NHL Notebook: Edmonton Oilers should be all-in for Jacob Chychrun says TSN analyst, NHL players test driving post-playing career jobs and more
By Zach Laing
1 year agoTSN’s Mike Johnson was on Sportscenter with Jay Onrait where he talked about which approach each team should have heading into the NHL’s trade deadline. When it came to the Edmonton Oilers, here’s what Johnson had to say:
Certainly defence. A second pair, left shot defenceman. The question is how much do you want to pay for Jacob Chychrun? He’s the big fish out there. He’s going to cost a lot to get him. If you’re going to go for a lesser-known guy: Jake McCabe? Is it worth paying 80% of the price for Chychrun for McCabe? Probably not. You might as well go big.Edmonton only has a few more years of guaranteed McDavid and Draisaitl on this kind of run. I think they should mortgage some of their futures, trade some of their prospects and go get that defenceman they need. The West is wide open for grabs. They could win the Pacific Division and have a good chance to get to the Western Conference Final again. I think they have to be aggressive and go for that second pair, left-shot defenceman
NHL’ers eyeing post-playing career
During the NHL All-Star Game ESPN viewers got a look at a familiar face — at least from these parts — in journeyman depth player Pat Maroon.
He hopped on the networks broadcast and had some fun with it. Maroon himself admitted it wasn’t the easiest of things to do, but Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli wrote that it’s not the first we could see of players testing post-playing career jobs.
Maroon, 34, isn’t on his way out just yet. He has one more season remaining on his contract with the Lightning at $1 million. It’s fair to say, though, that he is on the back nine of his career.It used to be taboo for professional athletes to step out and try an outside hobby or business venture on for size to see whether it may be a post-career fit. That is something the NHL, NHL Players’ Association and NHL Alumni Association are working to change.“It’s certainly changed a lot. Guys used to have to sneak around because some coaches wanted them focused on just hockey, they would question your commitment,” said Jon Harris, founder and CEO of AthLife Inc. “That narrative has changed. It’s OK to start those conversations, have outside interests, begin to find out what you’re interested in.”Harris’ company, AthLife, began a formal off-ice program with the NHL’s Player Development team last spring to provide resources for teams and players to begin exploring those opportunities and interests.One employee from all 32 of the NHL’s clubs has now been trained and designated as AthLife’s off-ice contact to begin educating and connecting players with AthLife’s resources, which are centered on one-on-one development and communication. Ten years after starting the same program in football, AthLife has approximately 550 current or former NFL players actively involved in their program right now at any one time. The average NFL career is just under three seasons, which is why it’s aptly nicknamed the Not For Long league.
Boeser on the go?
With Bo Horvat already being shipped out of Vancouver, attention has turned to other potential pieces that could be moved.
Their core appears to be Elias Pettersson, Andrei Kuzmenko and Quinn Hughes — a smart three — but it also appears others could be on the move.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli opined that Brock Boeser — number eight on his trade targets list — could be on the move.
There is no doubt Boeser has the talent to be an impact NHL player. When partnered with the right players and deployed in the right situations, he can add scoring punch to a team that needs to get over the playoff hump. Any acquiring team will believe a change of scenery is exactly what he needs to get back to being the consistent, 25-goal scorer and power play threat that he used to be. It’s going to be a gamble either way with a $6.65 million cap hit for the next two seasons.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.
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