Today is Round 1 of the NHL Entry Draft. I’ve been following the NHL draft since 1971. Why 1971? Please read this.
On June 10, 1971, the NHL drafted 117 players. Guy Lafleur (No. 1 overall), Marcel Dionne (No. 2) were the familiar ones for me due to the most outrageous Memorial Cup in history. Gregg Drinnan’s summary (here) is exceptional, but there are many others worthy of reading if you have the time.
Since then, I have followed every draft and always looks for signs of an organization building. You can do it through the draft, trades and free agency, but it’s important not to get too low on available prospects who can actually play. The Oilers just passed Kenny Loggins on the highway to the danger zone in this area, so this draft is important.
I want to say that Rick Pracey and his scouts did a grand job last season and the Oilers could get as many as three actual NHL players from that group. If he can do it again, and entering the weekend there are two picks available to Edmonton inside the top 100, we’ll have something to talk about moving forward. As it is, Tommy Lafreniere, David Lewandowski and Asher Barnett are legit.
I would recommend Blue Bullet for your draft rankings, I’ve stopped doing them and doubt I’ll return to that part of my hobby although one never knows. Brad’s nuanced system seems the best to me, and we’ll see as the years go by.
There’s talk Darnell Nurse will be traded tonight, we’ll see. Sometimes it happens during the day, and sometimes it doesn’t happen at all. I am looking forward to seeing how Stan Bowman tailors this team to Mike Babcock’s style, and do believe this team will have several new faces by opening night.
On the Lowdown today, Steve Lansky from Inside The Truck podcast will join us and talk about the draft, the Jays, the CFL and World Cup. Noon to 2pm, Sports 1440 and You Tube.
Which Oilers players could struggle or thrive under new coach Mike Babcock?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7391918/2026/06/26/edmonton-oilers-players-roster-mike-babcock-coach/
I like the idea of your imagined “plays that alter passing success” metric.
I’m curious about your seeming skepticism about the “takeaways” metric.
I made a comment (below) about seeing a vigorous “takeaways” emphasis in how the Habs and Carolinas play. To my eye the Oilers (among other teams) look lazy in comparison. Of the Oilers, Savoie looks like a player who would fit comfortably into how Brind’Amour and MSL coach the game. You don’t need to be big to play that way. Though you do need to be strong. And quick. What are the useful metrics for determining this kind of player, besides “takeaways?”
I think it would be good to have an accurate takeaway stat, just not sure it is all it could be.
The best players available for Day 2.
Averaging the ranks Pronman and Wheeler gave these prospects, this is what we’re looking at:
27.5: William Håkansson LHD
30.0: Xavier Villeneuve LHD
31.5: Adam Goljer RHD
32.5: Simas Ignatavicius RW
34.0: Casey Mutryn RW
35.0: Brooks Rogowski RC
35.5: Mathis Preston RW
37.5: Niklas Aaram-Olsen LW
38.0: Nikita Shcherbakov LHD
40.0: Tobias Trejbal G
40.5: Ryder Cali LC
42.0: Jakub Vanecek LHD
43.0: Samu Alalauri RHD
47.0: Chase Harrington LW
47.5 Mans Gudmundsson RHD
48.0 Alessandro Di Iorio RC
48.5 Tomas Chrenko RC
49.0 Patriks Plumins G
49.0 Adam Nemec LW
53.5 Rian Chudzinski RW
53.5 Ethan MacKenzie LHD
Since this list is 21 players long and the Oilers pick 20th in round 2, at least two of these players will be available for EDM at #52.
I’m hoping for Simas Ignatavicius (and not just because of the epic name) or Tomas Chrenko.
Ignativicus would be cool if only because he’d be the first ever Lithuanian drafted by the Oil.
And then we could give him a punk rock name like “Sim Vicius”.
That said, I don’t think he makes it to our pick.
As I listen and read today, two underlying themes are emerging: one, it’s panic buying and selling and over-paying by NHL GMs who don’t want to miss out; two, much of Oilerville is impatient for the GM to be part of the feeding frenzy.
What we know:
-We have no idea what GMSB is up to.
