Speculation Continues Regarding Jordan Eberle
Though the Edmonton Oilers haven’t come out and said that Jordan Eberle is on the block, his name continues to pop up in trade speculation all around the league. Today, while releasing the first edition of “Trade Bait”, TSN’s Frank Seravalli wrote:
The Edmonton Oilers will look to move winger Jordan Eberle and his $6-million salary cap hit after a dismal playoff run that saw him fail to score a single goal over two rounds.
Eberle appears at #6 on the list, wedged between a pair of defensemen from teams that missed the playoffs. Despite his miserable playoff performance, Eberle remains a perennial 20-goal scorer and one of the most consistent offensive producers in the league. Though he hasn’t quite reached the sophomoric highs he reached in 2011-12, he can be counted on to score at least 50 points even in a reduced role like he saw this year. After turning 27 just a few weeks ago, he surely has some effective years left under his belt.
It’s that pesky $6MM that is getting in the way in Edmonton, as just this week GM Peter Chiarelli admitted that they’d have to move out a contract sooner or later to accommodate the big deals looming for Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. The team will also have to pay to retain Kris Russell this summer should they choose to bring him back. Eberle is the prime candidate because of his value—the fact that he still has some, unlike Benoit Pouliot—and position on the wing. He could be moved and replaced much easier than Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for instance, who is an important center for them as long as Draisaitl continues to skate alongside McDavid.
The fact that Seravalli has him so high on the board suggests that there is real fire behind the smoke, and that Edmonton is really considering a move for the former Team Canada hero. It may though have to wait, as if he’s moved for a defenseman like Taylor Hall last season, it could put the Oilers into protection trouble for the expansion draft. More likely, he’d be moved at the draft or sometime this summer after the insanity known as June is over. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Exclusive Negotiating Rights Of 33 Players Expire
The deadline for signing draft picks has come and gone, and unless more deals come in after the fact, 33 players will see their exclusive negotiating rights expire. With it they will either re-enter the 2017 draft for the final time or become free agents, depending on their age. None of the selections were made any higher than the fourth round, though even that is an unfortunate loss for a team hoping to hit a late-round stud. Below is the full list of players:
Buffalo Sabres
Giorgio Estephan (6th round, 2015)
Gustav Possler (5th round, 2013)
Calgary Flames
Riley Bruce (7th round, 2015)
Chicago Blackhawks
Roy Radke (6th round, 2015)
Colorado Avalanche
Wilhelm Westlund (7th round, 2013)
West Notes: Eberle, Russell, Seguin
Although the expectation is that the Oilers will have to move out one of their bigger contracts to accommodate the second contracts for Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid (as of 2018-19), GM Peter Chiarelli told TSN’s Pierre LeBrun that he doesn’t anticipate having to necessarily make that cap-clearing move this offseason:
“The way we are going to have to spend our money in the future will probably mean us moving a player. When that future is, I don’t know. Basically, we’ve got a year to play with, in my mind.”
Jordan Eberle’s name has come up in frequent trade speculation after a tough postseason performance where he collected just two assists in 13 playoff games although he did reach the 20 goal and 50 point plateaus during the regular season. He has two years at $6MM remaining on his deal which makes him a candidate to move if they decide to try to clear up space this summer. As things stand, Edmonton has just shy of $54MM in payroll committed for next season to 18 players per CapFriendly with Draisaitl the only real core player that needs to be re-signed.
Elsewhere out West:
- Still with the Oilers, Chiarelli told LeBrun that they would like to re-sign pending unrestricted free agent Kris Russell for next season. He noted that the new deal for Draisaitl and McDavid’s extension are the top priorities to deal with and that their contracts may shape what type of contract that they could offer the 30 year old defenseman. Earlier this month, Russell indicated that he would like to sign a new deal with Edmonton.
- Stars center Tyler Seguin’s recovery from labrum surgery has gone well so far and he is expected to be ready for training camp, GM Jim Nill told NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. Nill expects the forward – who is now out of his sling – to be able to start offseason training by the end of June. Seguin played through the injury for a big chunk of the season and went under the knife on April 25th.
Edmonton Oilers Notes: Nugent-Hopkins, Sekera, Bear
The Edmonton Oilers, coming off a successful season in which they improved by 16 victories, and reached the second round of the playoffs (losing to the Anaheim Ducks in seven games), feel that some of their young players have more to learn and improve on as they look towards the 2017-18 season. Oilers head coach Todd McLellan was quoted recently on NHL.com that he feels that center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins must continue to improve, especially on the offensive end.
