These rumours are the ones we’ve heard about from the last week and from the weeks’ before. Along with the rumours are some signings and trades. I’ve added some tidbits in there that may hint to future trades.
Perry to Edmonton
With Corey Perry being confirmed and signed by Edmonton, with the announcement coming later today, we can put this saga behind us. Now, we will see what Edmonton will do in their top six (if more is needed), their defence and goaltending.
As we know from the last five years, Perry has really utilized and changed his game. He is no longer just useful in the top six. He can be utilized as a swiss army knife and can be given a role in the bottom six as a checker, a punisher, and as a depth scorer. It’s a role he’s relished late in his NHL career and all signs are pointing to him being signed by Edmonton for that role. This begs the question on if the Edmonton Oilers will add a top-six winger before the NHL trade deadline.
Edmonton’s top-six forward and third line centre
From all reports that have been coming out of the NHL ever since this Perry to Edmonton rumour had come out, it seems like the Oilers still want to grab a top-six forward. Even though Warren Foegele and Evander Kane have started to click with Leon Draisaitl recently, I still believe they are in the hunt for a top-six forward, a 1B goalie, and a third line centre.
Sean Monahan is still at the top of their list from the scouting we’ve noted in Montreal and they still have interest in a top-six forward. Travis Konecny is one but he will be very hard to acquire. I believe Vladimir Tarasenko is someone that the Oilers have an eye on as well. Ken Holland has a knack in acquiring older and more experienced players that still have their skill. Good examples are Evander Kane, Duncan Keith, and Mattias Ekholm.
Monahan is very important, in my opinion, because the Oilers need experience at centre in the bottom six. With Dylan Holloway back and playing centre the way he did against Calgary, he is very promising, but experience is still needed. That is why I think Monahan would be a great addition of experience for the team and for Holloway himself as Sean would be a great mentor.
Also, they’ve been looking into Columbus for a while now so they may have interest in one of their forwards. But there is one player, who is on defence, that I spoke about last week: Adam Boqvist.
How Boqvist would fit in with the Oilers
I spoke last week about the Oilers interest in Adam Boqvist and I believe that the interest is still there, but it may not be to the same degree that it was before. This may be because the Oilers now have an opportunity to make an Ekholm like trade again this year. Due to the high level of play by Philip Broberg in the AHL, the interest for him has started to increase. Therefore, teams may line up for his services and, like Nashville last year, they may be ready to trade a top-four defenceman. The player I am speaking of is Jakob Chychrun. The Oilers would also have to move Cody, but if an opportunity like this exists, they should be jumping on it.
Chychrun to Edmonton?
This is just speculation but the Oilers have had interest in Chychrun for quite a while and they would’ve acquired him at the deadline last year if Mattias Ekholm had not been available in the last hour. I would not be surprised if the Oilers made a big pitch for Chychrun. He is very upset at his role in Ottawa and he has requested a trade out of there. Even though trouble does follow Chychrun, he is still an outstanding player and he can play the left and right side on defence. He would be the perfect partner for Darnell Nurse. The Oilers would have two pairs that could eat up minutes.
With the move the Oilers made to get Perry, we know that they truly are “Cup or Bust” and they are going all in. I am expecting a move by Holland to, at the very least, try to acquire Chychrun. He would not mind being in Edmonton either.
Fleury needed by the Oilers
The Oilers are still needing a 1B goalie because, in my opinion, Calvin Pickard is not it in the playoffs. Jack Campbell is doing well in the AHL but there is no way he will put on the Oilers jersey again after the fiasco he put the team through for two straight years (his bad starts in the first half of the seasons). According to Pierre Lebrun, from the Got Yer Back podcast, he said that if he had to pick a landing spot for veteran Cup winning goaltender Marc Andre Fleury, he’d pick the Oilers.
It is not much to go on but it is something worth considering as he’d be a pretty good fit as a 1B in the last stretch of the season and reliable replacement for Stuart Skinner if he fails in the playoffs again. We will see if anything materializes.
Tidbits around the NHL
- On 32 Thoughts, it is sounding like the Vancouver Canucks will try to acquire star forward Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins IF he is available. It is not sounding like Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin will just give up on the season so this move may not be able to come to fruition for Vancouver. But it is sounding like they may have interest in the Calgary Flames upcoming star UFA Elias Lindholm.
- It is sounding like Minnesota will be selling and, like I said above, they may be ready to trade away Fleury, but only if he wants to move on. They are giving him that luxury. The top teams I have on my list are Carolina, Toronto, New Jersey, and Edmonton to an extent.
- There was some news that came in on Jake Allen. According to Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts, he said that, “I think (GM Kent Hughes) has got a price he’s set and I think it’s a draft pick. I think the other issue is (Allen has) got one more year. There’s always the trade price and the retention price and the price gets higher if theres retention. There was a time this year where I thought Jake Allen was going to be in Edmonton. Now I’m not convinced that’s going to happen.” From this, it sounds like Allen was the goalie the Oilers were going after whenever they scouted Montreal. But with kinner becoming so great, Allen is not the player they are coveting.
That’s all for this week folks! Let’s see what materializes next week. It’s been a great start with the Perry signing.
