OilersNation Top 25 of 2020: #18 — Rumours: Edmonton Oilers interested in Taylor Hall, Tyson Barrie on short-term deals; will Jacob Markstrom sign in Edmonton?
By Zach Laing
3 years agoWelcome to the yearly wrap up of the top read articles over the last year!
The Oilers were looking to make a blg splash in free agency this year.
They were circling the waters with goaltender Jacob Markstrom, arguably the top available free-agent, as well as a number of others including Taylor Hall and Tyson Barrie.
An article written by yours truly on Oct. 7 took a look at some of those deals. It was the 18th most-read article this year.
Edmonton was reportedly interested in both Hall and Barrie on short-term deals, and were believed to be deep in discussions on a long-term deal with Markstrom.
While Edmonton missed out on Markstrom, who signed three hours down the road in Calgary, the Oilers circled back to some other players. Hall was always believed to be a long-shot, but Barrie did sign in Edmonton on a one-year, $3.75-million deal.
Here’s an excerpt of what I wrote in that article:
There’s a lot going on here and it’s going to be difficult to make one, let alone all three of these things happen. The Oilers would need to move out money in order to bring in any of Markstrom, Hall or Barrie. Edmonton has cap issues and the only way one, or multiple of these suggested moves could happen is if the Oilers are able to move out money. Would a team like Ottawa or Buffalo or Detroit or New Jersey or the Rangers be willing to take on the contracts of Koskinen and someone like Zack Kassian and/or James Neal?At the end of the day I think any of these players could be great adds to the Oilers lineup. If Klefbom were to miss the year, they need to fill that void on the backend somehow and Barrie would be a viable option to do it. Lord knows how many points he could rack up on the Oilers powerplay which last season was one of the best to ever do it in the NHL.Hall would be a big-time add to the Oilers top six and help take some pressure off McDavid and Draisaitl. I think it’s a longshot, but man it would be fun to see him back in Edmonton.Lastly, Markstrom would be, as I mentioned, the No. 1 goalie that the Oilers have been chasing for years.
On Twitter: @zjlaing
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