-This is a good team that had an “average” (I would say “defensively inconsistent”) season.
What I believe:
-Impatience is perhaps the biggest reason there aren’t multiple Cups in the McD era.
I think part of the frustration is the fact that we were told: “wait till the summer, the cap is going up and Connor’s sweet deal means there will be money to upgrade.”
That money got spent on Dickinson and Murphy, who are dull gets compared to a Kyrou, a Dorofeyev, a Peterka etc
I would look at the assets required to get Kyrou, Drofeyev and Paterka.
The Oilers don’t have half the picks taken to get any of them, let alone enough,
Dull and effective if sometimes better than sharp (shiny).
I think if Nurse gets traded, it happens tomorrow. If not, then Nurse plays out next season in an Oilers jersey and gets to be Babcock’s whipping boy.
Sounds like Anaheim has interest, loads of cap space, and not enough NHL defensemen. Carlsson is leaving, and one of Gudas or Trouba probably signs elsewhere. That D corps will be very inexperienced next season.
The holdup is probably Nurse, and his 3 team trade list.
Jordan Schmaltz
@J_Swish24
It is believed the Chicago Blackhawks and Bo Byram are closing in on an extension in the Windy City. 4 or 5 years at 12-12.5 million AAV which would make Byram the highest paid defenseman in hockey. Not a bad sheet for the pride and joy of Cranbrook British Columbia.
We’ll see how he develops as the top guy in Chicago but seems steep for what he has shown so far. They are betting on some upside obviously
He’s worth it. Always been a huge fan.
I hope it works out so more teams trade top 5’s.
Bouchard at 10.5 x 4 will look like a bargain soon.
Today.
It’s funny how much they have to pay players to play for Chicago these days.
They’re going to give the most overrated forward in the league 20 mil at this rate.
BTW, Round 2 begins tomorrow at 9 a.m. Lousana time.
Until the Nurse trade happens, if it does happen, the Oilers won’t be signing anyone.
Trade for Peterka and Oilers have no way of being cap compliant. Teams would exploit it and Nurse would be traded, with Howard and with retention, for magic beans.
I don’t expect any big splash this offseason. Ingram will be back and most likely, Nurse will as well.
Sometimes the trades you don’t make are the most important, especially with a track record like Bowman.
I just want him to do anything. We’ve known about this for over a year.
Why is Bowman always behind the eight ball? Like we as fans can see a lot of this coming from miles away. He should have had a good handle on the Nurse trade market months ago and executed the trade in a timely fashion to give him time to make other moves that are needed. I wish he was more proactive like the top GM’s in the league
Or, the offers from the 3 teams aren’t good enough so he hasn’t budged when they were hoping he’d panic.
we are not in the room
Not sure why people were expecting a team without a 1st round pick to be dealing a defender during the first round. Nurse isn’t worth a first round pick, and I’d imagine the teams with 1st round picks were preoccupied. I suspect Nurse’s value will be greater after free agency, with the added bonus of keeping the Oilers from doing something stupid on July 1.
Stan Bowman has had a poor start to the off season. He reportedly asked Nurse to wave his NTC last year so presumably knew he would be trading him for quite some time. How could he not have a better idea of what the market for him is then? As he spins his wheels, other teams in the division and contenders across the league continue making moves to improve their teams. It’s like Bowman is always one or two steps behind the top GM’s. Frustrating. Hopefully he can still make something happen soon and get this roster in better shape for next season.
Name teams in the division that got better. Flames, Canucks and Kraken… please.
Anaheim, unless they repair their defense, not likely.
San Jose, improved but results will take a few years to impact the Oil.
LA… no words needed.
Vegas… lost their leading scorer.
San Jose obviously, Anaheim and Vegas are far from done. The rest at least added prospects. I also mentioned contenders like Florida, Carolina. Looks like Washington wants to take another run at it. What have the Oilers done to improve the roster that lost in the first round?
Far from done? The question was if they got better. The answer so far is no.
Carolina, Florida?
I never debated whether the Oilers got better, I just refuse the idea that every other team in Pacific got better today.
