Kris Russell Expected To Re-Sign In Edmonton
After the Edmonton Oilers cleared some cap space earlier today by moving Jordan Eberle for Ryan Strome, the team is close to bringing back one of their pending free agents. E.J. Hradek of NHL Network is hearing that Kris Russell will re-sign with the team.
Russell was one of the more interesting cases in free agency last summer, expected to lock down a long-term deal but eventually having to settle for just a one-year pact. Edmonton ended up giving him $3.1MM for last season, something that he’s sure to improve upon this time around. The 30-year old played over 21 minutes a night for the Oilers, registering 13 points in 68 games while blocking his regular 200+ shots.
One of the battlegrounds between “old” and “new school” player evaluation, Russell seems to be an effective defender but records extremely poor possession statistics. Despite that, coaches seem to rely heavily on him in many different situations and have put him on the ice more than 21 minutes a night for four straight seasons. Especially with the loss of Andrej Sekera to injury for the first part of the season, the Oilers needed to bring in a left-handed shot at some point this summer.
Whether Russell should be that defenseman is up for debate, as Edmonton fans are just as split as anyone when it comes to his performance. Though he once put up 34 points in a season for Calgary, he’s far from an offensive contributor and shouldn’t be expected to get back to that total going forward. The reason for moving Eberle, cap space, is also at risk should the Oilers decide to lock him up long-term. With Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid needing new contracts, locking in close to $4MM per season for a past-30 Russell is a risky proposition.
New York Islanders Acquire Jordan Eberle From Edmonton Oilers
The New York Islanders have acquired Jordan Eberle from the Edmonton Oilers. In return, the Oilers will receive Ryan Strome. The deal is just one-for-one, with no additional salary or assets changing hands. 
Eberle is coming off a terrible playoffs with the Oilers, scoring just two points (and no goals) during their entire run. Falling out of favor with the coaching staff and playing less than 13 minutes in three of the final four games (with the other going to overtime) it was easy to see why his name immediately popped up in trade speculation around the league. The 27-year old is still one of the most consistent offensive wingers in the game, recording 20 goals for the fifth time in his career and registering 51 points this season.
The biggest negative for Eberle, and perhaps a bigger reason why he’ll no longer play in Edmonton, is that he was signed for $6MM through the end of 2019. With the Oilers needing money and cap space for long-term extensions for Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, his contract was the most likely to go. The Islanders, who cleared room with a Vegas deal yesterday, needed to give John Tavares some help on the first line to try and keep him around long-term.
In theory, Eberle seems like the perfect fit. The pair were magic together at the World Juniors nearly ten years ago, and would seem to be natural compliments to each other in New York. Should Doug Weight put Eberle with Tavares and 34-goal man Anders Lee, the Islanders could have one of the most dynamic offensive lines in the league.
While the Oilers get some much needed salary relief, they also add Strome, the fifth-overall pick from 2011 and middle brother in a hockey playing family. Strome played just 69 games last season registering 30 points, but did seem to find some success after the Islanders’ mid-season coaching change. Even though he might not have the goal-scoring ability of Eberle, he is considerably younger and substantially cheaper. His ability to play center, at least part-time, is also interesting and he could easily return to the 50-point season he had as a 21-year old.
Strome, 23, costs just $2.5MM this season and will be a restricted free agent next summer. If he does break out, the Oilers could be in a similar situation without the money to pay him a long-term deal, but would rather take their chances at this point and make sure their big two are locked up.
Darren Dreger of TSN was first to report the deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Six Teams Have Expressed Interest In Jordan Eberle
According to John Shannon of Sportsnet, the Edmonton Oilers continue to get calls regarding Jordan Eberle. Six teams have apparently made an inquiry up to this point, with several others sure to come after the expansion draft is over and rosters are more flexible. The winger had an incredibly inneffective playoff run but remains one of the most consistent goal scoring threats in the league after another 20-goal season. While his cap-hit ($6MM) is a tad high, it only has two years left on it and wouldn’t wreck any team’s salary structure going forward.
We’ve heard that the New York Islanders have expressed interest, and several other goal-starved teams like New Jersey or Carolina are sure to make at least an inquiry have they not already. While Shannon doesn’t go into details on who the six teams are, it’s easy to see that there could be more than that. Edmonton for what it’s worth aren’t obligated to trade him. Though they would like to improve their defense corps, and have enough scoring to compete even without the 27-year old winger, they won’t give him away for just anything.
