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Weekly Rumours – Quiet Deadline Coming For Edmonton?
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Photo credit: Terrence Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Tyler Yaremchuk
Mar 18, 2021, 11:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 18, 2021, 10:32 EDT
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As we draw closer to the NHL’s trade deadline, we’re starting to see some teams make it known that they are serious buyers while others are making it rather public that they are open for business. The Oilers won’t be sellers, we know that, but are they in the group of teams looking to make a big move? That remains to be seen.
After listening to Ken Holland speak to the media last week, it sounds like the Oilers will only make a move if it’s a significant upgrade. In his media availability, Holland said “I look at our team this year versus last year and I believe we’re deeper this year than we were last year. That part was by design. We’ve got a team of 29, so we went out and signed lots of veteran NHL players. Last year I don’t think we were quite as deep. We’re deeper on defence this year than we were a year ago. We’ve got 16 or 17 NHL forwards that are on our 29-man list.”
I totally get where he is coming from. They have eight defensemen who can play on any given night, they have no shortage of depth forwards, and they have three goaltenders on their roster now that Alex Stalock has finished up his quarantine.
I personally think this is the right approach for the Oilers to have. They don’t have very many draft picks this season so if they’re going to move a prospect or their first-rounder, then it better be for an impact top-six forward, not just a couple of depth pieces.
Rickard Rakell would be the dream fit in my opinion but that would probably cost you a really good prospect and a first-round pick considering he’s just 27-years-old and is under contract for next season at $3.78 million. He’s a right-shot who can play either wing. He would give them a legit goal-scorer to pair with either Leon Draisaitl or Connor McDavid.
In his recent ‘31 Thoughts’ blog, Elliotte Friedman said that the price is high for Rakell and that the Calgary Flames wouldn’t pay it. Would the Oilers? They don’t have a lot of draft picks available for trade but Friedman said that the Ducks might prefer young NHLers with a little bit more track record.
Players like Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi are likely untouchable because they’re already contributing as legit top-six forwards. But what about one of the young defensemen? I wonder if there might be a decent package that Holland can put together.
Frank Seravalli recently threw cold water on the idea of the Oilers making a big splash, saying in his recent ‘Trade Bait’ article that the team is “in need of either a scoring left-winger or a second-pairing left-shooting defenceman, but the Oilers are only interested in rentals and not willing to move draft picks.”
I also don’t hate the idea of adding a player like Jamie Oleksiak, or another veteran LHD to give them a little more blueline depth. Injuries will happen, so why not protect yourself, right? This Oilers team is good enough to win a playoff round in the North Division and with a significant addition, I think they can go on a run. I’m just not sure we’ll get that big addition in the next few weeks.

NUGE UPDATES

TSN’s Ryan Rishaug continues to stay on top of the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins negotiations and yes, it sounds like there are currently negotiations happening between the two sides. 
Earlier in the week, Rishaug reported that previous negotiations were back and forth in the $6-6.5 million range before they broke off. That’s an encouraging sign if you’re like me and think the Oilers would be foolish to let Nugent-Hopkins walk over a couple hundred thousand dollars.
The fact that they’ve started up talks once again leads me to believe we might get a deal before the season ends, although I do understand why some say that they should wait until after the expansion draft this summer.
Some people have asked if the Oilers would consider moving Nugent-Hopkins before the trade deadline if they don’t think they’ll get a deal done but Rishaug threw cold water on that idea, saying that it seems unlikely the Oilers would move him if they’re in a playoff spot.

WILL THE LEAFS LOAD UP?

Mar 9, 2019; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34) battle for a loose puck during the second period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit:
Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas spoke to the media the other day and confirmed a few things. First, he said that his team is looking to upgrade their forward group before the NHL’s trade deadline. He also said that he is willing to move a top prospect in a deal for an immediate upgrade and that a rental might make more sense considering the fact that the cap will be staying flat this offseason.
Dubas would like to make a deal sooner rather than later but noted that it takes two to tango. I would assume a lot of GM’s around the league would echo that. Contending teams would like to improve their teams ASAP but there just aren’t a lot of sellers because so many teams still feel like they are in the playoff race.
As for which top prospect they could move, Darren Dreger mentioned Nick Robertson, Timothy Lilijgren, Rasmus Sandin, and Rodion Amirov before referencing a Frank Seravalli report saying that the Leafs do not want to move Sandin. Dreger said that while Sandin isn’t untouchable, it would need to be a perfect fit coming back if the Leafs wanted to move him.
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun connected the Leafs to a handful of players on Insider Trading. “Whether it’s a rental like Kyle Palmieri or Nick Foligno or Mikael Granlund or it’s a hockey deal for a Filip Forsberg or Rickard Rakell, which is a lot harder to do, I think all options are on the table for Kyle Dubas.”

QUICK NOTES

  • Expect the Islanders to be in the market for a scoring forward after announcing Anders Lee will miss the remainder of the season. Pierre LeBrun linked them to Kyle Palmieri, Taylor Hall, and Mikael Granlund.
  • Worth noting with Palmieri that Friedman is reporting there have been conversations between the Devils and his camp about their future.
  • This Buffalo Sabres situation just keeps getting worse and worse. There might be some good players to be had for below market value there.
  • Elliotte Friedman wrote about the Jets interest in adding a defenseman. Both Matthias Ekholm and David Savard will likely be considered by Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff. Friedman said that Savard might be a better fit because he shoots right and will cost less.
  • Friedman also made it seem like everyone on the Detroit Red Wings active roster outside of Dylan Larkin is available. If I’m the Oilers, I’m calling about Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi.
  • More from Friedman: he mentioned that the Chicago Blackhawks might be willing to absorb bad contracts if the assets coming back are right. I’m really wondering what a team would need to take the final two years of James Neal, who was a healthy scratch again last night.

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