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Edmonton Oilers Acquire Hayden Hawkey From Montreal

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The Edmonton Oilers picked up another prospect goaltender today when they acquired Providence College’s Hayden Hawkey from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a 2019 fifth-round pick, according to TSN’s Brennan Klak.

Hawkey, a 2014 sixth-round pick, has played with the Friars for the past three years and has been dominant as the team’s starter for the past two years. In two years for Providence, the 23-year-old netminder has posted 46 wins and has improved his GAA and save perenctages from 2.19 and .913 as a sophomore to a 2.04 and a .919 this past year.

However, with the possibility that the Canadiens might not be able to sign Hawkey to a contract if he returns to Providence for a fourth year and with a stable group of prospects on the horizon, Montreal felt it could move Hawkey. The team already has superstar Carey Price locked up for eight more years and youngster Charlie Lindgren serving as his backup. The team several prospects as well as Michael McNiven is likely to start for the AHL’s Laval Rocket  next season, while the Canadiens also have another goaltender waiting in the wings as Cayden Primeau, a seventh-rounder last year, had a breakout year as a freshman at Northeastern University.

The Oilers have begun to replenish their goaltending system after acquiring Hawkey and trading up to draft Olivier Rodrigue in the second round of the draft today. Rodrigue is the son of Sylvain Rodrigue, who is the team’s goalie consultant.

Edmonton Oilers Willing To Move 10th Overall Pick

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Though rumored for some time, Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli confirmed that he has had discussions with teams about moving the tenth-overall pick in the upcoming draft. Nothing is imminent, but with the team missing the playoffs last season despite being in a win-now mode, it seems obvious that they would be willing to discuss acquiring some immediate help for future assets. Chiarelli also claimed that his team would select the “best player available” should they keep the pick, instead of targeting a certain position of need.

This all confirms what we’ve heard out of Edmonton for the last few weeks, as many have speculated that they’d be willing to move the pick. That draft position rarely gives you a player who can step into the lineup right away, something that the Oilers desperately need as they look to cash in on some of Connor McDavid’s prime years. Though the captain is only 21, he’ll already be the most expensive player in the league next season and is doing enough to expect the team to be real Stanley Cup contenders. The team needs more help up front and several bounce back seasons from key defensemen, or else they may waste another 100-point season from the two-time Ted Lindsay Award winner.

It’s not clear exactly what Edmonton would be after in a trade for their first-round pick. Though obviously scoring is a necessity, many have speculated on the need to add another right-handed puck-moving defenseman to the mix. Teams aren’t quick to give up those players though, as they remain some of the hardest to find in the entire league. Up front it depends on whether Chiarelli sees Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl as wingers or centers going forward, as both have played—and found tremendous success—alongside McDavid at times over the last two years.

The pick might be of interest to several teams looking to add youth to their group. There have been rumors of the Montreal Canadiens looking to trade down, but don’t really have the defensive assets that would interest Edmonton after moving Mikhail Sergachev last summer. A team like the Buffalo Sabres are involved in nearly every discussion about first-round picks, but most of the speculation around them centers on Ryan O’Reilly. Chiarelli said last season that it may not be wise to use a huge chunk of your assets on centers—at that point speaking about McDavid, Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins—making O’Reilly perhaps a bad candidate for trade.

Regardless of who is a perfect fit, you can bet almost every team would have interest in finding out how expensive the pick would be in terms of assets. Even teams closer to contention might find themselves in a position to trade up, especially if they have some burgeoning young players ready to take over at the NHL level.

There is also the question of Milan Lucic and the reports that the Oilers are trying to get out from under his hefty contract, but not as a pure cap dump. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Chiarelli seemed to indicate today that Lucic would be back for Edmonton next season with a new level of motivation, but nothing is certain at this point in the summer. That could easily be the Oilers’ GM trying to pump up an asset that he’s looking to trade, or perhaps he truly believes that Lucic can return to the 50-point winger that he has been for much of his career.

Either way, there are changes coming in Edmonton before the 2018-19 season begins. Whether it is enough to get them back into the playoffs is still yet to be seen, but Chiarelli is obviously doing everything he can to try and get back to contention.