Anaheim and Vegas clearing cap space is improving their situation. They can now execute on opportunities while Bowman just keeps spinning his wheels trying to dump Nurse which he’s had over a year to work on
Vegas and Anaheim traded AWAY a top scorer each. Now they can add? Have you looked at Vegas’ cap?
They’re in pretty much the same boat as the Oilers but with two less defenceman.
We’ll see. I have more confidence in McCrimmon than Bowman unfortunately
Vegas traded their leading goal scorer (by almost 10 goals) due to a cap crunch – they “improved” their worst in the league cap situation by getting rid of a top player and they remain in a bad cap situation.
The Ducks have lots of cap to work with by lots and lots to get done – they don’t look to be improving their roster over the end of last year with the players they’ve traded away the coming loss of Carlsson and, likely, Trouba.
Phhht…
With the disposal of McTavish, the Ducks have $44.6 million in cap space to wheel and deal.
San Jose acquired the player most judged to be NHL ready in Ivar Stenberg to play with Celebrini.
Hand him the Calder Trophy right now.
Never mind the Sharks acquiring TWO of the best RD prospects in the game.
The Kings have $12 million in cap space to land another impact forward. They will.
With Vegas’ ability to put Pietrbngelo’s $8.8 million on LTIR they have about $14 million in cap space available. They will spend it.
The Oilers have done diddly squat and don’t even have a credible goaltender.
The Ducks have lost Mctavish, Zellweger and Terry is out for months and likely to lose Trouba and Carlsson – that’s not better.
The Knights have lost Dorofeyev and still are in a cap crunch to bring back a number if important incumbents such as Rasmus A., Saad and other.
Many of the other Western playoff teams have not not got better and even moved playoffs out (Colorado).
Already answered above. These teams look ahead, clearing cap space so they can add quality players when opportunity arises. Why can’t Bowman get ahead of the curve for a change? Why do the Oilers continue to put up with mediocre management teams when top of the league should be the goal?
So I guess the Oilers should move out Hyman or Bouchard to open up cap for opportunities like Vegas has with Dorofeyev?
The Nurse contract limits what they can do still.
Once he’s off the books, the Oilers will have the cap space to add.
Agree, but why hasn’t Bowman moved him and tried to get in on some of the good players that have been moved? He’s known he was going to trade him for a year now. He should have understood the market for him inside and out by now and not be scrambling around at the last minute.
This will probably be the only time Piiparinen ever wears a Vegas jersey.
Scott Wheeler
@scottcwheeler
What a night for the San Jose Sharks.
How “all-around elite” Ryan Lin became one of the premier prospects in the #2026NHLDraft.
I’ve put in more work watching this marathon than Stan Bowman has done this last week. Players are flying left and right.
Cue Stauff saying ‘trades are hard’ then criticizing other GM’s for dithering.
GMSB acting likes he’s the short kid staring up at the ‘You must be this tall to ride” sign
It’s been disappointing so far for sure but there’s still time
Utah gets Cossa for the 23rd overall pick. Oilers didn’t have that, obviously.
On to Ingram or DiPietro.
Haven’t really heard rumors of the Oilers potentially looking at DiPietro like there were/are for Cossa, Montembeau, Anderson, Bobrovsky. I’m guessing because of his height. I’d be all over acquiring him.
stauff was saying Boston wants to use him as backup next year. I hope we get him, too bad we didn’t get him off waivers last year. I like him as much or more than Cossa/Levi
DobberHockey
I don’t even know what to say
Celebrini
Stenberg
Smith
Misa
Chernyshov
Verhoeff
Lin
Dickinson
Askarov
It’s gonna be ridiculous
#Sharks
Never too early to jump on another wagon eh.
It’s crazy being an Oilers fan and being disinterested in the draft. Gotta say, I do miss those days of researching players and getting into the intrigue. But, despite not getting a cup yet, it is also nice to be one of the winningest teams in The Show over the past three seasons.
My wife is a Flames fan and my DoD PTSD had me cheering for their picks.
I’m not proud but it’s not my fault!
