Coming from an Edmonton Oilers point of view, BLH provides you with the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation from all of the internet’s best sites including Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, Sportsnet, The Athletic, TSN and more!
From The Fourth Period
After changing agents for the second time since entering the NHL, it appears that Nolan Patrick’s time in Philadelphia may be coming to an end.
Flyers’ insider Anthony San Filippo of Crossing Broad reported last week on the “Snow The Goalie” podcast that the belief is that Patrick wants out of Philadelphia.
- “The reason Nolan Patrick switched agents is because he is going to request a trade,” said San Filippo. “Nolan Patrick does not want to be here anymore; he doesn’t like the criticism that he’s facing, he doesn’t like the spotlight that’s on him, he doesn’t like the coach, at all.
- “I don’t think Nolan Patrick wants to be here.”
Patrick, 22, finished this season with four goals, five assists and a minus-30 rating in 52 games this season after missing the entirety of 2019-20 due to a migraine disorder. (LINK)
BLH’s Thoughts: Could Nolan Patrick join Evgeny Kuznetsov on this offseasons ultimate buy-low list? Patrick is still so young and as an Oilers fan, I can tell you that giving up on a player who’s yet to sign his second contract is a mistake. Look at Jesse Puljujarvi for example. How many pundits wrote him off? A LOT! Apart from myself, I don’t know many that were advising fans to trust Ken Holland and when Pulju returned that they’d see how good he really is.
Obviously the rumors of Patrick heading to Vegas to play for his former GM in junior are going to heat up and the Golden Knights have a young player themselves who’s yet to find his way in Cody Glass… Could there be a natural swap in the making there?
The Maple Leafs have roughly $12.5 million in available salary cap space with several pending unrestricted free agents to worry about, including the likes of Frederik Andersen, Zach Hyman, Jason Spezza, Wayne Simmonds, Joe Thornton, Zach Bogosian and Nick Foligno, and restricted free agent Travis Dermott.
- “I’ve had five years here. I’ve really enjoyed my time here,” Andersen told the media on Wednesday. “Overall, I’ll definitely look back on these five years with a lot of good memories. With regards to the future, I don’t know what’s in store yet. We’ll see.”
- “This came so sudden, I really haven’t had time to think about it,” Thornton said. “First and foremost, I have to be a dad for a little bit here. I feel really, really healthy. We’ll see, we’ll see. I haven’t made any decision yet, but I feel really good and that’s a good sign.”
- “I honestly don’t know what management’s thought process is,” Simmonds said. “I’d definitely be open to coming back, that’s for sure. But like I said, it is a business and only time will tell.” (LINK)
BLH’s Thoughts: I reckon if anybody on that list is going to come back, it might be Zach Hyman and honestly, he and Spezza should probably be the only ones the team is considering with the minute amount of cap room they’re going to have available. At least there’s the potential of a hometown discount with the two…
Can I ask? Who’s the heart of this Maple Leafs team? Back in the day they had a Wendel Clark, a Doug Gilmour, a Mats Sundin… Somebody they could really lean on when games got tough. Is John Tavares supposed to be that guy? Because, I really don’t feel it with their young superstars. Maybe that’s the missing piece? A player who’s fearless but can put a team on his back and run through a brick wall…
As any of these names pertain to the Oilers, maybe Freddy Andersen could be an option if other leads dry up. He’s not been a terrible netminder for Toronto over the years, though, I suppose it’ll depend on health and what his demands are.
From NHL Trade Talk
Ken Campbell of SI.com examined the lack of penalties drawn by McDavid throughout the series with the Winnipeg Jets. He put some interesting numbers together that should really make McDavid cringe.
Campbell writes:
- “McDavid has played 21 playoff games. He has been on the ice for the Edmonton Oilers for a combined 502 minutes and 30 seconds in those games. And in that time, the fastest, most talented and most dynamic player in the world has drawn a total of six minor penalties, zero in the eight games he has played in the past two playoff seasons.”
In other words, McDavid drew one penalty for every 83 minutes and 45 seconds played. When you think about they way McDavid darts past defenses, goes around the NHL’s best blueliners and has no fear to go one-on-three in some instances, it’s a puzzling stat. It’s almost too crazy to be true.
BLH’s Thoughts: First off, I’m not accusing anybody of anything, I’m just throwing out an idea.
Just going to put my tinfoil hat on here for a second.
Think about it. Those numbers that Campbell dug up are so egregious that some suspicion has to come of it, no? Honestly, the Oilers were such overwhelming favorites for that series that anybody who put money down on the Jets to win it, won massively. Top that off with the pandemic, people are on hard times.
Maybe one more thing to consider, I can’t recall a year where the refs have been shit on more than this past one. The coaches have taken them to task more in the post-game pressers, they’re getting it from the players, the press is all over them… The only group missing is the fans and now that they’re being allowed back into the rinks, that relief is fading away too.
Would it be a shock if one day some info leaked that there was some shady business gone down in 2021 with the officials? I mean, look at the Tim Peel debacle.
Did we witness a Hart winner getting f*cked by the league? Could that series between the Oilers and Jets someday be referred to as “The Edmonton Screw Job”?
Now I don’t believe it because Hockey is chaos baby and sometimes there are stats in this sport that crop up that are completely unbelievable and that series was damned close to boot. Also, it’s my understanding that some higher-ups in the reffing fraternity really questioned the quality of officiating in that series as it wore on.
So as much as I’d like to believe that a couple of refs and the NHL were actively engaged in torpedoing the Oilers playoff hopes, they didn’t. Connor Hellebuyck was that good and Edmonton’s depth scoring wasn’t. It’s just a bit of fun on my part.
Those numbers are pretty unbelievable though…
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