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Tyler Ennis Suffered Broken Leg, Ligament Damage

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Getting eliminated in the qualification round is a tough way for any player to finish the season, but for Tyler Ennis it must have felt much worse. Not only will the Edmonton Oilers forward become an unrestricted free agent, but he is also now dealing with a long rehab. The team announced today that Ennis suffered a broken leg and ligament damage in his ankle during the Oilers’ third game of their series against the Chicago Blackhawks. He is expected to make a full recovery, but it will take several months.

Ennis doesn’t have several months left on his contract, as it will expire in October when the offseason begins. The 30-year old forward has resurrected his career after a buyout ended his tenure with the Minnesota Wild in 2018, but after signing consecutive one-year sub-$1M contracts, you can bet he was hoping to head into the offseason with a little more leverage. Instead, Ennis will have to hope someone takes another chance on him after the major injury.

The thing is, the Oilers may be his best bet. After scoring 14 goals and 33 points with the Ottawa Senators this season, Ennis was traded to Edmonton and fit in extremely well. The team had been looking for more speed and skill up front for years, something Ennis brings in spades. Perhaps this will give them an even better opportunity at bringing him back, though there are other tough decisions to come in Edmonton after such a disappointing finish.

Filip Berglund Assigned To Linkoping HC

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The Edmonton Oilers have assigned Filip Berglund to Linkoping HC of the Swedish Hockey League for the 2020-21 season, just a few months after signing him to an entry-level contract. Berglund inked his two-year deal in May, but will apparently spend the first season continuing his development in Sweden. The Oilers do retain the right to recall him, though the release did not indicate that he would be back for training camp.

Berglund, 23, was a third-round pick by the Oilers back in 2016 but hadn’t yet attempted to come to North America. Instead, he has played four seasons in the SHL, developing into a strong two-way defender with a chance to make an NHL impact one day.

The Oilers have done moves like this in the past. In 2018, they signed Joel Persson to a one-year contract only to immediately assign him back to the SHL. That burned the contract up, but gave them control as a restricted free agent over the young defenseman. The plan may be the same here with Berglund, who would have seen his draft rights expire had the Oilers not signed him by June 1.

Poll: Who Do You Want To Win The Draft Lottery?

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Seven teams in the NHL didn’t get a chance to return to play this summer. Their regular seasons were so disastrous that they didn’t qualify for a tournament which saw 24-teams take part. But none of them will be rewarded with the first-overall pick in 2020. Instead, that selection will go to one of the eight teams eliminated over the past week, after the first part of the draft lottery ended with a TBA club taking home the top spot.

The qualification round provided some incredible storylines. It also provided some eye-popping upsets. Both the Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens, respective 12-seeds going into the return to play format, defeated Stanley Cup contenders with all-world talents leading the way. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and their teams are out before even seeing the first round but now have a chance to land a consolation prize of sorts.

The Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Winnipeg Jets, and Minnesota Wild all have a 12.5% chance of being awarded that first-overall pick, and the chance to select two-time CHL Player of the Year Alexis Lafreniere.

That may seem ridiculous, given the regular season performances from those clubs, but remember it required a previous lottery to get to this point. There was only a 24.5% chance of a qualification-round team earning the pick in the first place. That ended up happening, with the Los Angeles Kings also moving up to second place. The Detroit Red Wings, who had the highest chance of winning any of the three lottery spots ended up the big losers of the event, dropping all the way down to fourth despite winning just 17 games this season.

The league will announce the lottery winner this evening, with hockey fans all over the world tuning in to see where Lafreniere will go. The format of the lottery has drawn massive criticism given how things played out, but that won’t stop it from being a must-see event for the entire NHL.

Where do you want to see the phenom go? Which of the eliminated teams deserves the pick? Which would you hate to see win? Cast your vote below and make sure to explain your choice in the comments!

[Mobile users click here to vote]

Morning Notes: HHOF, Wild, Handemark

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The Hockey Hall of Fame has postponed its 2020 induction that was originally scheduled for November 16 in Toronto because of the ongoing COVID-19 protocols. The event will be rescheduled at some point, though it is unclear exactly when it can happen. Chairman Lanny McDonald released a statement:

While it’s possible the class of 2020 could be inducted on alternative dates during the modified 2020-21 NHL season, the most likely scenario is to postpone to November 2021, either by waiving the 2021 elections or in combination with the 2021 induction class involving adjusted category limits.

This year’s class includes Marian Hossa, Jarome Iginla, Kevin Lowe, Kim St-Pierre, Doug Wilson and Ken Holland. The board decided against holding the event virtually.

