The 2021 Trade Deadline Live Blog

3 years ago

Happy moving day, folks! As per tradition around here, your ol’ pal Baggedmilk is here with the 2021 edition of the NHL Trade Deadline Live Blog! Are you excited? I’m excited. I’ll be here all day long, bringing you all of the Oilers related news that may or may not even happen until the final buzzer goes off at 1pm MT. Are you ready? Of course you are.

Gather round, friends, it’s time for Uncle Baggedmilk to tell you a story. Once upon a time, in a land before Twitter and TikTok dances, the NHL’s trade deadline day was a major event on your sports calendar. I remember plenty of times when I would either skip school or take a day off from work to watch what was going on with my beloved Oilers. On one such day off, the Hockey Gords turned on us and Ryan Smyth was traded to the New York Islanders mere moments after Eklund told the Sportsnet audience that he had signed a new deal with the Oilers. That was a dark day, friends. A sad one. An emotional one. It was the kind of heartbreak I wouldn’t wish on an enemy, but it was also the reason this very website exists so sometimes the Universe has a plan, I suppose. In the time before Twitter, all we could do was keep our eyes glued to the TV to make sure we were on top of the news and we had to trust that the information was good, but here in 2021, your favourite stupidly-named blogger will be here hanging out on the site to make sure you’re up to date.

Let’s get to it…

THE TRADING POST

Looking through the contracts at PuckPedia, the Oilers have a handful of expiring contracts that they technically could consider moving provided that Ken Holland would actually want to pull the trigger. That said, they’re right in the middle of a playoffs push so I can’t see them sending too much out, but I’m also a big subscriber of the whole ‘what the hell do I know’ lifestyle when it comes to this team and stranger things have certainly happened.

UFAs & RFAs

@Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, @Tyson Barrie, and @Adam Larsson – Nope. Not gonna happen. Ken Holland already told us that he wasn’t going to move any of these guys in his presser on Friday.

@Alex Chiasson – The only way I can really see Chiasson getting moved is if they need to make some money work on a bigger trade. It could happen, but I doubt it.

THE BIG QUESTION

@Caleb Jones – It’s been a tough year for Caleb Jones as he’s struggled to keep his place in the lineup consistently. On Friday, Jones admitted he’s been battling confidence issues and that he’s finally starting to feel good about his game, and I wonder if he’s the kind of player that Holland might use as a trade chip. Personally, I like Caleb Jones and think he would be valuable to this team going forward, but he hasn’t played much and I wonder if he could be on the way out.

2021 1st Round Pick – I don’t know about you guys, but I actually think this is the year to trade a 1st round pick if you can get back a piece that will help now and in the future. At the best of times, the NHL Entry Draft is a crapshoot outside of the top-end prospects and when you consider that many of these kids have had their seasons interrupted/delayed/cancelled/whatever because of COVID then maybe it’s the time to spend that pick.

2022 1st Round Pick – Maybe? Just thinking out loud here.

UNDER CONTRACT

@James Neal – As much as I would love to see James Neal get moved because of his contract, I think it’s more likely that I get elected as Prime Minister. That said, maybe Holland packages him up with the 1st rounder and makes something happen!? Dare to dream.

@Zack Kassian – I don’t think I’m talking out of school when I say it’s been a rough year for Kassian, who is in the first year of a four-year contract that pays him $3.2 million. With only two goals and five points in 24 games, it’s hard to imagine this season going much worse for Kass. He’s not going to get traded but you can understand why there’s a growing chunk of the fanbase that would like him to be.

@Ethan Bear – I don’t know why Ken Holland would do it, but I guess he could if he really wanted. Bear is going to be a huge part of this defensive group and while he’s by no means a perfect player, he’s the exact type of RHD that the Edmonton Oilers need as a part of their group.

@Tyler Benson – Benson is having a great year with the Condors (22GP: 8G, 18A) and I could see teams having an interest in him as part of a larger trade package.

RUMOURS

Since I’m allowed to sit around in my underwear and stare at my computer, I’ll be spending most of my day cruising the Internet for Oilers news so that you don’t have to. If I find any interesting rumours or snippets of information while wading through the dark waters of social media, I will be tossing those gems in here. If you’re not on Twitter, this section will be the spot to watch for anything noteworthy from the insiders, beat guys, or otherwise.

CLASSIC OVERREACTIONS

This year, I thought it would be funny to post some of the most over the top reactions to some of the trades that happened today from around the league. If there’s one thing Twitter is great for, it’s finding complete nonsense in regards to any topic on earth and I want to bring a little sliver of that deliciously dumb pie into this year’s Live Blog.

THE UPDATES

Don’t care about my nonsense and want to skip right to the updates? You can find those here, friend.

8:00 am MT – Rise and Shine, Nation. It’s deadline day.
8:25 am MT – Cruising around Twitter and I see that some Oilers fans ARE NOT happy about Taylor Hall going to Boston. I never expected him to be here so I’m not overly bummed about it, but it seems like some folks were ready to order jerseys for some reason.
8:41 am MT – Not going to lie, I did enjoy watching Brad Treliving talk about the Flames’ horrible year on TSN.
9:02 am MT – We’re only an hour into the live blog and already the TSN Trade Deadline coverage is starting to get weird. Going to be a long day, me thinks.
9:30 am MT – COFFEE NUMBER TWO!
10:12 am MT – Kevin Weekes is reporting that the Oilers have traded for Dmitry Kulikov from the NJ Devils. Kulikov has two assists in 38 games while averaging 19:33 per night to go along with a 53.5 CF% and a 39.3 oZS%.
11:37 am MT – Just had to do a couple of intern interviews — did I miss anything? No? Alright then.
12:35 pm MT – Less than half an hour to the final bell: Anything else here, Ken? Zzzzzzzz.
12:49 pm MT – Nothing to do with the Oilers but the Flamz have finally traded Sam Bennett to Florida.
12:55 pm MT – Makes me laugh that Craig Button looks at the Oilers roster and thinks Tyson Barrie is the priority.

THE DYNAMIC DUO TEE

When you have the two best players on the planet, the only option is to make a t-shirt that reflects their brilliance. Shine bright, boys. Pick up the Dynamic Duo tee here.

Nation Takes

Oilers Talk