 33.85
Khaira 243:25 40.00 54.55 33.85
Lucic 236:00 41.67 45.45 48.89
Neal 109:10 40.00 57.58 35.48
Reider 98:01 40.00 46.43 30.43
Nygard 46:03 60.00 50.00 47.37

(source)

Yes. In only two cases out of ten was the player better away from Kassian at 5×5 since the start of the 2018/19 season… One was the best player in the league and the other was… Milan Lucic? Alrighty then… They do say hockey is chaos though…

I believe there are some media folk out there that are comparing Kass’ rumored deal to that of Vancouver Canucks oft-injured FA signing Michael Ferland. He signed his deal at 27 years old which will be two years younger than Mr. Kassian but I’ll be shocked if he lives up to it. He’s already having problems with his health and thankfully, that’s something that Kassian hasn’t run into.

In the end, if he’s making $3M or $3.75M or even $4M per year on his next deal, he’ll still be an Oiler because he wants to be one (which is more outstanding given he wanted out badly last year) and keeping him around will please Lord Connor who took a pay cut so that others on his team could make a bit more.

If Zack Kassian is that rare breed of hockey player who finds his way in the latter part of his 20s (and I do believe that) and Edmonton benefits from it, I say, good! It’s about damned time the Oilers got some luck like that and as Oilers fans, let’s enjoy the fact that we have one of the finest humans in the league on our team instead of treating him like a database entry in some fictitious fantasy hockey team.

If there’s any worry that fans should be having, it’s the contract Darnell Nurse is eyeing up…

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