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Colton Sissons, Evander Kane Earn Fines

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The NHL Department of Player Safety has handed out a pair of fines today, deciding against suspensions for both Nashville Predators forward Colton Sissons and Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane.

Kane has earned a $5,000 fine for kneeing Los Angeles Kings defenseman Sean Durzi in last night’s game, the maximum allowable under the CBA. The incident in question took place in the second period, with Kane extending his leg to get a piece of Durzi as the puck was sent up ice. The Oilers forward received a two-minute minor penalty for the hit and will now lose a bit of cash as well.

Sissons meanwhile has earned a $2,500 fine for spearing Ottawa Senators forward Josh Norris in last night’s match. That amount is notably not the maximum, and Sissons did not receive a penalty from the on-ice officials.

While they’ve avoided suspensions this time, both incidents will go on the record for Kane and Sissons, meaning any future transgressions could be penalized more harshly. Still, given how important every game is down the stretch, being available for their teams is obviously the most important thing.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Noah Philp

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Another Philp brother is on an NHL deal. The Edmonton Oilers have signed Noah Philp to a one-year contract for the 2022-23 season. No financial terms were disclosed, but he will join the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors on an amateur try-out for the rest of the season.

A free agent out of the University of Alberta, Philp finished the regular season with 11 points in just eight games but tore up a four-game playoff with ten points. It was his third year in school, including the 2020-21 season that was completely lost to COVID. Prior to that, he played four seasons in the WHL with the Kootenay Ice and Seattle Thunderbirds.

Philp, a 23-year-old center, is the younger brother of Luke Philp, under contract with the Calgary Flames. The brothers will likely face off against each other this season in the AHL.

Noah will likely need a good amount of seasoning with Bakersfield before potentially getting an NHL look, especially considering the lack of hockey he’s played over the last two seasons.

Oilers Recall Stuart Skinner On An Emergency Basis

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  • The Oilers have brought up goaltender Stuart Skinner from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors on an emergency basis. Mikko Koskinen will miss tonight’s game with a non-COVID illness so Skinner will back up Mike Smith. Skinner has played in 13 games for Edmonton this season, posting a 2.62 GAA along with a .913 SV%.

Update On Jay Woodcroft's Future

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  • Speaking about a conversation he had with Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds an update to the situation of Oilers interim head coach Jay Woodcroft. Woodcroft has compiled a 15-7-2 record with the team so far and has them comfortably placed as the third seed in the Pacific Division’s playoff race. The Oilers’ season was spiraling out of control in the late days of former coach Dave Tippett’s tenure, but Woodcroft has seemingly righted the ship. Woodcroft, 45, has a 116-79-24 record as an AHL coach and oversaw the development of players like Ethan Bear, Evan Bouchard, and Ryan McLeod who now find themselves in the NHL. According to Holland, (through Friedman) the Oilers will evaluate Woodcroft’s situation after the season, which may sound similar to Allvin’s comments on Boudreau. But Holland went further, indicating that with the way things are going for Woodcroft, at this moment his future as the Oilers’ coach “looks really good.”

Edmonton Oilers Sign Xavier Bourgault

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The Edmonton Oilers have inked a top prospect, signing Xavier Bourgault to a three-year entry-level contract. The deal begins in 2022-23 and Bourgault will remain with the Shawinigan Cataractes for the rest of his season in the QMJHL.

Selected 22nd overall in 2021, Bourgault has shown once again why he was regarded as such an interesting NHL prospect, recording 26 goals and 51 points in 31 games for Shawinigan this season. While he has missed multiple chunks of the season with injuries–including a freak eye injury in November–he’s back on the ice now and has scored in each of his last four contests.

Shawinigan is in a good position in the standings and poised to fight for the QMJHL championship, though it certainly would be interesting to see Bourgault join the Bakersfield Condors at some point before the end of the season. The 19-year-old forward won’t be in consideration for the Oilers, but Bakersfield could add him on a tryout contract for their own championship run, after winning the Pacific tournament last year (the Calder Cup was not awarded in 2021).

If you ask his coach, Bourgault is already ready for the professional lifestyle, even if he has yet to suit up for the Oilers organization. Last month, Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic wrote about the young forward, and how Shawinigan general manager Martin Mondou has always been impressed with his training. If “everything he does is in the sense to be playing for the Oilers one day” as Mondou put it, signing this contract is a big step toward that goal.