Pierre LeBrun
The Ducks making this trade was contingent on Nikita Klepov being available at 15. Once they knew he was still there, they made deal with Blues.
Anaheim is not selling by any means, the Ducks have more cap flexibility now and aim to use it to improve the team this year. They’re far from done.
https://x.com/bob_stauffer/status/2070667303646322749?s=61
Mike Grier and the @SanJoseSharks won the draft!
Get 2 players that played against MEN last year.
Ivar Stenberg will play in SJ next season in their top 6!
Keaton Verhoeff will return to North Dakota, play for Canada at the WJC and fill a positional need at RD in the future.
I love that you’re giving SJ your patented Midas touch.
I love that you believe that’s a thing.
Joe Colbourne says hello.
Brogan Rafferty says hello.
Joe Snively says hello.
Juuso Valimaki says hello.
Olli Juolevi says hello.
Aatu Raty says hello.
The Wild say hello.
The LAK’s limitless blue chip prospect pool says hello.
The Canucks say hello.
DAL says hello.
Insert team here… weaponized cap space says hello.
Et cetera, ad infinitum.
I love that you purport to believe that any of the horses you’ve publicly backed over the last couple of decades have never panned out.
It is because in your excitement in trying to hate on the Oilers, you turn off your brain and give the most biased, nonsensical, hater filled opinions that make no sense to people who prefer to be objective or being consistent in their beliefs.
He needs a pool of 6-8 teams for which to draw positive news from. When one or several inevitably fail, there are always a couple of aces in the hole. Versus a sample size of n=1 in following the Oilers.
He’s deflecting for the failures in his life by daily trolling on a hockey fan site. Meanwhile every day and every troll post is another step towards the inevitable end, the death that comes for us all.
Use your limited time in this life wisely, folks.
At this time of year it’s amusing reading his comments because he’s for anyone not Edmonton and talks about how great the move was.
And when he gets all defensive about how not everything works out later, it’s even funnier.
The perils of making predictions when you draft 18 year olds.
6-8? More like 20 teams.
Why don’t you go to a Sharks board to discuss and champion the Sharks? It’s almost as if you don’t understand how to use a google search
Have you advised Bob Stauffer to do the same?
Specious response. You can do better than that.
He’s not the one posting here you dumbass.
Sharks draft another blue chip RD…Ryan Lin.
Blue chip does not mean what you think it means.
I will take one legit top 6 forward over 2 first round picks, every day. Oiler fans, of any, should realize there are no guarantees.
Watching the draft, why are the runners on the floor wearing Vegas jerseys?
I’d expect Vegas or Florida jerseys based on the NHL’s bias.
Home town jerseys? Nah
Oh… my bad? Never heard the story of their losses
It was terrifying to see footage – high school hockey game in progress and a family member started shooting in the stands. Players were scrambling to get off the ice/benches to locker rooms, fans taking cover, etc. I won’t go into too much detail, but you can google Pawtucket 2026 shooting to read more.
Absolutely heartbreaking.
Division should increase the effort for compassion and understanding, not lead to violence. So weak, so lazy.
They are from the Rhode Island team Blackstone Valley Schools who went through the shooting in Feb, where 3 family members of their captain were killed. He’s there with them and that’s their team jersey (based on the VGN logo but there are BVS initials on it). They went on to win the state championship and the league invited them to attend the draft tonight and hand out the caps and jerseys.
Stenberg and Verhoeff – good grief.
Come on Staios – Eklund was a nice player but not worth that – sigh.
Impatience
I’ve never seen a draft week with this quantity of quality trades – unless the dementia is really setting in, and it may be, this week seems crazy for trades.
Along with the crazy amount of money that is being thrown around – a lot of these contracts are going to age poorly.
Seems that it has more to do with the weakness of the the FA class than anything. Teams are thinking that making a trade has risk, but standing still may have more.
Ducks trade Mason McTavish to STL for 15 and 29
lol
No kidding … no idea why Verbeek was so hellbent on trading him, unless he just didn’t get along with coach Q
Stauff has been lukewarm on Ingram being re-signed all off-season and today he continues to say it’s not a lock he comes back but, if he does, it will likely be below the rumoured $2.5MM-$3MM.
