Elias Lindholm to Vancouver
Last week we spoke about the Edmonton Oilers possibly having interest in top six centre/right winger Elias Lindholm. Bob Stauffer talked about it quite a bit on Oilers Now all of last week. Unfortunately, he ended being moved to another Pacific Division rival: the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks made a very strong move here but they gave up quite a bit. I am more concerned with the top prospect they gave up in Hunter Brzustewicz than in Andrei Kuzmenko. Hunter plays in the OHL with the Kitchener Rangers. He is 19-years-old and he has already scored eight goals and 61 assists in 49 games. He is bordering on the star player calibre of an Adam Fox or Evan Bouchard if the Calgary Flames play their cards right in the developmental stage. Sadly, Flames had lost Fox in a trade. Now, they may have gotten him back.
Andrei Kuzmenko needed a change of scenery as he has not fit the bill under Head Coach Rick Tocchet’s system. Kuzmenko will most likely play top line minutes in Calgary and this may also give the Flames the opportunity to bring Jonathan Huberdeau out of his shell. It is seeming more likely that Huberdeau plays at his best when he has a shooter on his line. He will get that in Kuzmenko.
My verdict lies with the Flames. I think Vancouver overpaid too much for a UFA. But, if he re-signs with them, then it seems like a good deal
Sean Monahan to Winnipeg
Another big deal that occured during the All-Star break is Sean Monahan to Winnipeg. The Montreal Canadiens made a great deal as they traded away veteran top-nine centre, Sean Monahan, to the Jets for a 2024 first-round pick and a conditional third round pick in 2027.
Winnipeg gets a top-nine centre who is very good on the power play. But there are some setbacks around the price and what’s being provided. Sean Monahan does not possess the foot speed he had a couple years ago and his 5v5 scoring is not close to what it was before. When you take a look at how Monahan is scoring his goals, you will see that they are around the net and that is a really good tool to have. But it seems to be also on the power play only. This does help the Jets because their power play could use some help, but on 5v5, he may not be as big of an asset that Jets fans are thinking. A first-round pick is a lot to give up for a power play asset. Nevertheless, we will see how this deal goes for both teams
Where are the Oilers?
Some Oilers insiders, along with Bob Stauffer, have reported that the Oilers indeed were in on both centres, but they did not want to pay the huge prices that were being offered so they decided not to take the next step. In my opinion, this was a smart move because that is a hefty amount that they would be paying for two players that are good but not great. There have been rumours of the Oilers having interest in other players.
Jake Guentzel to Edmonton?
It was reported by Chris Johnston, on Thursday February 1 2024, that the Oilers do have interest in star forward Jake Guentzel as a target and perhaps Jordan Eberle. He also stated that the Pittsburgh Penguins do not know if they will decide to sell. But its believed by some that the Pens have already made their choice. On Friday afternoon, Bob Stauffer stated that “some interesting news is coming out of Pittsburgh.” It was confirmed by him that contract talks between Jake Guentzel and Pittsburgh had gone cold and that they made be ready to move him.
It was rumoured that the contract that was offered to Jake was six years x $8.5M. It seems he rejected it. Frank Seravalli was also on Oilers Now and he said that he still believes that Pittsburgh won’t rush into a trade right away. They still may wait to see what happens before pulling the trigger. What we can that is definite is the Oilers have a lot of interest in Guentzel. Hopefully, they are able to pull this off because he would be a natural fit in the top six.
Will Travis Konecny be moved?
Everyone knows the Oilers have interest in Travis Konecny. They’ve had since the summer and have tried to acquire him. News came out of Philadelphia a while back that they would try to re-sign the top winger. But, in surprising news, Frank Seravalli reported on Oilers Now that there is a chance that the Flyers move him out.
Seravalli also said it would take two first-round picks and a good prospect to get him out of Philadelphia since he is a player with term. This fits into the Oilers plans very well in my opinion. At the pro scouting meetings, Jeff Jackson had said that the players they are looking at are ones with term and they may not be moveable yet because the teams have not decided on if they are a playoff team or not. Ken Holland also said that he wants to grab forwards with term. I believe Konecny is that man the Oilers will look at if Jake Guentzel does not happen. Will they pay the price?
Other tidbits around the league
- Kurt Leavins reported that Ken Holland did not go to the All-Star festivities nor did he go on any kind of vacation. Instead, he went to go watch the Bakersfield Condors in their two games this weekend. His targets were Xavier Bourgault and Philip Broberg. I don’t think it was a coincidence that we saw Bourgault finally get some top six time and he played his best games in the AHL. These can be two useful trade chips for Holland so hopefully they passed the test of being valuable in trades.
- Friedman reported that the Oilers have interest in both Sean Walker from the Flyers and Alexandre Carrier from Nashville. I think either one would be a useful piece for the Oilers but I am a bit more biased towards Carrier because of the Ekholm connection.
- As reported next week, Adam Henrique is also a player that is on the Oilers list as Anaheim wants to move him. It’s been reported that they are interested in Philip Broberg because of the Jamie Drysdale move. So, there may be a deal here if the Oilers negotiate this correctly.
- Will Cody Ceci be on the move before the deadline?
- TSN has reported that the New York Rangers have started to take calls on Kaapo Kakko. The struggling winger needs a change of scenery with a new opportunity.
- On Insider Trading, it was reported that Chris Tanev may still be traded to Vancouver but that the Toronto Maple Leafs have interest in him, along with the Ottawa Senators. Apparently, the asking price is a second-round pick and a good prospect.
We have a big month coming up in the NHL!
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