The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft has already played six full seasons with Edmonton and yet is still only 24 years old. The defensive center, needs to take more chances, according to McLellan and, while the coach praised the young forward for his all-around game, he must learn that it’s OK to take risks, especially now that he has a very talented team around him.
Nugent Hopkins finished with 18 goals and 25 assists for 43 points in 82 games this past season, which was his one his least productive seasons, offensively. He produced 19 goals in 2013-14 and then 24 goals in 2014-15 before only scoring 12 in 2015-16 in 55 games. He was not able to take his game to a new level as he told his coach that he was more focused on his defensive play. His playoff performance this was also disappointing as he didn’t score in 13 games and only finished with four assists.
“… we need him to be a little more productive so we’re going to encourage him to take a little more risk to try and be a little more productive offensively,” McLellan said. “Not at the cost of losing a game or anything like that, but mistakes are going to happen and you have teammates that have to cover for you sometimes.”
- McLellan also tried to look on the bright side of the loss of their top defenseman Andrej Sekera, who will be out six to nine months after tearing his ACL in Game 5 of the second-round series against the Ducks. The coach said that while the loss is tragic and the team will miss his veteran presence over the first half (or more) of the season, this might allow some young defensemen to get a chance they otherwise would never have gotten. Matt Benning is one name that came up in the interview. Benning, 23, who played in his first season with the Oilers after suiting up for Northeastern University for three years, got increased playoff time after Sekera went down and showed his is up for the challenge. Darnell Nurse, 22, also could see increased playing time as well in the first half of the season.
- Speaking of young defensive players, Oilers’ defensive prospect Ethan Bear’s season came to an end after his Seattle Thunderbirds were eliminated from the Memorial Cup. The former 2015 fifth-round pick had a breakout year in the WHL, finishing with 28 regular season goals. If you add his 17 playoff games to his totals, Bear finished his season with 34 goals and 62 assists for 96 points. The 20-year-old will now focus on NHL training camp with the hope of sticking with the Oilers. If not, he will be expected to join the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL.
Anton Lander, Magnus Hellberg Sign In KHL
Now that his North American season is over, Anton Lander is heading to the KHL. According to multiple reports including Igor Eronko of Sport-Express, the Edmonton Oilers forward and pending restricted free agent has signed with Ak Bars of the KHL, a team rumored to have an agreement with him since March. Magnus Hellberg, who spent this season with the Hartford Wolfpack and New York Rangers, will also be heading overseas to sign with Kunlun of the KHL according to RSport.
Lander actually spent time with the Oilers as a “Black Ace” during the playoffs, but played just 22 games for the club this season. Most of his time was spent in the AHL where he continued to be a force, scoring 55 points in 42 games. Other than a successful stint in the NHL in 2014-15 when he scored 20 points in 38 games, Lander has never been able to put it together at the top level in North America, instead bouncing back and forth between leagues. As an arbitration-eligible RFA, the Oilers would have needed to give Lander a $1.05MM qualifying offer to retain his rights, though it did not have to be a one-way deal because he cleared waivers this year.
Hellberg, who was actually set to become a Group VI free agent this summer, played in two games for the Rangers this season and actually played just fine, stopping 26 of 28 shots. His numbers in the AHL weren’t so rosy but still good enough for the team to likely want to keep him around. The 6’6″ goaltender has shown plenty of promise through his career thus far, though perhaps not enough to warrant the second-round pick Nashville spent on him in 2011. Just two years ago, the Rangers acquired him for a sixth-rounder and now will watch him head to the KHL. The 26-year old has a chance to return to North America one day if he can find more consistency.
Edmonton Oilers Officially Ink Iiro Pakarinen To One-Year Extension
After the news came out this weekend that the Iiro Pakarinen had signed an extension with the Edmonton Oilers, the team officially announced the one-year contract today. Pakarinen was set to become a free agent this summer, but will now earn $725K next season on a one-way deal. 
Pakarinen ended up getting into 14 games with the NHL club this season, scoring four points and generally using his physicality to give his team some energy. Last year, in 63 games the Finnish forward scored 13 points and registered 152 hits. Drafted in the seventh round by the Florida Panthers back in 2011, he’s never shown much of a scoring touch at the NHL level.
The important part of the signing for the Oilers isn’t that they get the 25-year old forward under control on a relatively cheap contract, but that he fills the forward exposure requirement for the expansion draft. Each team has to expose at least two forwards that are signed through 2018 and played in either 40 games this season or 70 the past two. Before signing Pakarinen, the only forwards that met this requirement were Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Benoit Pouliot, Mark Letestu and Patrick Maroon. Now, with Pouliot in all likelihood, Pakarinen will be left exposed.