He sees a saturated goalie market and could see a couple of them being bought out.
Pierre LeBrun
Confirming Dorofeyev extension with Rangers is 7 years x $11M AAV
Dorofeyev getting more AAV than Kempe is bonkers.
NYC taxes.
Also shoutout the nonces who went all the way to the draft just to boo every teenager that any team drafts. Grow up.
Wow the Sharks have been killing it the last year and a half. Mikey learned from the master. I do think Mikey would lean toward Edmonton if the trade was the exact same return from another team.
A first line winger and a 1RD is quite a haul.
Imagine being at the outset of the journey the Oilers started a decade ago, but doing so with competent management. Making that pick vs trading it for an already failing prospect.
Cam Robinson:
Imagine telling the Sharks earlier this year that they’d be walking out of here with Stenberg and Verhoeff?
San Jose is going to be a problem. A big problem.
Ecstatic to know the exact height and weight and cap space and every prospect San Jose has every day for the next 3 years.
Nice change from LA and more recently Anaheim.
Resplendent Beetle
@rangerbob94
·
54m
If LA is on the list, surely Anaheim can’t be a hard sell, it’s the same place pretty much. Plus Anaheim is better than LA.
This
I always felt the draft pundits under appreciated Daxon Rudolph.
He led a WHL final team in scoring as a 17 year old defenseman.
Fantastic pick by the Rangers they have a future stud in the making.
I thought so too. His stat line/profile reminded me of BOUCH in his draft year
Peterka to Boston??
Good gracious, that would have been a nice addition.
You would think if Nurse starts getting to picky he might end up somewhere that’s a bad fit next year. I know these young guys are professional from the very second they’re picked in the draft. Yet it still must be hard for a players ego knowing that your not wanted because you priced yourself out.
Smits becomes the highest-drafted Latvian ever.
Is it just me, or being coached by your Dad at the NHL level would be odd?
Any favoritism or pre determined judgement? How does that sound?
“Sorry son, were going to be the worst team in the league next year, you’re going back to Junior”
Yikes.
Caleb is committed to BU
So you’re saying Malhotra Sr will get fired before Caleb graduates?
I’ve never muted the court jester due to the humor, daily embarrassment and the odd post that makes me see your heart grow four times larger.
Every poster needs an enemy and you’re a gem.
Maybe Caleb gets traded before he has a chance to play for his Dad?
Maybe he regresses and never makes the NHL?
Maybe he refuses to play for Vancouver, as they’re bound to still be a tire fire in 3 years.
Maybe he will contract cancer and dies in a plane crash…but not too likely.
No I’m not.
Caleb won’t be in college long and Manny is all in first for a rebuild.
Do something Bowman!
Dorofeyev to the Rangers.
Vegas gets the 26th pick. 92nd overall tomorrow and a conditional 1st rounder (top 10 protected) in 2028.
Frank Seravalli:
Trade details:
To #NYR:
Pavel Dorofeyev
To #VegasBorn:
2026 1st Round Pick (No. 26 overall)
2026 3rd Round Pick (No. 92 overall)
Cond. 2028 1st Round Pick (Top 10 Protected)
lol
At first, big step back for Vegas.. but it’s Vegas.
Robinson? Larkin? Man I hate Vegas, hah
https://x.com/thefourthperiod/status/2070643801090404670?s=61
Kings have signed Brandt Clarke to a 5-year extension worth $7.4M per season
https://x.com/thefourthperiod/status/2070642909700030891?s=61
Edmonton continues to explore Nurse trade options. Multiple sources say Anaheim has expressed serious interest in Nurse.
He would be a great fit there if they’re losing Carlson, potentially Trouba and Gudas. Woody must have been a fan of too
Nurse is a 20 goal man not many D in that fraternity. Just forget to mention that a bakers dozen were own goals.
Hah! You had me on that first sentence, blast your punch line.
