We’re a month away from the start of the NHL season! I personally dread watching preseason hockey. People always overreact to individual games, there’s always a fear of an important player getting injured and frankly, they’re just boring games to watch.
Anyway, with the preseason games about to begin, there are still three big questions about the Oilers that we need answers to.
- Who comes to camp with a PTO?
- How do they become compliant with the cap?
- When will Ryan McLeod sign his new contract?
Let’s start with number one. Yes, at one point the Oilers were interested in bringing Jake Virtanen into camp with a PTO, but the latest from Mark Spector made it sound like it wasn’t going to happen.
Oilers offered Jake Virtanen a PTO but the feeling is he will go elsewhere.
My opinion: this is the best.
EDM already has a project in Puljujarvi. You don’t need a second one.— Mark Spector🇨🇦🇺🇦 (@SportsnetSpec) September 15, 2022
I personally have never understood it. He comes with a lot of baggage and he’s just not that good. He posted. He scored just nine goals in 36 KHL games last season and had just five goals in 38 games in his final NHL season. It’s not worth the headache and it really is that simple. There’s not much upside with this player.
I’d rather see them try their hand at a player like Sonny Milano who has shown he can play in a team’s top six. But that probably won’t happen either. I think the only move with a striker that we could see in the next few weeks is one that goes out the door.
Daniel Nugent-Bowman followed up that Spector report with his own statement that the team is riding Virtanans but bringing veteran defender Jason Demers to camp. They are also interested in former Flames winger Brett Ritchie.
Not sure, but it appears the Oilers are after RW Jake Virtanen.
D Jason Demers, 34, will come to camp with a PTO. He played 5 KHL games last season and played with Canada’s Olympic team.
EDM is also discussing the idea of extending a PTO to former Flames RW Brett Ritchie.
— Daniel Nugent-Bowman (@DNBsports) September 15, 2022
I like both of these names. Neither has much upside potential, but they could be solid deep plays.
Demers is shooting right and while he hasn’t played in the NHL since 2020-21, he gives them a solid insurance policy on the right back should one of Ceci, Bouchard or Barrie be out and Broberg is unwilling to play his offside on the NHL -Level. It’s kind of a low-risk, low-reward perk, but these can be important.
Ritchie scored in games one and two of the Battle of Alberta playoff series, and the most notable part of his game is his size. At 6”4, 220 pounds he could be a $750k version of Zack Kassian. While some of you might roll your eyes, I don’t hate the idea. If he can be a competent deep striker who brings some intensity and toughness to the fourth line, then he could be quite a valuable play. He also has solid ball possession numbers.
I didn’t like Kassian because of his contract and because he always finished in the top six when he didn’t deserve it. Neither will be a problem for Ritchie if he makes the team. The battle for squad spots among the bottom six wingers is getting a little tougher.
This brings me to the second part of this conversation. How will the Oilers become Cap-Compliant?
This is puzzling because all three of Foegele, Puljujarvi and Barrie are now in training camp and if I’m being honest I assumed a change would have already taken place. But here we are, still patiently waiting to see what Ken Holland has up his sleeve.
Ryan Rishaug says the team is still investigating the Jesse Puljujarvi trade, which sounds like a bad idea.
.also to another Q. Continue to pursue all trading options for Puljujarvi – the most obvious move to clear some cap space. If it doesn’t happen they can still start with what they have but it will be a razor thin margin in terms of budget and could cause problems later in the season…/
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) 09/12/2022
I’m not against the idea of trading Puljujarvi in general, but it must make you a better team. Losing Puljujarvi for draft picks only doesn’t, and the closer we get to the start of the season, the more likely a trade would be for picks only.
Remember when they held Nail Yakupov until training camp and then assigned him to St. Louis? All they got for it was just some magic beans. Not a good deal.
If there’s a deal with Puljujarvi and maybe another asset that will bring back a more proven yet inexpensive right winger, go for that deal. But I don’t see that as a realistic possibility.
According to Rishaug, it doesn’t sound like a barrier trade is happening, and personally, that’s the route I would go. If you could trade Barrie for a solid third-line right winger, you could use the money saved and sign PK Subban, who could easily handle the third pairing minutes and now and then fill in the power play for a quarter of Barrie’s price. Of course, striking a deal like this is easier said than done and at this point, with many teams already finalizing their rosters, it could be difficult to find a buyer for Barrie.
Barrie is also a big part of the dressing room and sometimes it’s best not to mess with a good thing. So it sounds like they’re holding Barrie.
That means I’m here for the 8th straight week to tell you that unless the Oilers have a salary cap trick planned, trading Warren Foegele is the easiest fix for this problem.
Speaking of the Oilers and their salary cap, Assistant GM Bill Scott, the team’s cap wizard, recently joined Jason Gregor on The DFO Rundown. Here are the links:
Finally, there is the Ryan McLeod situation. Without arbitration rights, a treaty here seems pretty hackneyed and dry. It will be a one- or two-year deal, ranging from $850,000 to $1 million. It didn’t happen because the Oilers need to figure out their cap situation. It’s as simple as that. It will be ready before the season though.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
- Jake DeBrusk has withdrawn his trade request from the Boston Bruins and he sounds genuinely refreshed. I don’t think any player will benefit more from a coaching change this season than he does.
- The Dallas Stars still haven’t signed Jason Robertson. If a holdout comes into the season, it would be a huge loss for the Stars. But I doubt that will happen. GM JIm Nill, who just received an extension of his own, said they have been in constant communication with Robertson’s representatives.
- At the Player Media Tour in Vegas, Nathan MacKinnon made it sound like there could be an overtime between his camp and the Avs. My guess: His salary will more than double and he will succeed Connor McDavid as the highest-paid player in the NHL.
- Some are saying the Canadians and goalkeeper Jake Allen could be in talks about extra time.
- The Vancouver Canucks are reportedly interested in adding a defenseman, but they don’t have the money. In fact, they’re currently $2.7 million over the cap. Michael Ferland going on LTIR might fix that though.
DIVISION PREVIEW
I’ve been touring the Pacific Division for Oilersnation Radio for the past week to prepare you for the upcoming season. They are short 15-20 minute podcasts about each Oilers division rival. Here are the ones I’ve already crushed:
- When: On Thursday, January 12th, we’ll board a plane at Edmonton International Airport and make our way to Vegas. We fly back to Edmonton from Vegas on Sunday evening. So the dates you need to keep free for this trip are January 12-15.
- Where we stay: Upon landing in LV, we board the complimentary shuttle and make our way to Park MGM before settling down for a good night’s sleep. 😉
- What you get: Your return airfare, hotel, shuttle, viewing party (Friday night), game entry – this time we have seats (Saturday night) and exclusive entry to our pre-trip “get to know each other” event.
- How much: The total cost of travel, flight, hotel and entry to the game is $1499 per person (based on double occupancy)
- Tickets: Ready to dive in? Click this link.
#Weekly #NHL #Rumors #PTOs #stories #league
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