Edmonton Oilers To Buy Out Eric Gryba

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We have our first buyout of the offseason, as the Edmonton Oilers have placed Eric Gryba on waivers for the purpose of buying out his contract. Gryba has just one year remaining on his deal worth $900K, meaning the Oilers will incur a cap charge of just $300K for each of the next two seasons. This move does bring a bit of confusion though, as playing in the minor leagues would take Gryba’s cap hit completely off the books as anything under $1.025MM is buried.

This move does save the Oilers $300K in real cash and opens up a contract spot, but is likely more of a favor to a player to allow him to pursue other opportunities. The team sent Gryba to the minor leagues last season where he spent much of the year, and it did not appear he was in their plans for this season. The 30-year old defenseman has 279 NHL games under his belt and could be an option for another team as a depth defenseman who can provide some physicality and penalty killing. There’s not a lot of upside to his game though, and it will be hard to find a full-time opportunity anywhere in the league.

The Oilers now have just over $1.6MM in cap charges from buyouts on the roster, following the expulsion of Benoit Pouliot last season. Though that’s not a debilitating amount, Edmonton is a team that needs every dollar it can get as they deal with the mega contracts for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Though this move does have some benefits, the team must be careful with their remaining cap space.

Edmonton Oilers Agree To Terms With Matt Benning

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The Edmonton Oilers have agreed to re-sign defenseman Matt Benning to a two-year contract, avoiding restricted free agency with the 24-year old. Ryan Rishaug of TSN gives us the financial details, reporting that the deal will carry a $1.9MM average annual value with Benning earning $1.8MM in the first season, and $2.0MM in the second.

Benning was one of the only Oilers defensemen to take a step forward this season, and finished tied with both Oscar Klefbom and Kris Russell with 21 points despite only playing in 73 games. The former Northeastern University standout has now been a solid depth defenseman for two years, logging positive possession results and respectable point totals in just 16-17 minutes a night. While several other defenders took substantial steps backwards resulting in real struggles for the Oilers, not a lot of that can be laid at the feet of Benning who could likely have argued for an even bigger raise had given up more years. He’ll still finish this contract as a restricted free agent, giving the Oilers at least one more year of control.

It’s contracts like these that will allow the Oilers to compete in the face of huge cap hits for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Benning is a quality player that could likely take on a bit more responsibility, but is still earning a relatively low amount. The team needs to find more players like this through the college ranks or entry draft, and fill out the fringes of the roster with more talent. McDavid proved that he can’t carry the team on his back, as even with an 108-point season the team missed the playoffs badly.

For Benning, this gives him a chance to remain with his hometown team for at least another two years and compete for a bigger role going forward. While the team has been rumored to be targeting a right-handed defenseman in free agency or trade, if they can’t find it Benning might be asked to do more. The team also has Darnell Nurse still to negotiate with, which could really complicate things for the team’s defensive group. With close to $20MM now sunk into five defenders, Nurse’s deal could make the blue line for the Oilers a bit too expensive, given how they performed last season. It could also stop them from acquiring any help, unless they decide to move out one of the bigger contracts like Klefbom or Andrej Sekera. Either way, things aren’t finished developing for the Oilers and where Benning fits in is still very unclear.

Snapshots: Buffalo’s Other Picks, Faulk, Draisaitl, Honka

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While their first-round pick in next week’s NHL Entry Draft is a no-brainer, there is still a lot of decision-making in Buffalo. One key change that Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill has said he needs to make is the improvement of their drafting, most particularly, the drafting of players later in the draft, especially from the third-round and on, according to the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington.

The main reason for that is the team’s inability to get players drafted in the third round or later to contribute to the Sabres’ team. Since 2010, the Sabres have had seven goals from any player drafted in the third round or later — all from 2013 third-round pick Nicholas Baptiste.

“Those later picks show the importance of having a strong organization across the board,” Botterill said. “When you’re dealing with mid-round picks and later-round picks, it’s making sure your amateur staff brings in the right people and then having a strong developmental model.”

The team has already seen some success in Botterill’s first draft last season when he selected Casey Mittlestadt in the first round, which looks to be a solid pick. However, it’s some of their other picks that already seem to be working out as second-rounder Marcus Davidsson and third-round pick Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are getting solid reviews after their first season since being drafted.

