The Best Edmonton Oilers Trade GM Ken Holland Ever Did: 9 Things

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Edmonton Oilers top 2 forwards, defenders and their # 1 goalie missed the final exhibition game in

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Vancouver on Saturday night.

That fact made the outcome (a 3-2 win, and I wrote this introduction even before the game started) even more irrelevant than it already was.

However, the important thing was the internal battle for the last places on the list.

Details on that and more in this issue of …

9 things

9. It would be impossible not to be happy about Brendan perlini. No one has achieved their 6 preseason goals as long as the NHL has kept track of the exhibition stats. It will start off as 4LW’s opening night.

8. Has been since Devan Dubnyk in Edmonton that the Oilers have developed a hometown goalie. He’s heading to Bakersfield for now, but Stuart skinner is on the verge of breaking that 7-year drought. He had a .920 SV% in preseason.

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7. General manager of oilers Ken Holland attended the Golden Bears hockey game in Edmonton on Friday night against Mike Babcock’s Saskatchewan Huskies. Some wondered if Holland still had the fire in his stomach from this job at this point in his life. I’d say if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be spending Friday night at Clare Drake.

6. It will be fascinating to see what the Netherlands does or does not do with its 2022 1^{S t} Round selection this winter. The cupboards are far from empty. The last 3 numbers 1 of the organization are already leaking on several levels. So if the Oilers are a Top-8 team on the deadline, I can see the general manager exploring moving that pick (probably somewhere in the 20s) for help down the stretch. Stay tuned…

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5. I hope to see William Lagesson on the waiver wire tomorrow afternoon. Without disrespecting him, with Kris Russell and Slater Koekkoek blocking to make the club’s Lagesson hand work against him. Don’t be surprised if Philip Broberg is on the opening day list in terms of a paper transaction, in order to help maximize what the club can recoup in terms of LTIR, which Oscar klefbom is intended for.

4. I think the greasers have offered Colton Sceviour a two-way contract to become a member of an organization. But I don’t think the veteran has made it to the big club yet and is probably weighing the offer against what may be available to him elsewhere. If Sceviour can make the same or better dough elsewhere, it shouldn’t surprise us. He got a good assist on Perlini’s goal on Saturday in what was his best preseason effort.

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3. There has been a lot of debate about fighting in hockey since By Zack Kassian injury on Thursday. Now, I think the in-game scrapping debate is always worth it in terms of player health. But let’s not forget that Kassian’s injury could have happened just as easily if he had been pushed onto the boards and the lid had come off. It was not the direct result of a punch. So here’s an idea for the NHL: if a player removes another fighter’s helmet (intentionally or not) it’s a match penalty. If that didn’t happen Thursday night, there’s a much better chance that Kassian wouldn’t have been hurt.

2. I trust to say that both Ryan McLeod and Tyler benson they have made the club and will start the season in Edmonton. I hope the club thinks that they would lose Benson to the waivers and that they are not prepared to lose an asset that they have spent so much time developing in waivers for nothing. And I DO think Benson would be claimed. In the lineup, his ability to make plays and his willingness to play a physical game are advantages. He has pressed too much in the preseason, if he can relax a little he will be better. As for McLeod, he brings a lot of different abilities to a 13F position: speed, the ability to kill penalties, a decent man to-toe. And hey … if he doesn’t make the lineup in 10 games, he IS exempt from the exemption.

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The 2 highest level skaters in the Edmonton Oilers 2021-22 opening night lineup with a direct link to Ken Holland are Tyson barrie (1RD) and Jesse puljujarvi (1RW). Barrie has been signed twice by Ken as UFA / UFA pending and was the league’s highest scoring D-man last year. So, it worked fine. And Puljujarvi has looked very good during the exhibition campaign. The win-win for Jesse’s revitalization turned out to be the big unknown. Puljujarvi was not in Edmonton when Holland and Dave tippett they were hired. So there was no excess friction between the 3 of them. And that allowed everyone a fresh start that turned out to be the best for everyone.

From there, two critical things happened: The Puljujarvi camp (with a new agency) decided to delineate between the old guard and the new. Considering how things went with Peter Chiarelli, I would suggest that it was a significant leap of justice on his part. But the new guard also did not personally take any of the murky water that had passed under the proverbial bridge earlier. In evaluating Ken Holland’s success in moving this club forward to date, can we agree that Jesse Puljujarvi was the best trade he ever made?

In the final analysis, he was a talented player who swallowed his pride and gave him another chance, as well as a veteran General Manager who understood the value of the asset when most did not.

Find me on Twitter @KurtLeavins

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