Weekly Rumours – Holland speaks & Hall rumours fly
4 years ago
December 1st has come and gone. That means @Jesse Puljujarvi will not play in the NHL this season. Now, that doesn’t mean he won’t be used as an asset at the trade deadline, but whoever acquires him won’t get him in their lineup until next season.
Ken Holland spoke to the media and said that he spoke five or six teams over the last eight weeks but obviously nothing got done. Elliotte Friedman reported that the Lightning, Blues, and Rangers were among the teams who called. Puljujarvi reportedly preferred to go to New York and the Oilers were interested in former seventh overall pick @Lias Andersson, but nothing got close.
Holland ended his availability by saying he’d deal with this next summer. That’s it for the Puljujarvi talk.
The other big rumour surrounding the Oilers involves @Taylor Hall. I’m not going to go too in-depth on that today. What I will add is that Elliotte Friedman wrote in his recent ‘31 Thoughts’ piece that talks have intensified and that the Devils want first-round picks in exchange for the winger. He added that they do need defensemen as well. As for the Oilers, Friedman said that he believes Edmonton is interested, but there is a limit.
Here are some other rumours popping up around the league that I’m keeping an eye on:
ARE THE HABS READY TO MAKE A MOVE?
While they did snap out of their long losing streak on Tuesday with a win over the Islanders, the Montreal Canadiens still have a lot of problems. There is word that Marc Bergevin wants to add a defenseman and whenever I hear that a team wants to add a defenseman, I instantly think of them as a potential trade partner for the Edmonton Oilers.
Edmonton needs to add a forward and they could dangle @Matt Benning, @Kris Russell or even @Caleb Jones to get it done.
I don’t think these two teams are a match though. I think the Habs are looking for a legitimate top-four defenseman. I believe they would look at players like @Travis Hamonic, @Shayne Gostisbehere (although Friedman recently shot those down), @Erik Gustafsson, @Alec Martinez, or maybe one of the d-men that are available out of Buffalo before they consider Benning or even Kris Russell.
The other reason I don’t think there’s a fit between these two teams is just the assets that Montreal is willing to give up. I don’t think they are willing to trade an impact forward in exchange for a defenseman. They have eight draft picks in the first four rounds of the 2020 NHL Draft. If Bergevin is going to acquire a defenseman, I bet he would prefer to deal off picks over forwards.
There have also been a few fans wondering if the Oilers could potentially acquire Brendan Gallagher from the Habs. The 27-year-old has one more year on a contract that comes with a $3.75 million cap hit. For a player who has posted back to back 30 goal seasons, that is an incredible season.
Personally, I’m not sure why the Canadiens would deal Gallagher but if they did, then Ken Holland should be the first one to call Marc Bergevin. It’s a dream fit but for now, I think it’s just a dream, not a realistic rumour.
QUICK NOTES
- Friedman mentioned that Devils forward @Miles Wood is on the block. He has two more years on a contract that pays him $2.75 million a season, which would be tough for the Oilers to take unless a contract was moved out as well. He can skate and at times can bring a physical edge. I think he’d look good in the Oilers bottom six, but the price is an issue.
- Things have quieted in Minnesota because the team is winning games, but if they slip again and GM Bill Guerin goes into ‘sell mode’ then the Oilers should be calling.
- Ken Holland addressed the media yesterday and when asked about how much he values draft picks he said: “I value winning”. He also mentioned some past deadline moves and talked about how the team needs to continue to show well before he starts talking about making additions.
- Despite his reputation of being a very patient GM, I got the sense that Holland won’t be afraid to dangle a second or third-round pick if it means bringing in some solid depth pieces but I don’t think he’ll go and bring a big name like Hall or Pageau. Just the way I took his quotes from the presser. Things could always change.
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