Heading into Sunday’s action, the Oilers find themselves around the middle of the pack in terms of goals allowed. They’re struggling considerably on the penalty kill, checking in with a success rate of just 62.5% while starting goaltender Stuart Skinner is off to a slow start. Accordingly, some are wondering if the time is right for Edmonton to start shopping around for blueline help as teams by now are starting to get a better feel of what they have and what they need.
However, Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal posits that the time isn’t right for the Oilers to be making a move like that. While it’s clear their need is to upgrade on the back end, he suggests that they’d be best served by waiting until later in the year when they ideally would have more cap space to play with. At the same time, more teams should be established as sellers which should give them more options to choose from compared to if they tried to make a trade now.
Other quick notes around the league:
- Top Carolina Hurricanes prospect Gleb Trikozov had his KHL rights traded from Omsk to Spartak on Saturday, per Spartak’s Instagram page. Forward Matvei Zaseda was dealt the other way. This move means little as things stand, with Trikozov currently a member of the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. But he’s gone without any scoring through his first six AHL games – potentially enough of a spark to return him to a tremendously productive career in Russia. Trikozov recorded 31 points in 64 games in the VHL, Russia’s second-tier pro league, over the last two seasons – and arguably earned a hardier chance at KHL minutes. Spartak could stand to offer that increased role as they look to add the gut punch needed to get over SKA and Lokomotiv in the KHL’s Western Conference. For their part, the underachieving Omsk receives a seasoned pro in Zaseda – who’s totaled 36 points in 105 KHL games and 75 points in 120 VHL games at the age of 25.
- Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel shared that star winger Kyle Connor is OK after getting pulled from Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay by concussion spotters, per Murat Ates of The Athletic. Connor took a hit from behind by Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov that pushed his head directly into Erik Cernak. He labored briefly but didn’t seem severely injured. That’s been confirmed now, and Connor will get to continue his role as the leading scorer (18 points in 11 games) on one of the NHL’s hottest teams.
- Senators prospect Blake Montgomery has left USHL Lincoln and will instead join OHL London, Jeff Marek reports. Montgomery was a fourth-round pick back in June, going 117th overall. He was off to a good start with Lincoln with ten points in his first ten games after putting up 43 points in 58 games last season.