Awfully quiet around the Oilers today. Hoping Bowman can pull another “Walman” trade. Get a deal done that none of the insiders know a lick about.
https://x.com/pierrevlebrun/status/2070629741514596849?s=61
Nothing imminent, but the Blue Jackets have started listening to teams calling on Zach Werenski, sources confirm. The CBJ are aware that the Norris Trophy winner is unlikely to extend past his deal. No guarantee he’s dealt this summer but Jackets’ best deal could be now versus waiting a year. We’ll see how it develops.
Only teams linked to Zach Werenski in any capacity so far are Carolina and Toronto. There is some speculation about Tampa out there as well. Plenty of teams would be interested obviously
https://x.com/nhlrumourreport/status/2070630362477142472?s=61
Chris Johnston
@reporterchris
Sources confirm that the Boston Bruins are finalizing a deal to acquire J.J. Peterka.
WTF is Bowman doing? Another top six forward traded and there is absolutely no word that Edmonton is involved. Disappointing
https://x.com/frank_seravalli/status/2070634747584246189?s=61
The #NHLBruins and Utah Mammoth have been engaged in discussions this afternoon on winger JJ Peterka.
One of the proposals Boston had on the table included multiple first-round picks. Utah was mulling options.
This deal isn’t quite done yet.
Very strange considering they just traded for him last year and then signed him to an extension. Wondering why they are trading him. Maybe they’re in on Robertson
They have a ton of blue chip forward prospects about to hit the big time and may have an even bigger deal in the works and need picks to pull it off.
We got no money dude, who are you trading to get him?
That’s Bowman’s job to figure it out. Other contenders like Florida and Vegas do ot all the time
Not the droid, too inconsistent
Pierre Lebrun.
Boston sends 2 first round picks to Utah for Peterka.
Have you seen the prices – 2 1st rounders of Paterka.
Oilers have done nothing so far. Its Bowman’s job to improve the team and he hasn’t yet
I’m fine with him not paying the prices and, frankly, I’m not sure the Oilers had the assets to make any of these recent trades.
Its still June, its day 1 of the draft – there is lots of time to make some moves (and I’ve also been one that thinks only minor moves are really needed – the biggest moves have already been made – a shift in the attitude of the top players and the new coach).
Agree, there is still time to make moves but don’t agree that only minor moves are needed. The team wasn’t close last year really, and other teams in the division continue to improve
They weren’t good but I think they vastly underperformed, vastly.
Also, so far:
The Ducks have lost Mctavish, Zellweger and Terry is out for months and likely to lose Trouba and Carlsson – that’s not better.
The Knights have lost Dorofeyev and still are in a cap crunch to bring back a number if important incumbents such as Rasmus A., Saad and other.
Many of the other Western playoff teams have not not got better and even moved playoffs out (Colorado).
If nurse is moved I’d hope for a youngish d man to be added. With zellweger now gone I think a player like lohrie may be worth the risk.
A good skating young d man that could push up the line up when Walman is hurt or ekholm needs less minutes.
With Murphy the d has enough proven vets including Emberson who I think is a very solid 3 pair+ d man.
Maybe a nurse lohrie trade works for both sides…… tonite.
Lohrie’s puckiq numbers are not good.
True. Thats why he may be available. His decision making is questionable. Maybe experience irons that out.
Per Martin Biron:
Gary Bettman may be telling NHL GM’s to hold off on trades in order to announce them between picks at the Draft to boost viewership.
This includes a potential Sabres trade being announced between picks 3 and 4. Get your popcorn https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/17.0.2/svg/1f37f.svg
The NHL has had a very serious problem with all of the most entertaining things happening but not during their planned TV times. It’s actually better for attracting/engaging fans to have these things happen randomly over a stretch of time but it really does make their TV partners mad…..
Oh yay…make it even slower…yuck.
What a surprise that 74 year old Bettman still sees television as the best way to attract viewers and grow the sport.
Hang up the skates Gary
Bettman looks so awkward yet ask Jason Robinson if he envisioned over a 100 million guaranteed contact at age 26. If Jason stays healthy he may get get another 5 year deal from a G.M.
