Weekly Rumours – A Yamamoto Update and a New Offer Sheet Target
2 years ago
Well, I’ve been speculating about what the Oilers would do on the PTO front for a few rumours blogs now and yesterday, we got our first confirmed tryout as the Oilers announced that veteran forward Colton Sceviour will be looking to win a spot in training camp.
I was a little surprised to see this move just because I’m not sure where he fits in. He’s a right-winger and assuming a Kailer Yamamoto deal gets done, it’s easy to see how the Oilers depth chart lines up on the right side. Still, added competition for training camp is never a bad thing.
Speaking of Yamamoto, Dustin Nielson of TSN 1260 had a report on what’s been going on between his representatives and the Oilers.
It’s clearly a good sign that the two sides are talking. Even if they arent’ necessarily close, the fact that we aren’t hearing that things are far apart is a good sign in my opinion. There is still a few weeks until I’m willing to hit the panic button when it comes to the Yamamoto situation. It just doesn’t benefit either side to let this thing bleed into the regular season and I think they both recognize that.
To wrap up the PTO topic on the Oilers, I still think we’ll see a defenseman get added into the mix before camp officially begins. Erik Gudbranson would have been a good PTO candidate but the Flames decided to over pay for him. Jason Demers and Sami Vatanen stand out as the best options still on the market.
I still think we could see Tyler Ennis show up to camp on a PTO, but other than that I don’t think we’ll see another forward get an invite. That might just crowd things a little bit too much.
Here’s what else I’m looking at around the league:
MORE OFFER SHEETS?
Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic recently speculated that the Arizona Coyotes could be in a good position to offer-sheet St. Louis Blues RFA forward Robert Thomas. He’s just 22 years old and has racked up 87 points in 169 career regular-season games. He’s a very good young player and the Blues are incredibly tight for cap space.
On top of that, the Arizona Coyotes have three first-round picks and five second-round picks in next year’s draft. They also have over $11 million in cap space, so they could really put together an enticing offer sheet. If they signed Thomas to a deal worth just over $4 million a season, the compensation is only a second-rounder.
He’d fit in well with their core and honestly, considering the fact that this offseason has been all about rebuilding, the Coyotes could probably use a positive storyline. They should be seriously considering this, I just doubt that it will actually happen because offer sheets are rarely used.
KAPRIZOV TIMELINE
As things sit right now, Kirill Kaprizov won’t be with the Minnesota Wild when training camp opens. Wild GM Bill Guerin told Michael Russo of The Athletic that there are still some big obstacles for them to clear. Not only are there work visa issues that would have to be sorted out and COVID protocols, but it doesn’t sound like the two sides are very close to a new contract.
This is getting to the point where I’m wondering if Kaprizov will be in the Wild lineup for game one of the regular season. There are so many hurdles to clear.
Considering the tough division that the Wild are in and just how important Kaprizov is to the team, I think that not having him in the lineup for any sort of stretch to start the season could really hurt their playoff chances. Every point will be massive and they play three division opponents in the first 15 days of the season.
QUICK NOTES
- Bruce Garrioch is reporting that an offer to Brady Tkachuk could be in the eight-year, $64 million range.
- When asked about the future of Vladamir Tarasenjo, St. Louis Blues Head Coach Craig Berube told the Cam & Strick podcast that “I expect that Vladi will play for us and intend to treat him like any other hockey player.”
- Joe Haggerty of Boston Hockey Now speculated about the idea of the Boston Bruins being interested in the services of Tomas Hertl if the Sharks do make him available. The Bruins might be in the market for a replacement for David Krejci.
- I like the move that the Seattle Kraken made to bring in Ryan Donato. They’ll need help scoring goals and Donato had 14 goals in 62 games back 2019-20. He’s only 25-years-old and can play a couple of different forward positions as well. This was a solid, under-the-radar move.
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