It’s also unlikely they deal him before the expansion draft, because any defenseman they get back they’d have to expose. Andrej Sekera has a no-movement clause, and unless he was asked to waive it (which does not appear to be the case) their protection slots are full. Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson aren’t going anywhere, and the Oilers won’t want to move Eberle for a prospect or draft pick package, meaning it’s more likely to come down after the draft if at all.
New York Islanders Interested In Jordan Eberle
In the latest edition of Insider Trading on TSN, Darren Dreger reported that the New York Islanders are among several teams have interest in Edmonton Oilers forward Jordan Eberle. Dreger makes it very clear that there is “no guarantee” that Eberle even gets dealt.
Eberle has been in the news lately as a possible trade candidate as the Oilers start to figure out how their salary structure is going to shake out with extensions for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. GM Peter Chiarelli recently admitted that they would likely have to move a player out at some point, and Eberle is one of the most expensive players on the roster currently (tied with Milan Lucic and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins).
Chiarelli has shown he’s willing to move out big-name players recently, with the trades of Taylor Hall and Nail Yakupov last year. While Eberle may not have quite the same value that Hall did when he recouped Adam Larsson, the 27-year old winger is one of the most consistent goal scorers in the league. He’s scored at least 20 goals in all but one of his full seasons, and still has two years left on his contract before becoming a free agent.
The Islanders have been starved for top-line wingers for years, though their forward group did show improvement as the most recent season went on. Eberle would give them another right-handed option up front in what has been a very lefty-heavy group.
Dreger mentioned Travis Hamonic as a possibility, and as we examined yesterday moving him or another defender would clear up some of the expansion problems for the Islanders. The Islanders will have plenty of competition if Eberle really does hit the trading block, but have all the assets to acquire him if they want to.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Oilers Likely To Wait To Trade Eberle Until After Expansion Draft
Edmonton Oilers’ forward Jordan Eberle‘s name seems to come up in trade talks quite often. He recently appeared at No. 6 on TSN’s first edition of “Trade Bait,” and the belief is that moving the 20-goal scorer this season makes the most sense as the Oilers must free up cap space to eventually lock up both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to extensions. The hope is they can use Eberle to acquire a top-four defenseman the team needs. Several key defensemen are on TSN’s list, including Anaheim’s Sami Vatanen, Minnesota’s Jonas Brodin and Mathew Dumba, and New York Islanders’ Travis Hamonic – all right-handed defenseman, exactly what the Oilers need.
However, while Edmonton Journal’s David Staples believes that while moving Eberle will be inevitable, trading him before the expansion draft is a big mistake. If the team trades Eberle for a defender, that would force Edmonton to switch from a 7-3-1 protection scheme to a 4-4-1 scheme, meaning the Oilers would have to sacrifice one extra forward to the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The Oilers then would be only be able to protect Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Draisaitl, Milan Lucic and Patrick Maroon (McDavid is exempt). The team would then have to protect four defensemen, including the new acquisition, Andrej Sekera, Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson.
That would likely expose veteran enforcer Zack Kassian to the Golden Knights, something that they wouldn’t have done in a 7-3-1 scheme. Kassian was critical to the team in the playoffs as he stood up for his teammates and protected the likes of McDavid and Draisaitl. Staples believes that general manager Peter Chiarelli would prefer to keep him as he’s playing the best hockey of his career. A loss at wing of Kassian and Eberle might also force Draisaitl to stay at the wing, rather than move to center like the Oilers want.
So even though there may be quite a few defensemen available over the next two weeks, there are few scenarios in which trading Eberle for one makes any sense until after the expansion draft. Staples even hints that Las Vegas is likely to be overloaded in defenders after the expansion draft and looking there for a top-six defenseman would make more sense, although that does not solve the problem of unloading Eberle’s $6MM contract.
Latest From Insider Trading: Duchene, Barrie, Oilers
In the latest edition of Insider Trading from TSN (video link), Bob McKenzie reports that Avalanche forward Matt Duchene is the “player most likely” to be traded this summer. Duchene has long been linked to the rumor mill throughout this past season but GM Joe Sakic’s asking price was too high to get an in-season deal done.