  • The Minnesota Wild will be watching the draft lottery tonight closely as they have a 12.5% chance of landing the first-overall pick, but there is plenty of other work to do for GM Bill Guerin. The executive held media availability today with reporters including Michael Russo of The Athletic, giving his thoughts on many subjects including Kirill Kaprizov’s imminent arrival (he will land in Minnesota today) and the future of captain Mikko Koivu. Guerin also announced that though assistant coaches Bob Woods and Darby Hendrickson will return, the team has parted ways with Bob Mason, Minnesota’s goaltending coach for the past 18 years.
  • Fredrik Handemark signed a one-year entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks just a few months ago, but he’ll be staying in Sweden for a little while longer. The 26-year old forward will play with the Malmo Redhawks of the SHL for the start of the year until NHL training camps open at some point in November. Handemark had 38 points in 52 games for Malmo last season.

Tyler Ennis Out Indefinitely

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The Edmonton Oilers won’t have Tyler Ennis back in the lineup tomorrow as they try to stave off elimination, and even if they win he likely won’t be available for a while. The team has announced that Ennis is out “indefinitely” with the injury he sustained last night. The speedy forward was hit behind his own net by Kirby Dach and was forced to leave the game.

That may very well be the end of the line for a trade deadline acquisition that worked out very well for the Oilers. Ennis recorded four points in nine regular season games following the trade and already had two in the qualification rounds. The 30-year old helped provide the much-needed speed upfront that the Oilers had been lacking for years (other than Connor McDavid, of course).

There is always a chance that he returns if the Oilers can come back and win against the Blackhawks, but the question could now become whether or not the team wants to bring him back in free agency. An unrestricted free agent at season’s end, Ennis is coming off consecutive one-year contracts that each paid less than $1M in salary. After putting up 16 goals and 37 points total this season he’ll obviously be looking for something bigger than that moving forward.

Jesse Puljujarvi Re-Signs In Finland

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The Jesse Puljujarvi saga continues, with the Edmonton Oilers prospect re-signing with Oulun Karpat in Finland for one more season. While that seems to contradict his recent statements about potentially returning to play in the NHL, Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that the new contract does include an out-clause that would allow Puljujarvi to return for the 2020-21 season.

The 22-year old Puljujarvi recently revealed that he had a long conversation with Oilers GM Ken Holland and head coach Dave Tippett, explaining that “it may be possible” for him to return to Edmonton at some point—something he had vowed against in the past.

Selected fourth overall in 2016 by the previous Oilers front office regime, Puljujarvi’s usage and development was inconsistent and frustrating for both the player and the team. He did play in 139 NHL games over three seasons but was rarely given opportunities alongside the team’s more offensive players, and when he did find himself in those situations he didn’t take advantage of them.

When he became a restricted free agent in 2019, Puljujarvi returned to Finland and played the entire 2019-20 season with Karpat, scoring 53 points in 54 games. From all accounts, he was a difference-maker on a nightly basis for the Finnish squad, ending the season fourth in league scoring.

For now, he’ll get to continue being that game-changing presence for Karpat, with an eye on a return to the NHL. The Oilers continue to hold his rights, but Puljujarvi has asked for them to be traded in the past. While the focus is on the Edmonton playoff roster at the moment, there will surely be plenty of attention placed on the young forward once the season is over.

Kirill Maksimov Assigned To KHL

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The Edmonton Oilers continue to find places for their minor league prospects to play for the next several months, this time assigning Kirill Maksimov to CSKA Moscow in the KHL.

Maksimov, 21, played in 53 games for the Bakersfield Condors this season, registering 13 points in limited minutes. Interestingly enough, though Maksimov was born in Russia he has played in North America since he was a young teenager, first in the GTHL and then the OHL. The fifth-round pick has plenty of offensive skill but found himself relatively low on the depth chart as a rookie.

That may be a trend, given how talented the CSKA squad normally is. A KHL powerhouse almost every season, they may be losing top names like Kirill Kaprizov and Mikhail Grigorenko, but still have loads of skill that Maksimov will have to compete with for playing time.

Like many other prospects, Maksimov will likely get a chance to return for NHL training camp in November, but getting him back on the ice and into game action is obviously the most important goal here.

Oilers Loan Markus Niemelainen To Finland

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Markus Niemelainen’s return to North America will wait a little while longer.  The Oilers announced that they have loaned the defenseman to Assat Pori of the Finnish SM-liiga to start next season.

The 22-year-old just recently signed his entry-level deal back at the end of April after spending the past three seasons in Finland, the most recent of which came with Assat where he had a goal and six assists along with 42 PIMS in 55 games.  Edmonton drafted him in the third round in 2016 (63rd overall) out of Saginaw of the OHL but he only spent one more year there before heading back home.  That did allow Edmonton to hold his draft rights longer at least as instead of having them for two years, they had them for four and used all of them to determine if he was worth signing.