I think there is danger for any Canadian team looking to draft an American player, especially in the first round. If I were a GM for a Canadian team, I would stick to drafting Canadians and Euro’s ONLY.
I don’t think this would be a huge worry for me but if it’s a saw-off between two players then I’d go Canadian/European. A few American players want out but not all of them and we have to consider that Marner was a Canadian from Ontario that asked to leave Toronto. Good players ask to leave bad teams.
As Utah, San Jose , Anaheim and LA return to prominence the sunbelt teams will become more attractive and American players will be at the head of the line.
American teams being good for the next 10 years is really no different than American teams being good for the last 10 years. There have been sunny places for NHL players to go and possibly win for quite some time. A few players does not mean that every American drafted 20th overall suddenly wants to play in California or nothing.
The footprint in the US has grown and us about to expand again.
And Florida is a prime example of players wanting to abandon Canada while Vegas is right behind.
Ignore it at your peril.
Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa, all burned by US players that were either Captains on their Canadian team or wore an A. Matthews and Hellebuyck may not be far behind.
Yep…and there will be others.
Did they “get burned” or did they get many good years out of those players and then trade them for value?
Ottawa Senators
@Senators
TRADE ALERT: The #Sens have acquired forward André Burakovsky from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a 6th round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.
Chicago making room for Byram & Jason Robertson
Bedard could sure use a winger like Robertson.
My understanding is that Robertson was a huge Chicago fan so this fits with what seems to be happening. I suspect he’s actually angling to stay with Dallas and force a higher payday if they can’t trade him for value.
He’d be ideal for Chicago. They have PP/PK time available and lots of cap space. They still have a lot of holes and a long way to climb up but adding a couple of top end stars is what helps bottom end teams.
Nurse would not thrive in a more aggressive up tempo style of play as he does not process the game fast enough. How many times have we seen him skate the puck out of the zone only to throw it into a corner or to ice the puck 7nder little duress. Sail on doc.
Disagree. The style is right up Nurse’s wheel house. Attack corners, battle, use of reach, stop attack at blue line instead of backing into goalie. Have Nurse sit in front of the net not sure what to do is when decision making comes into play which is not good for him and why puck deflect off him into his own net so much.
I think it might suit him more in the D zone – less thinking – but the other part of the point won’t change
Offensive zone? Nurse actually has pretty good numbers on even strenghth offense. Also Babs defensive breakouts would be significantly better for Nurse than what he’s had..no more stretch passes which he cant do and centers come back deep to protect house and aid defense. Watching Detroit back in the day had some of the best breakouts in hockey and not just when Lindstrom was on. All I can say is this system would work better for Nureses skillet that what he’s had in the past
I agree generally, his decision making and reads get questioned
Nurse actually has a tricky shot as most of his goals are mid height blocker side. Nurse in his contract year scored 16 goals in 56 games. If you do the math he’s a 20 plus goal scorer. If you go back and look at the tape on him his skating is his most valuable tool in the box. If Babcock can give a gentle push and free Nurse while Murphy takes care of home plate we might see a river pushing hybrid D-man (Burns). I hope Nurse doesn’t get traded with 2-3 million retention. Everyone talks about Babcock turning us into a Jacque Lemaire shutdown strategy. I think Nurse might flourish under Babcock. If Bowman still wants to trade Nurse at this time next year after Nurse crushes it we might get a player and future player in the trade. I would run the core one more time while adding a spicy player and a goalie that’s under the radar.
Literally nobody is saying this. Not Babcock, not LT, not one single poster here has inferred that MB is going to turn this team into a 2000s era Wild trap team.
MB himself said they were going to be a high pressure team.
Where are you seeing this or is it another one of your patented exaggerations/hypothetical straw man arguments?
Absolute nonsense.
I want to keep Nurse to see how he does with a full year of Murphy and Babcock. I think he could do well.
The problem is we need some space to do other things or imo we will be short of where we need to be.
Honest question would you rather have Murphy or Kulak? Who covers the bet for the entire contract?0’
Murphy, easily. Will fit into Babs system better and noone, including Kulak seems to be able to play the right side. They fall off a cliff when on the right side.
