Weekly Rumours – Is Ho-Sang close to being dealt?
4 years ago
Oh, how a week changes things. Seven days ago, we were throwing around the idea of the Oilers acquiring Taylor Hall and potentially being buyers at the trade deadline. Now, just three games and one regulation loss later, some fans are seemingly ready to accept that the Oilers are going to be a lottery team again.
If anything, this is just a simple reality check for the Oilers and this fan base. They weren’t going to hold a .700 win percentage for the entire season and they weren’t going to win their division. This is just a little bit of adversity. Every team goes through rough patches, every team goes through hot streaks.
As we continue through the first month of the season though, one thing is becoming apparent: the Oilers do not have very good depth scoring.
There has been talk that the Oilers could recall a young forward from Bakersfield to give his team a spark but I doubt that would happen. We know Ken Holland is famous for being patient with prospects and I doubt that two shutout losses will change any sort of plans he has for @Kailer Yamamoto or @Tyler Benson.
What I wouldn’t mind seeing is maybe a small trade to bring in a bottom-six player with some skill. That’s where I’m starting this week’s look around the NHL rumour mill:
HO-SANG DEAL GETTING CLOSE?
Darren Dreger mentioned the other day that a potential @Josh Ho-Sang deal could be getting close.
I can’t imagine that this player is going to cost any more than a conditional draft pick and considering what he’s gone through on Long Island, he should be a highly motivated player. I highly doubt that Ken Holland would go out and get him but I wouldn’t be the least bit upset if the Oilers did take a look at Ho-Sang.
He has plenty of natural talent and his acquisition cost would be low. For a team that needs to spark their bottom six, I’m surprised we haven’t heard the Oilers connected to Ho-Sang a little bit more.
One Canadian team that I could also see being interested in Ho-Sang is the Ottawa Senators. They recently had to put both @Colin White and @Artem Anisimov on the IR and it’s pretty evident that they’re in the market for some forward help. Considering the fact that they aren’t pushing for a playoff spot this season, why wouldn’t they take a flyer on Ho-Sang?
Joe Haggerty from NBC Sports Boston went on the record last week to say that the Bruins should be looking at both Ho-Sang and @Jesse Puljujarvi to solve their top-heavy offensive woes. He mentions Danton Heinen, @Anders Bjork, @Oskar Steen, @Peter Cehlarik and @Trent Frederic as potential pieces that could go back to Edmonton.
Heinen would really interest me if I was the Oilers. In two full NHL seasons, he has scored 47 and 34 points. He could likely step in and spark the Oilers bottom six and he’s only 24-years-old, so he should have a lot of good hockey left in him.
QUICK NOTES:
- Bob McKenzie mentioned on ‘Insider Trading’ that Troy Stetcher of the Vancouver Canucks could be available simply because he isn’t getting much ice time with Chris Tanev and Tyler Myers in the lineup. The Oilers don’t need another right-shot defenseman so they won’t be interested but it will be interesting to see what the Canucks can get for him if they decide to move on. When Adam Larsson is healthy, the Oilers could have an extra RHD that they’d be willing to move.
- I mentioned that the Senators are looking to add a forward but it’s being reported that they’re basically looking to add everywhere but between the pipes. I bet a younger, right-shot defenseman would really interest Pierre Dorion.
- Despite Minnesota’s slow start to the season, GM Bill Guerin has said that he isn’t going to make an emotional move or trade someone just for the sake of it. If the time comes when the Wild do start moving pieces for future assets, I wonder if Kevin Fiala or @Ryan Hartman would be available. Those are two players who I think could really help the Oilers. Fiala was a healthy scratch last week for a game against the Maple Leafs.
- The Leafs have been struggling but I don’t think that means Kyle Dubas is going to make a trade. They’re right up against the cap so that makes things very tough and he doesn’t seem like the type of GM to go out and make a rash decision. Some Oilers fans were dreaming about the availability of someone like Kasperi Kapanen, but I just don’t think that’s realistic.
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