The 26 year old is coming off a down year with Colorado, recording 18 goals and 23 assists in 77 games, his lowest full-season output since 2011-12. He has two years remaining on his current contract with a cap hit of $6MM before being eligible for unrestricted free agency. The current free agent crop is lacking in impact top six forwards so despite a high price, there should be several teams interested in his services.
While McKenzie wouldn’t guarantee a deal gets done during the offseason, he classifies the situation as one where both the Avalanche and Duchene are hoping for a fresh start.
Other notes to pass along from the segment (although the full video is worth a watch):
- The belief is that Sakic is still coveting a top blueliner in order to let Duchene go. Darren Dreger notes that part of the reason for that is to potentially allow Colorado to then move defenseman Tyson Barrie. The 25 year old is a strong producer from the back end although his play in his own end has been a concern for them for a while now. Barrie has three years left on his deal at a $5.5MM cap charge and Dreger believes it will take a top draft pick or a combination of picks and prospects to get a deal done.
- While some expected that Edmonton’s Connor McDavid would see his extension for 2018-19 done before the team tries to deal with pending RFA Leon Draisaitl but Dreger reports that the Oilers would like to get both done at the same time. These two contracts will be the top priority in Edmonton this summer and considering the dollars it will take to get both done, they would undoubtedly like to get those contracts done sooner than later so they have a better sense of their salary cap situation before getting too deep into free agency or the trade market.
- On that note, Dreger suggests that Oilers winger Jordan Eberle will “definitely get traded” this summer. Clearing his $6MM cap hit for two more years would ensure that Edmonton has plenty of money to get McDavid and Draisaitl’s new contracts done. Earlier this week, GM Peter Chiarelli stated that he doesn’t think that they necessarily have to make a cap-clearing move this offseason but that they will have to at some point in the next couple of seasons. Like Duchene, Eberle is a top six forward in a market that doesn’t have many of them available so the timing may be right for Chiarelli to do a deal now.
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
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.
Takeaways From Peter Chiarelli’s Year-End Press Conference
The fact that the Oilers will be without top-four defenseman Andrej Sekera for a decent chunk of next season wasn’t the only notable bit of news that came from GM Peter Chiarelli‘s year-end press conference on Tuesday.
He also discussed his summer plans for the team, and no, he doesn’t see another Taylor Hall-for-Adam Larsson type blockbuster. Chiarelli did say that he was open to the idea of trading down in the upcoming Entry Draft; the team has the 22nd overall pick, no second, and two third-round picks in the first 93 picks. Because this draft is seen as weaker than previous years, Chiarelli said acquiring a second-round pick isn’t a necessity but that if a trade came up, he’d consider moving down from #22 to acquire more picks.
Also on the trade front, Chiarelli called the widespread criticism of Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins‘s playoffs unfair. Trade speculation has run wild around those two, especially Eberle, but Chiarelli pumped the breaks on the suggestion that they need to be dumped at any cost. He praised Eberle’s improvement along the boards, and talked about the lack of confidence that the sniper suffered from. Eberle took 208 shots, which is the most he’s taken so far in his seven-year career, but shot at just a nine per cent rate, considerably down from his previous career-average of 14 per cent. Had he shot at that rate, he’d have scored 29 goals instead of 20. Chiarelli stressed that the team will be “careful about how [they] evaluate him.”
As far as Nugent-Hopkins, the general manager stressed the team-wide need of improving in the face-off circle. Chiarelli said that he gave Nugent-Hopkins “homework” for the summer. While Chiarelli kept a positive tone publicly, with both men on the trading block it would have been a poor decision to criticize them. With questions remaining about what position Leon Draisaitl will ultimately play and the acquisition of David Desharnais not being overly successful, Chiarelli will likely be looking to give Todd McLellan some more options in the face-off circle.
The main priority for Edmonton is signing their two best forwards to new contracts. Draisaitl is an RFA this summer, and Connor McDavid will be eligible to extend his deal on July 1. Chiarelli called McDavid priority one and Draisaitl priority two of this summer. All other free agents, like rugged winger and playoff cult hero Zack Kassian and controversial defenseman Kris Russell will have to wait until Chiarelli knows what sort of numbers he’s dealing with. The two men combined for about $6.4MM in cap space this past season (entry-level contracts plus bonuses), but will account for as much as $20MM by next season.
