Rumour Roundup: “Diamond in the rough” Sam Lafferty is available, Bo Horvat signs a extension with the Islanders, and more
1 year ago
It’s time to look at some more rumours across the league!
Not a lot has popped up since the last Rumour Roundup on Thursday, partly due to the all-star game. However, there have been a few notable updates. Let’s dig in…
Is Sam Lafferty a fit for the Oilers?
In one of Frank Seravalli’s latest articles, he linked Chicagao’s Sam Lafferty to the Oilers. He notes that the right-shot centre is a terrific penalty killer, using his speed and physicality to effectively kill penalties. What’s more, is that the 27-year-old has a career-high in goals (eight) and assists (nine) in just 42 games played.
On the dismal Chicago Blackhawks, he has a 37.2% goal share, but a slightly better expected goal share of 41.83%. This isn’t too surprising, as players on bad teams usually get caved in. If he were on a contender, such as the Edmonton Oilers, it wouldn’t be surprising if these two numbers increased.
Lafferty will be a free agent after the 2023-24 season and will make $1,150,000 per year.
Jakob Chychurn rumours:
Although not pertinent to the Oilers specifically, there has been an intriguing development in the Jakob Chychurn situation…
As you can see above, the 24-year-old left-shot defenceman has removed any link to the Arizona Coyotes in his Instagram bio. Does this matter? It could be a sign of something, or it could not be.
What’s even more interesting is that the OilersNow host, Bob Stauffer, has rapidly warmed up to trading for the Florida-born player. With Stauffer, where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.
This season, Chychrun has five goals and 20 assists in the 34 games that he’s played. His career-high in goals and points came in the plague season, where he scored 18 goals and finished the season with 41 points.
Chychurn’s goal share of 57.4% is the best among the Coyotes with more than 10 games played. Funnily enough, Nick Bjugstad (who the Oilers have been linked to) has the second-highest goal share at 55.8%. If they could somehow get both of these players at the trade deadline, that’d make me very happy.
Chychrun’s value isn’t just derived from his ability, as he’s also on an incredibly team-friendly contract. For the next two seasons, the 24-year-old will make $4,600,000, with a modified no-trade clause kicking in next season. If the Oilers want to get him, the trade deadline could be the last chance to do so.
Bo Horvat re-signs with the Islanders:
Per the team’s Twitter, Bo Horvat has re-signed to an 8-year deal. The monetary value hasn’t been leaked. However. Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello stated “it’s too long and it’s too much money.”
Fun fact: Lamoriello was the general manager of the New Jersey Devils when they signed Ilya Kovalchuk to a 15-year deal, which isn’t allowed anymore.
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