  • While Carolina Hurricanes’ defenseman Justin Faulk has been linked to the Edmonton Oilers many times since the NHL season ended, the Edmonton Journal’s David Staples writes that his value shouldn’t be as high as many project Faulk to hold.  The scribe writes that while the Oilers would be interested in acquiring the 26-year-old blueliner, his minus-26 rating and 12 even-strength points don’t suggest that the Oilers should be giving up a top talent or a high draft pick for him.
  • Sticking with the Oilers, rumors suggesting that the Oilers are considering trading center Leon Draisaitl are erroneous, according to Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson. The scribe writes there is no way Edmonton would trade Draisaitl, who the team signed to an eight-year, $68MM contract a year ago, not even for Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson. The 21-year-old has scored 54 goals and 147 points in the past two seasons.
  • In a separate tweet, Matheson writes that the Oilers could be interested in acquiring Dallas Stars defenseman Julius Honka, who could find himself without a spot in Dallas’ crowded defense. However, the scribe writes that Honka isn’t worth the No. 10 pick in next week’s draft. He suggests the team offer their second-round pick in hopes of acquiring the 22-year-old right-shot defenseman. Despite looking early in training camp last season as a key youngster to make the team, Honka found himself on the outside looking in as he had trouble breaking in to the team’s lineup. In 42 games last season with the Stars, the 2014 first-rounder played 13:01 of ATOI and posted just four points in limited action.

Snapshots: Islanders, Gudlevskis, Lucic, Canadiens

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The New York Islanders have made a coaching move, but not the anticipated one. Still lacking a head coach for his team, Lou Lamoriello has nevertheless made another change to the coaching staff, firing assistant Greg Cronin. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple confirmed the move, but added that no other coaching decisions have been made yet at the NHL or AHL level. Staple also had nothing to say about any of the motivations behind Cronin’s departure. Ironically, if Lamoriello was to tab Boston Bruins’ assistant Jay Pandolfo as his head coach, the Boston native Cronin would be an easy fix to replace him.

  • The Islanders have struggled in net for too long and need to make a change at goalie. That all but rules out recycling any of their unrestricted free agent goaltenders. Jaroslav Halak, Christopher Gibson, and Kristers Gudlevskis are all set to hit the open market and of the three, Gudlevskis faces the lowest chances of finding employment again in the NHL. Once a highly-regarded prospect for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Gudlevskis play in the AHL simply never reached an elite level that would have warranted an extended look at the highest level. This past season, he performed poorly and was handily outplayed by Gibson. As such, he may not have many opportunities in North America next season. It is no surprise then that Latvian news outlet OlyBet reports that Gudlevksis has had preliminary talks with Dinamo Riga, the KHL team in his native country. Gudlevskis was brought up in the Riga junior ranks and even appeared in two games with the big league team before coming overseas. Gudlevskis has never returned to Europe since and his preference would likely be to stay in the NHL, but it would be a natural fit with Dinamo if the offers don’t come from NHL teams this summer.
  • In today’s edition of TSN’s “Insider Trading”, Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger have set the record straight about the trade market for Edmonton Oilers forward Milan Lucic. It was previously believed that the Oilers were shopping Lucic in hopes of ridding themselves of his contract, but in speaking with several team executives, LeBrun and Dreger feel that is not the case. Instead, they have heard that Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli is seeking hockey trades rather than cap dump trades for Lucic. This would indicate that it is Lucic who has requested the trade and Edmonton is simply trying to oblige him.
  • One team rumored to be in on Lucic is actually out, according to LeBrun. The Montreal Canadiens, who pursued the power forward and former Bruins enforcer vigorously when he initially hit free agency, were speculated to again be interested in acquiring Lucic. The Habs could use some size up front and Lucic shared a strong rapport with coach Claude Julien when the pair were in Boston. However, LeBrun states that they are definitively “out” on Lucic.

Edmonton Oilers Re-Sign Drake Caggiula

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The Edmonton Oilers have locked up one of their young forwards, signing Drake Caggiula to a two-year contract. Caggiula was scheduled to become a restricted free agent for the first time, coming off his two-year entry-level contract. Instead, he has signed on early for two years and $3MM, reports TSN’s Ryan Rishaug.

