The Oilers will be without their No. 1 defenceman for longer than we had originally hoped. Klefbom, who left Tuesday’s win in Colorado after blocking a shot, will have surgery on his finger, meaning he’ll miss six to eight weeks of action.
Surgery for Oilers' Oscar Klefbom on his injured finger…out 6 to 8 weeks.
— John Shannon (@JSportsnet) December 15, 2018
We knew right after the game that Klefbom was going to be out for weeks rather than days, but this was pretty much the worst-case scenario.
With Klefbom out of the lineup, the Oilers have had Darnell Nurse and Adam Larsson doing major heavy-lifting on the blueline. Kevin Gravel and Matt Benning have also seen an increase in minutes and Jason Garrison has been inserted back into the lineup. Rookie Caleb Jones was also recalled to give the team another option on the blueline.
Of course, things will get a little easier for Edmonton’s blueline once Kris Russell, who went on the Injured Reserve at the same time as Klefbom, returns to action, but it’s going to be very difficult to navigate multiple months without Klefbom on the top pair.
I wrote earlier today about how the trade market is shaping up for rentals this year. Given the fact Klefbom would be out until February, the Oilers may look into pulling the trigger on a deal that helps shore up their blueline. Obviously, you aren’t going to replace Klefbom via trade right now, but adding some quality depth would be very beneficial as the Oilers work through life without their top defender.
That sucks, hope Charelli doesn’t trade to fix it.
Funniest thing I’ve read all day. I hope to god he doesn’t either, Oil would end up worse because of it.
Looks at waiver wire intently.
With the cap going up we could make this work. Imagine.
Klefbom-Larsson
Nurse-Parayko
Russel-Sekera
Would take 2019 first rounder, Yamo and Bear or Jones. I believe it’s worth it, short term and long term.
Pete was able to do Larsson for Hall straight up, so… he might be able to get Parayko for McDavid on a good day. If I owned the team our GMs phone would not be able to dial out of the building.
St. Louis wants to make deal? You heard that from someone?
I know it is high hopes but Sekera is getting closer to coming back. Maybe we get a Christmas miracle and he plays better than he did after his last injury comeback.
Sekera is a 32 year old guy that hasn’t played for 2 years. His return isn’t going to save anybody’s anything
Why not give our youth a chance……..even if they learn the hard way?? I like using Bear and Jones until things improve for Oscar Klefbom………for those who think this is not a good idea, at which time do you give your youth a chance?
I think Lagesson is an option as well
Nurse-Larsson ~25mins
Gravel-Benning ~18mins
Lagesson-Jones ~15mins
Can shift bottom pairings and minutes around based on performance
After Russell returns and Jones is performing move Gravel/Benning down Russell/Jones take 2nd pairing minutes
Nhl is not a development league. You give youth a chance when they’re ready . They’re not ready or they’d already be here with or without klefbom.
Tell that to Dallas.
I’m not so sure Caleb Jones isn’t ready…and he is here now.
Sometimes circumstances alter events and everyone looks back and thinks “it was the best thing that could have happened”.
i don’t know, maybe because they are trying to make the playoffs?
Did we not just watch a decade of youth learning the hard hard way?
Think of it this way…2 Flames defensemen rookies are playing good minutes and are playing well. Why? …because they were already tuned up and over-ripe for the NHL. A player like Valimaki is abnormal and he’s most likely going down after his injury. The Oilers need to develop and nurture more properly, instead of pushing players too quickly.
If your taking this year serious…you better pull the trigger on a deal for a defenseman…lots of D prospects to deal and draft picks…hold onto the 1st and 2nd round pick and see what kind of package it will take to get a fix for the backend
8 weeks puts it at feb 15. Circa 25 games.
Assuming Sekera returns jan 15 they’re will be a gap of 12-15 games that the team is out 2 of its top three D.
That could be the difference between scraping in or barely missing the playoffs and getting to second or third in the pacific.
There are a few teams already out of contention for the playoffs. A deal for some short term defense without harming the future much should be possible.
That’s the best case scenario. If Sekera is like last year, i.e. barely AHL quality, things will be very tough. I hope PC is working the phones. How about Talbot to Philly? They must be desperate. A gamble perhaps but Koskinnen had been as good as any this season. Trash ahoy.
I’m just not sure who exactly they can trade at this point.
Good teams have depth to overcome injuries. If you don’t have depth when this happens, you make a desperate trade and you get worse in the long run.
Honestly, if the oilers can’t make the playoffs without Klefbom for 25 games they are not winning the cup this year so why bother. Save this trade for when it matters
If we are going to make a deal for a D-man I would prefer they go after more of a shut down guy that can play 20 minutes a night. Shut down guys will cost less then a guy with offensive capabilities and for the mean time I think being able to keep pucks out of the net while we wait for Klef and Sekera should be a bigger focus.
That is about right, as the last couple of games that Nurse is more eager to jump into the action on offensive end so the Oilers need someone who can play tough defense and able to adapt Hitchcock’s playbook.
The only deal im pulling the trigger is for Parayko even if it includes Talbot for Allen , a adman not named Nurse, Larson, (Klefbom), a forward not in the top6 RNH, JK, JP, Reider, Chiasson, Drei . Include Jones or Bear, 2019 1st and whatever players, prospects, futures etc
So what’s left that st.louis would want?