Given he will turn 20 in October, Bourgault will be eligible to play full-time for the Condors next season–that is if he doesn’t land an NHL role out of camp.

Oilers Sign Ryan Fanti

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The Oilers have dipped into the college free agent market, announcing the signing of goaltender Ryan Fanti to a two-year, entry-level contract.  Financial terms of the deal which begins next season were not disclosed but PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the contract will carry an AAV of $925K.

The 23-year-old recently wrapped up his second season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.  Fanti took over the starting job this year and certainly made the most of it, posting a 1.83 GAA along with a .929 SV% in 37 games along with seven shutouts.  That resulted in him being named to the All-NCHC First Team earlier this month.  The Bulldogs made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament after Fanti posted a shutout against Western Michigan but they fell 2-1 to Denver over the weekend, ending Minnesota-Duluth’s season in the process.

While this signing won’t directly affect Edmonton’s playoff hopes this season, it’s worth noting that Fanti has signed an ATO agreement with their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield for the rest of the season.  That could permit Stuart Skinner to be recalled to the Oilers, giving them another option with both Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen coming off tough outings recently.  In the meantime, Edmonton has added a promising goalie prospect to the fold in Fanti but he’ll be a few years away from realistically being ready to push for NHL playing time.

Kris Russell Placed In COVID Protocol

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The Edmonton Oilers will be without Kris Russell for the next little while, as he was placed in the COVID protocol today. He hasn’t played since the team returned from the United States, and had been ruled out with an “undisclosed” injury, suggesting that he did receive a positive test result at some point in the last few days. The team has not confirmed that or how long Russell will be sidelined, only listing him in the protocol.

Russell, 34, has played in just 24 games for the Oilers this season, missing a good chunk of the year on long-term injured reserve. In fact, he has received that designation on two separate occasions this season, only being activated most recently on March 17. In the four games since then, Russell has actually shown rather well, and overall on the year he’s been fine in his depth role.

Some fans may even have missed his physical, shot-blocking presence when the Oilers gave up nine goals to the Calgary Flames on Saturday night, though it’s certainly not clear his 15-minutes a night would have made much of a difference. In that game, the team leaned heavily on Tyson Barrie, including more than three minutes of short-handed ice time for the usually offensive defenseman.

Russell will not be available for tonight’s game against the Arizona Coyotes, though it is unclear whether he will be back for the team’s other two matches this week, both at home against strong Western Conference opponents.

Oilers' Prospect Savoie Scores Game-Winner In University Of Denver's Playoff Game

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  • Earlier today, University of Denver’s men’s hockey team secured their spot in the NCAA’s Frozen Four with a 2-1 win over Minnesota-Duluth. The game-winning goal for Denver was scored by 2020 Edmonton Oilers’ fourth-round pick Carter Savoie, who has 44 points in 37 games this season for Denver. Philadelphia Flyers’ prospect Bobby Brink, who has also starred for Denver, has been speculated to join the Flyers after his NCAA season ended, but will have to wait a little longer on his NHL debut.

Derick Brassard Acquired By Edmonton Oilers

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The Edmonton Oilers have acquired forward Derick Brassard from the Philadelphia Flyers, per Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reports that the return is a fourth-round pick going back to Philadelphia, while The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor confirms that the draft pick is in 2023.

Most of Edmonton’s bottom-six forward group had a rough start to the year, but a recent hot streak has changed a lot of that. Players like Derek Ryan are starting to heat up, but still, others (like Warren Foegele) have disappointed this season. Now, the team has another veteran in the fold in the form of Brassard to add some offensive depth.

Brassard, for now, likely replaces Devin Shore as the team’s third-line center. When healthy, he’s produced well in Philadelphia this year, notching 16 points in 31 games, a tad over a half-point-per-game pace. That’s a significant upgrade on the production of any player Edmonton currently has on their third and fourth lines, and with only surrendering a fourth-round pick to add him, this is a solid trade for general manager Ken Holland.

Brassard will now suit up for his seventh team in the past four seasons.

Oilers Among The Teams To Check In On Zdeno Chara

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  • The Oilers are among the teams to check in on Islanders defenseman Zdeno Chara, Chris Johnston reports in his latest Toronto Star column. The 45-year-old is still averaging more than 18 minutes a night and with a base cap hit of just the league minimum of $750K, he’s someone that they should be able to afford with their limited cap space.  Chara also has another $750K in undisclosed performance bonuses which an acquiring team may become responsible for absorbing although that can roll over to next year’s cap if necessary.

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