Signed out of the University of North Dakota after an excellent 51-point senior season, Caggiula shocked many by making the Oilers out of camp at the beginning of the 2016-17 season. Unfortunately a hip injury kept him out of the lineup until mid-November, when he made his presence felt with two points in his first two games. The rest of the season didn’t come as easily though, and Caggiula would end up with just 18 points as a rookie. This past season was much of the same, battling injury and inconsistency to finish with just 20 points, though his 13 goals actually tied him for fifth on the team.

Caggiula will turn 24 in just a few days and is likely close to the ceiling of what he can become as an NHL player. While he may not possess high-end offensive ability, he does have an incredible work ethic and can be a reliable player to support the more skilled Oilers forwards. Capable of playing both the wing and center, and contributing on the powerplay and penalty kill, his versatility will come in handy as the team tries to get back to a Stanley Cup contender.

Could There Be A Taker For Milan Lucic?

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  • Following a report from Thursday that suggested that the Oilers were looking to move on from winger Milan Lucic, David Staples of the Edmonton Journal believes that there may be a taker for him around the league, even if it does require some sort of inducement to get someone to take the 30-year-old. He points out that there are always teams who value size and grit and the success of Washington’s Tom Wilson in the postseason certainly shows that there is still a place for those types of players in the league.  If a trade involving Lucic was to happen, it seems reasonable to think that it would occur after July 1st as he is due a $3.5MM signing bonus on that date.

Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Nolan Vesey To Edmonton Oilers

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have decided that Nolan Vesey is no longer in their plans. The team has traded the rights to Vesey to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a conditional 2020 seventh-round drat pick. Vesey recently finished his fourth year at the University of Maine, and would have become an unrestricted free agent if he’d not signed by August 15th. Luckily the Oilers took care of that, immediately agreeing to terms with the forward to a two-year entry-level contract.

Vesey, 23, was selected in the sixth round in 2014 but was mainly seen as a way to influence his brother Jimmy Vesey’s decision after leaving school. The older Vesey, who now plays for the New York Rangers, was already rumored to be waiting out his entire college career to reach free agency instead of signing with the Nashville Predators. The Maple Leafs also hired Jim Vesey, father of the two forwards, who still works for the team as an amateur scout. While we’ll likely never know if that was their sole intention when drafting the younger Nolan, it never seemed likely that they would sign him after his brother chose the Rangers in the summer of 2016.

Now Vesey will start his professional career with the Oilers organization, after another solid-if-unspectacular season at Maine. With 25 points in 37 games Vesey actually set a career-high in scoring, but those numbers apparently still weren’t impressive enough to intrigue the Maple Leafs. More likely to spend his career in the minor leagues, he still brings size and a bit of goal scoring ability to the Edmonton system. He’ll suit up for Bakersfield next season and try to prove that he can produce at the next level.

For Toronto, if the conditions are met—which seems likely now that Vesey has agreed to terms—they can recoup some of their losses from the sixth-round selection. Though a seventh-round selection isn’t much, they would have received nothing had they let Vesey walk in free agency this summer. Now they can at least take another swing at the draft in a round that has actually provided a bit of talent for the club in recent years. Garret Sparks, Viktor Loov, Andreas Johnsson were all selected in the seventh, not to mention Carl Gunnarsson who has played 556 NHL games after being picked 194th in 2007.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Patrick Russell To One-Year Contract

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The Edmonton Oilers have inked one of their pending restricted free agents, signing Patrick Russell to a one-year deal. The 25-year old Russell played for the Bakersfield Condors this season, scoring 27 points in 68 games. Though not specified, one can assume that Russell is signing a two-way contract, since he has still yet to make his NHL debut, and as such will be eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency next summer should he fail to play in 80 games with the Oilers in 2018-19.

Russell was born and played in Denmark for much of his junior career, before heading to Sweden and eventually making his way over to the USHL and NCAA. After playing two years for St. Cloud State the winger decided to sign his first professional contract, joining the Oilers system in spring of 2016. In two years with the Condors, Russell hasn’t been able to find the same offensive success he had in college but has still done enough to earn a new deal.

The Oilers now have nine restricted free agents left to sign this summer, two of which we looked at in closer detail here. Ryan Strome and Darnell Nurse represent some big decisions for Edmonton, but even players like Russell require quite a bit of work to get under contract.

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