As far as the potential of a rival team offer sheeting Draisaitl, Chiarelli isn’t worried about that. Last week, I wrote about why offer sheets are so rare, and Chiarelli mentioned one of the stated reasons. The Oilers have the cap space to match any offer sheet to Draisaitl, so the only reason another team would submit an offer is to jack up the price. It’s highly unlikely that a team would go out of their way to try hurt another team’s cap situation because of the negative affect it would have on that GM’s reputation.
Had Sekera not been injured, the Oilers defense might not have had any changes on opening night. Oscar Klefbom is developing into a good top-pairing defenseman, Larsson had a strong first season, Darnell Nurse and Matt Benning have made strides together, and Chiarelli expressed interest in re-signing Russell and Eric Gryba. Chiarelli admitted the team doesn’t have a championship defense (yet). He pointed to Nashville and Anaheim, saying that “it would be nice to have a D at that level.”
Russell is loved by old-school hockey people, and considered highly overrated by people with a mind for advanced stats. While Russell blocks a ton of shots (213 in 68 games), he bleeds possession and hasn’t had a positive CF% Rel. (scoring chances when he’s on the ice compared to off the ice) since 2012 when he was in Columbus. He also scored just one goal this season despite playing the third-most minutes of all skaters. However, the injury to Sekera could motivate the Oilers to sign Russell to help fill the void. As mentioned above, Chiarelli will wait until he knows what McDavid and Draisaitl will cost before making any considerable signing, even if it means waiting until after July 1.
Chiarelli said the team blew his expectations out of the water, finishing with 103 points and getting to Game 7 of the second round. This summer will be about locking up key pieces and letting the young roster develop next season.
Morning Notes: Maple Leafs, Eberle, Bishop
The Maple Leafs took an impressive step forward in 2016-17, riding the backs of several rookies to their first playoff appearance in a full season since 2004. While they were ultimately defeated by the Washington Capitals, their fan base was enthused by the performance and expects big things from them over the next several years. James Mirtle of The Athletic (subscription needed) took a look at their salary cap situation, and proposes that the Maple Leafs should make a big splash this summer before they have to pay the likes of Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner more than their current entry-level deals.
Mirtle shows that the Leafs may have as much as $15MM to spend this summer and would be wise to invest it in short-term veteran help for the team to push them into contention immediately. Joe Thornton, Ilya Kovalchuk, Alexander Radulov all make hypothetical appearances among the Maple Leafs forwards, while the contention that a right-handed defenseman is still of the highest importance remains. Toronto, who holds the 17th-overall pick in the upcoming entry draft could theoretically use some of their prospect capital and cap room to be one of the biggest players in both free agency and the trade market this summer.
- Jordan Eberle has become a sort of whipping-boy in Edmonton of late, after his play in the postseason took a sharp downward turn. Many fans have been clamoring for his head, wanting to ship him out for the next Adam Larsson. While obviously he still holds value following his 51 point season that included a fourth-straight 20+ goal effort, Eberle will be very difficult to move contends David Staples of the Edmonton Journal. Staples quotes TSN Head Scout Craig Button in the piece, agreeing that a $6MM cap-hit is no easy transaction. Staples writes that Buffalo, Vancouver and New Jersey—the same team that accepted a Taylor Hall deal last summer—would be interested in Eberle and hold the needed cap room for the next few seasons.
- According to the venerable Renaud Lavoie for Le Journal de Montreal, the Stars actually pursued Scott Darling before acquiring Ben Bishop last week. Darling was the team’s first choice, but they wouldn’t part with the third-round pick it took for Carolina to finally lock down his negotiating rights. Darling signed a $16.6MM deal with the Hurricanes, while Bishop inked a six-year, $29.5MM contract with Dallas. It’s interesting to note that Darling is two years younger than Bishop, but received two fewer years on his contract. With an even lower cap-hit, Darling’s seems to be the much more attractive of the two deals, making the difference between a fourth—what the Stars eventually gave up for Bishop—and a third round pick seem more than acceptable.