Would You Do This Trade?

This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!

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The Cult of Hockey

Greybeard Incorporated? Oilers bring in another 30-something vet, this time a hard-checking winger on a PTO

“The Oilers have signed forward Colton Sceviour to a professional tryout agreement. Sceviour spent the 2020-21 season playing with the Pittsburgh Penguins, notching five goals, five assists and two penalty minutes in 46 games. Before joining the Penguins, the 32-year-old played parts of his career with the Dallas Stars, who drafted him in the fourth round (112th overall) in 2007, as well as the Florida Panthers.”

Why sign him to a PTO as opposed to bringing back Alex Chiasson, a solid defensive player and power play ace? I’m not sure. I liked Chiasson’s game fine, but perhaps the player and/or the team are looking to go in a different direction.
With Yamamato out, I like this move, in part because I have strong impressions of Sceviour being a good two-way player.
He’s a different kind of player than Marody and Benson, so I don’t see him beating them out. The competition on the wing will come down to what Tippett wants and needs at any extra forward position, more skill in the from players like Marody or Benson, or more checking from a player like Shore or, now, Sceviour.

BLH’s Thoughts: I didn’t think the Oilers could bring a forward in on a PTO, especially with Benson and Marody right there just looking for a chance. I’d say that Ken Holland has just made their job a little bit harder to make the club and maybe that says something about how the organization feels about those two prospects(?).

The other thing I pondered is if Ken Holland is now letting Kailer Yamamoto know that his position is covered if he’s not at camp and the guy that was brought in, he basically plays the same style of game AND he was born just down the road in Red Deer, so there are some local ties as well as an added bit of motivation for Sceviour.

For what it’s worth, the Oilers have had their eye on Sceviour since 2019, if not earlier.

Oilersnation

Who should tho Oilers bring to camp on a professional tryout?

Jason Demers – Now, he’s best served as a bottom-pairing veteran who can log minutes on a team’s penalty kill. Demers only scored four points in 41 games for the Coyotes last season, but he was effective for the team in a defensive role.
Sami Vatanen – A major trouble for Vatanen in his career has been staying healthy, as he missed significant time in both 2018-19 and 2019-20… With Tyson Barrie and Evan Bouchard in the mix, Vatanen probably isn’t as good of a fit as Demers.
Zdeno Chara – The Oilers have spoken at length about the importance of what Duncan Keith’s experience will bring to the table. They could double down and add even more by bringing in future Hall of Famer Zdeno Chara.
Devan Dubnyk – Dubnyk could be third-string insurance for Stalock, who might get claimed on waivers like Anton Forsberg last season.
Eric Staal – Staal is best playing on the wing at this point but he could also serve as an insurance option for a bottom-six centre.

BLH’s Thoughts: I’d bet my house that Dubnyk won’t be returning to the Edmonton Oilers on a PTO to compete for the 3rd string job… I believe Eric Staal was looking to link up with one of his brothers, Marc perhaps. Chara’s not coming out west, that’s been made painfully clear.

So that leaves Vatanen and Demers and I reckon both are looking for 1-way contracts… Flip a coin.

NHLRumors.com

Dustin Nielsen: Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland met with J.P. Barry, the agent for restricted free agent forward Kailer Yamamoto, last night.

Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic: The St. Louis Blues still need to re-sign restricted free agent forward Robert Thomas. The Blues have only about $2.3 million in salary cap space (before they re-signed Tyler Bozak yesterday at $750,000 plus bonuses).

Thomas’ only leverage may be an offer sheet.
The Arizona Coyotes have five second-round picks and Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong drafted Thomas when he was the Blues Director of Amateur Scouting.

TSN: Montreal Canadiens forward Tyler Toffoli doesn’t blame Jesperi Kotkaniemi for signing for over $6 million.

“It is what it is … you’re not going to turn down $6 million,” said Toffoli

BLH’s Thoughts: I wonder if St. Louis and Edmonton would get together and swap Thomas and Yamamoto? The Oilers don’t have much cap room, so the two clubs would have to get creative. I dunno, it’s just something that popped into my mind.