The Oilers should trade for help before this starts to go bad.
I’m drooling over Klefbom-Larsson Nurse-Parayko Russel-(Benning) Bouchard next year
And Sekera’s 5.5 mill contract is just going to vanish into thin air? Wipe your drool.
Do text ahead of yourself. I would be willing to bet that a Parayko deal will have to include Nurse. I’m fine with that. Nurse, Talbot and our 2019 1st round pick for Parayko and Allan. Gotta give to get
Don’t get… Geesh can we please have an edit function. For all the pop up ads on this site that’s the least we deserve
I use Chrome mobile and have never had a popup.fyi
Too much salary coming our way. We can’t make this type of trade until the deadline. A patch is all we need atm. Not a star d.
Bouchard will be here next year but Benning won’t
On IR does not count against the cap duh
Yes, it absolutely does.
Swing to the fences: Duncan Keith. Requires creativity, but not impossible. Do it.
Keith is too old to give up anything of value to get IMO. I’d rather go for Parayko, Muzzin, Pesce, Martinez, Pysyk, Petrovic or Faulk to name a few who are on the trade block. If we’re swinging for the fences then the target is St Louis. Either Pieterangelo (sp?) or Parayko.
I think St. Louis is going to ask way more than we want to part with, for those two.
The thing is Chicago might not want a lot for Keith. I like the ones you name too, but what are they going to cost? Keith can still make a pass, take a shot, make a hit…. he’d probably be our 2 or 3 defender even with klefbom healthy…. I do hope for a trade though, otherwise our blue line is looking ugly and unless the Koss has a vezina year….
This sucks.
It’s a shame we are right up against the cap. This is going to be really tough to navigate through. I just hope Chia doesn’t do something dumb.
Like trade for Shea Weber?
for 14 years
Make a trade for a defense, cant waste the momentum they have!
Cam, do you even follow the oilers? Trading for anyone at this point to replace Klefbom temporarily on this team that is strapped for nhl vets but deep in prospects that deserve a shot makes no sense.
A Thousand Cheers Sir!
Deserving a shot and actually performing is not the same thing.
PC has made the two best FA signings of the year with Kokinnen and Chaisson. I wonder if there is any chance that they can get the Persson guy over from Sweden and we can celebrate a triple crown?
Could he go one year without some part of his body disintegrating? What good is a #1 defenseman when he max’s out at like 60 games? I really wish him a speedy recovery, Just whinging because he was playing so well and it is such a blow to have to scramble to fill the void.
He is not a number 1 Defenseman. Not even close. 3 goals and non stop PP time with the best player in the world?? Gimme a break
You’re an idiot
Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!
Meh… Addition by subtraction maybe.
Love how the writers on ON are calling it a “blocked” shot. He got hit with a shot.
I hope they trade this so called “#1” Dman. If he’s as good as everyone seems to think then there’s no reason we can’t get back a top pairing rhd in return.
Some guys are just injury prone. klef is one of them.
How dare Klefbom’s finger break when hit by a clapper and his finger is pinched between his stick and the puck.
Oh, ok he’s not. He has just missed many games to injury. 5 out of 6 years he has missed at least 16 games. Or you can deny the facts.
There is zero cap room you have to trade out some money also. Parayko would be awesome but there has to be a roster player included who would that be?
Assuming Klefbom misses 25 games he will have missed approximately 32% of potential starts due to injury.
At 284 possible games he’s probably 1/4 to 1/3 of the way through his career.
As they say in the investment business – past returns are not a guarantee of future experience. But that’s cold comfort for oil fans.
Trade freeze is right away. Play Jones and get him some games and see what we have this week. We play Vancouver St Louis and Tampa and then off for Xmas. Hopefully Russell is back right after the holidays and then see where these other guys are. Gravel looks like a good 5/6. Benning fits the bill there too. So that leaves 2nd pair RD (or LD). Maybe Jones is the guy at least until Sekera is ready. I know this isn’t a development league but Maybe, just maybe the 21 year old Caleb Jones surprises and he gets some games and turns out really good. I don’t think we need to panick just yet.
Godspeed on your recovery Oscar. Get well soon. You will be missed. Signed a die hard oilers fan.
Best of luck with the surgery Oscar and I hope to see you back on the ice for the playoffs.
Only 4 games in next 11 days. Some breathing room for now but the climb to the playoff summit just got even harder. 🍺
Multiple breaks in that finger and yet he returned for a shift a subsequently got slashed on the hand. There’s more to the story.
No trades please!!! We need opportunities to show that we have depth. 8 weeks to highlight prospects like Jones and Bear. Sekera is back soon, we are tight to the cap, and we are winning. No need to trade anyone. Build some confidence with consistency. Get the forwards to help back check.
Note
I hear the media giving the gears to people being hard on Drai, the whole “lazy” thing.
I think he was one of the most dominant players I have ever seen during their playoff run. He was a beast. I’m guessing that left huge expectations….
He really could be a top 5 player in the league if he got fired up and used his size
He is in the top 10 in scoring right now
Puljujarvi and a pick for Faulk. We have a lot of 3rd/4th line grinders to spare and pj has some draft pedigree that might make another gm go for it.