With the AHL announcing earlier this week that they have changed their target start date for the 2020-21 season to December 1st, there will likely be a steady stream of these moves in the coming days.  Niemelainen isn’t expected to contend for a roster spot with Edmonton for next season so this move allows him to get some development time in before what will likely wind up being a truncated AHL season.

NHL Makes Rulings On Three Trades With Conditional Picks

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For fans of the Flames and Oilers that have been awaiting the final decision on the James Neal–Milan Lucic trade, the verdict is in.  Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports (Twitter link) that Edmonton will have to transfer a third-round pick in either 2020 or 2021 to Calgary to complete the trade.  The Oilers will have until the start of the third round in October’s draft to choose whether they will transfer the selection this year or wait until the next draft.

The issue in this trade was in the wording of the rather unique conditions that were put on the deal.  In the original swap, Neal had to have at least 21 goals and Lucic ten or fewer.  Neal was at 19 when the season was shut down due to COVID-19 while Lucic was at eight so only the second element was met.  However, by extrapolating Neal’s output over a full 82-game season, he scored at a 23-goal pace.  It appears the league used a similar interpretation with the awarding of the draft pick.

It’s worth noting that Edmonton is currently without their second-round pick for the next two years from their acquisition of Andreas Athanasiou.  They also are without their fourth-rounder in 2020 from the Mike Green pickup.

The NHL has also tweaked the terms of the Kings-Maple Leafs trade that saw Jack Campbell and Kyle Clifford go to Toronto.  Johnston notes in a separate tweet that Toronto will owe a 2021 second-round pick if they win their Qualifying Round series against Columbus and Campbell gets two or more wins or if Clifford re-signs.  The original terms of the deal had the pick transferring if the Maple Leafs made the playoffs and Campbell winning six games or Clifford re-signing.  If those don’t happen, then a 2021 third-round pick will be transferred to Los Angeles.

A decision has also been made on the conditional pick involved in the Hurricanes’ acquisition of Sami Vatanen from the Devils at the trade deadline and as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in a Twitter thread, the details are a bit more complex.

If Carolina beats New York in the Qualifying Round series and Vatanen plays in 70% or more of their playoff games, the Hurricanes send New Jersey their 2020 third-round pick.  If Vatanen doesn’t play in 70% or more of the playoff games but plays in two or more contests against the Rangers, then two more scenarios present themselves.  In that situation, if Carolina wins the series, the Devils get Carolina’s 2020 fourth-rounder.  If he plays at least twice but the Rangers win, then Carolina gets to pick between sending a 2020 or a 2021 fourth-round selection.  If none of this plays out, then no pick transfers.

This closes the books on the remaining questions surrounding conditional trades with the league ruling back in May on ones that had picks contingent on making the playoffs.  Teams will have to be in the final 16 teams in order to be classified as a playoff team for the purpose of those trades.

Jesse Puljujarvi Addresses 2020-21, NHL Future

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Ever since Jesse Puljujarvi left the Edmonton Oilers to return home to Finland last summer, signing a one-year deal with Karpat, there has been plenty of speculation about his future, his trade value, and his relationship with his current NHL rights holder. However, there has been little in the way of concrete news. That changed today as Puljujarvi himself spoke with Finnish news source Iltalehti about his current free agency and what to expect of his career moving forward.

First and foremost, Puljujarvi stated a return to Karpat next season is his most likely destination for 2020-21. Seeing as how his trade demands in the NHL have not been met, it makes some sense that Puljujarvi would stick to his guns and remain in the Finnish Liiga. It also helps that Puljujarvi was a superstar in Finland this season. His 24 goals and 53 points both led Karpat and were top-five marks in the league.

With that said, Puljujarvi also makes the important note that a deal is not in place with Karpat and he is keeping his options open. That could very well include the NHL, as he stated that his goal is to eventually return to North America. Would he be open to a return to Edmonton though? Puljujarvi actually revealed that he and his representation recently took part in a long phone call with GM Ken Holland and head coach Dave Tippett, neither of whom were in place when Puljujarvi last suited up for the Oilers. Usage was the main reason why Puljujarvi was so unhappy in Edmonton, but he does not know how that might change under this new administration. Puljujarvi called talks with Holland Tippet “good and constructive” and said that “it may be possible” he returns to the team, which is a major departure from his previous stance.

Should things not work out with Edmonton again this off-season and his rights are not traded to another NHL team, don’t expect Puljujarvi to move elsewhere in Europe. His KHL rights holder, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, has made an offer but Puljujarvi firmly stated that he would not sign with the team. He also acknowledged interest from the Swiss NLA, but again stated that he is unlikely to move their either. As a result, it seems Karpat or bust for 2020-21, with bust of course being a change of course in either Puljujarvi’s relationship with Edmonton or as a result of being traded to a new team.

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