He likely won’t be selected by the Vegas Golden Knights, meaning Pakarinen should be battling for a spot in the Oilers’ bottom-six again next season. With players like David Desharnais, Matt Hendricks and Tyler Pitlick all set to become unrestricted free agents in July, perhaps there will be more room for him this year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Pacific Notes: McDavid, Simek, Rakell, Eaves
Extension talks have yet to begin between the Oilers and Connor McDavid’s camp but there are already plenty of theories as to what it may take to sign him. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggests (video link) that one potential avenue that McDavid may consider is to not sign the maximum eight year deal but rather something around five seasons, similar to what other top players such as Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos, and Patrick Kane (among others) have done in the past.
Doing so would then allow McDavid to be eligible for unrestricted free agency sooner and would allow him to potentially cash in on a max-term, bigger money deal at that time. From the standpoint of the Oilers, this route would allow them to save a bit on his AAV as he still has four years of team control remaining once his contract expires in 2018. With Leon Draisaitl needing a new contract as well, that extra money could come in handy. In the same video, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos notes that the expectation is that the AAV for both young stars will be pretty close on their second deals, potentially within $500K.
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- The Sharks have agreed to terms with Czech defenseman Radim Simek, according to an iSport report in the Czech Republic (link in Czech). Simek’s European agent, Petr Hemsky, confirmed to them that Simek has signed a one year deal worth $830K if he’s with San Jose for the entire season. There is likely a signing bonus not included in that amount as Simek will receive an entry-level contract. The article states that the Rangers were also interested while it was reported last week that Vancouver was also interested in Simek’s services.
- The Ducks won’t be getting any help from the infirmary when it comes to their elimination game against the Predators on Monday night. The team announced (Twitter link) that both Patrick Eaves and Rickard Rakell did not travel with the team to Nashville and will not play in Game Six. Both players are currently dealing with lower body injuries and were the only 30 goal scorers on Anaheim’s roster this season.
Don’t Expect Edmonton To Make Major Move
Don’t expect the Edmonton Oilers to make any splashy moves this offseason. At least that’s what Edmonton Journals’ David Staples writes about statements that general manager Peter Chiarelli made that the team will stand pat during the offseason, at least when it comes to major deals. And Staples says that Chiarelli is a man of his word, so don’t expect a big deal for a top-four defenseman.
With the loss of Andrej Sekera, who is out till midseason 2017-18, the team would be in need of improved defense. Chiarelli says the team will do everything it can to re-sign Kris Russell in the offseason. However, the possible loss of Russell also makes one wonder if the Oilers might force a trade to upgrade
With the flurry of trades expected before the expansion draft next month, there could be some quality defensemen that might come available as teams realize theyâd be better off trading a player for an asset rather than handing them over to the Las Vegas Golden Knights for nothing. There might be several defensemen who could fill a vital role on the Oilers’ blueline next season. However, the scribe believes that Chiarelli will allow his young nucleus to develop and fill in the holes for a team that made a 16-win improvement from 2015-16. The belief is that he is expecting young defensemen Darnell Nurse and Matt Benning to take the next step until Sekera returns.
- The Edmonton Oilers have inked Iiro Pakarinen to a one-year contract extension, tweets CapFriendly. Pakarinen, a restricted free agent, agreed to a one-year, one-way contract for $725,000. The 25-year-old winger only played 14 games for Edmonton last year, tallying two goals and two assists. He played in 63 games, scoring five goals in 2015-16.
Oilers Preparing For Expansion Draft
The Edmonton Oilers are preparing for the expansion draft, and GM Peter Chiarelli knows his club will lose a talented player. Speaking with Paul Gazzola of NHL.com, Chiarelli admitted that the selection from the Oilers may be a little more painful than some other teams, especially because of the success the franchise experienced this year.
Edmonton Oilers Sign Goaltender Dylan Wells To ELC
The Edmonton Oilers have continued to lock up young talent, inking Dylan Wells to a three-year entry-level contract today. Financial details were not released. The 19-year old goaltender has just finished his third season in the OHL for the Peterborough Petes.
Drafted in the fifth-round last summer, Wells improved dramatically this year appearing in 52 of the Petes’ games. His .916 save percentage was an amazing .45 more than last season, and he followed it up with an impressive .930 in the playoffs. The Petes were the best team in the Eastern Conference during the regular season, but were swept out of their Conference finals matchup with the Mississauga Steelheads.
Wells has a long way to go to the NHL, but took a solid step forward this year and will try to dominate the OHL again next season. The Oilers will hope that with another year of success in junior, Wells will be able to step into the AHL in 2018-19 and continue his development.