Murphy succeeded in a 2nd pair role, Kulak never has. Murphy is physically punishing, Kulak is not.
Kulak is a luxury of a 3rd pair Dman, but he is a poor 2nd pair option.
Murphy as of now sounds like a decent contract. The B and C actors are cashing in. I would say Robertson is a high end B player. If he receives a 7 year 15 million deal the other 31 G.M’s will be pissed. The G.M’s should pull a NFL move by everyone turning their backs on Robertson like they did to Deion Sanders kid.
Avs are paying Kulak like he is their 2nd pair LD. Very interesting choice freeing up $6.1 trading Nichushkin to spend $4.5 on Kulak. The prices have definitely gone up.
No they aren’t.
Their second pairing is Malinski and Manson.
Kulak literally played 4 more minutes a game then them,
Toews 25:39
Makar 25:25
Kulak 20:37
Malinski 16:35
Manson 16:10
Burns 15:35
Opinions are one thing, blatant bs is another.
You must admit he/she is always consistent with his blatancy!!
Something DSF specializes in, BS.
Kulak is good in spurts as a 2D, can not sustain it over a long period of time – as we saw here in Edmonton.
He does save his best for the playoffs, but over a full season, is not a good bet at 2D.
Neither. Not at that price and term.
I think the real question is would you rather have Walman at 7 or Kulak at 4.5.
Walman all day. Much more skilled, booming shot, and 25 pounds heavier
They are different types of players. I prefer Murphy. Kulak is good and pretty mobile, decent with the puck. But I watched a lot of him losing board and net front battles, not getting position on guys, and to me that es no bueno
Murphy
I’m a fan of kulak. He was an excellent fit with the oilers on the third pair with the ability to move up short term.
Im not a huge fan of Murphy style dmen playing second pair but I’d take Murphy over kulak easily. I also think Murphy fills a need on the oilers d better than kulak does especially if nurse is traded.
And now Burns. 1 x $850, but bonuses up to a total of $3 million. Whoa
$4.5×5 extension for Kulak in Colorado.
#CapInflation
Wow what a great deal for Kulak who seemed to up his game in a contract year.
Congratulations to Kulak!
Actually, I think he had a regression season but ended up playing a lot for Colorado in the playoffs (but was 7-8 goals).
Colorado gonna find out what the Oilers already know. Reg Season Kulak is OK but Playoff Kulak is fire.
https://x.com/Avalanche/status/2070561856457162991?s=20
Kulak’s extension: 5 years x $4.5 million.
Kulak re-signs in Colorado at 5 X $4.5MM.
Just noticed that 34 year old Charlie Coyle signed for $6M over 6 years…welcome to the new NHL salary distribution….Dickenson and Murphy deals look pretty sweet in comparison…and what about Bouch at $10.5M…soon to look like a steal
I don’t think tonight (or even this weekend) is a trigger point. Tough to imagine any 1st round pick being involved in the trade and potentially not draft picks at all (or this year’s draft picks).
Of course, its a weekend where “business gets done” but I would suspect the key is know the cap space available for July 1 – although, of course, if the Oilers were looking at other trades, now is part of the time and everything runs together.
I’m too lazy to look it up but he may also have a bonus payment coming July 1. It does not effect the cap cost but it may be real money out the door and someone may be waiting for that to be paid before trading for him.
It is hard information to find, but his bonuses are $2M three times throughout the year, and not in July, which makes July 1 a non-factor.
Thank you!
IIRC it is Nov, Dec and Feb
This season’s payments are noted to be on November 15, 2026, December 15, 2026 and February 2027.
A under-talked about point, come July 1, the Oilers are able to extend Josh Brown as he’ll be in the last year of his 3-way contract…….
This is an elite comment.
I hadn’t heard of those contracts in the NHL
Personally I’m ready to an 8x$5M
Thank God nurses contract will be moved on to allow the cap space needed for such an integral player
Is one of the 3 ways the highway?
We still really do not know who signed him or why. Not much discussion around that little decision making either.
🤣 👌🏼 Thanks OP