In an Edmonton Oilers news and rumors update, there are all sorts of interesting records being approached by members of this current 2020-21 NHL roster, including some feats reached by Connor McDavid and Darnell Nurse. There’s trade talk linking the Oilers to the Detroit Red Wings and one Oilers media insider addresses the idea of the team acquiring a big-name rental and what it might cost to do so.
Interesting Stat Lines for Darnell Nurse
Nurse scored his career-high 12th goal of the season as the Oilers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime on Monday night. Only one defenceman has scored more goals through the team’s first 36 games of a season, that being Paul Coffey who has done so on four different occasions. Nurse also scored his 3rd career OT winner, tying Eric Brewer for the most OT goals by a defenceman in Oilers history.
The overtime hero against the Maple Leafs in his @EdmontonOilers 3-2 triumph at Toronto on Monday night, Darnell Nurse picked up the 5th game winning goal away from home in his NHL career to date. That’s tied him for 2nd on this list of scoring rearguards in EDM franchise history pic.twitter.com/xAstDKBNbE
That’s not all, however. All of Nurse’s 12 goals this year are at even strength and he picked up the fifth game-winning goal away from home in his NHL career to date. That’s tied him for 2nd on this list of scoring rearguards in Oilers franchise history.
One of my colleagues took a look at the season Nurse is having, arguing he should be in the conversation for the Norris Trophy this year. It’s hard to look at what Nurse has done and how his game has grown and think he’s not going to be in the mix by the end of the season, even if Victor Hedman is still the favorite.
McDavid On Fire, Best Since Gretzky Through First 36
While Auston Matthews has retaken the goal scoring lead in the NHL, McDavid is simply destroying the rest of the field in points with 63 through 36 games. That is the most in franchise history since 1987-88 when Wayne Gretzky had 81. McDavid was held off the scoresheet in regulation of Monday’s game but he came through with a clutch play to set up Nurse for the overtime winner.
We spoke about the Hart Trophy conversation this season and I just don’t see how anyone but McDavid wins that award.
Koskinen Will Get the Start Tuesday
As the Oilers take on the Montreal Canadiens in a rescheduled game tonight, Mikko Koskinen will get the start for the Oilers in goal. Smith has been great, but as these back-to-backs start to become a more regular thing, Koskinen and Smith will need to share the load.
As TSN’s Jason Gregor points out, the Oilers are 6-1 in first games of back-to-backs and 5-1 in second games thus far this season. What’s interesting is that teams in the North Division playing the second night of a back-to-back on the road this year have a combined total of one win.
Oilers Running Out of Time on Red Wings’ Glendening?
Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest 31 Thoughts column that he believes there are potential conversations going on between the Oilers and Detroit Red Wings regarding forward Luke Glendening. Friedman notes Glendening is “very much on Edmonton’s radar”. That said, the NHL insider also adds that other teams are kicking tires on the faceoff specialist and Edmonton could be outbid by another team if they don’t act fast.
This is exactly the type of player the Oilers are looking for there have been a few insiders connecting the Oilers to the depth center. All that said, Edmonton shouldn’t be willing to overpay, especially if other options are available from teams desperate to make a trade. It will be intriguing to see what gives first.
Is There a Path to the Oilers Realistically Renting Taylor Hall?
Jonathan Willis of The Athletic asked an NHL executive if there was any path to the Oilers acquiring Hall as a rental before the deadline and doing so in a trade that wouldn’t send one of Edmonton’s multi-year deals back the other way? The response was interesting.
Taylor, Hall Buffalo Sabres (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
As per the NHL executive:
Hall back to Edmonton would be a great story. Maybe the way to do it is to trade Buffalo a first-round pick and Alex Chiasson. Then flip, say, a fifth-rounder to a third team in exchange for them retaining one-quarter of Hall’s remaining cost.
source – ‘Who says no? NHL execs evaluate your Oilers trade proposals for Taylor Hall, John Gibson and more’ – Jonathan Willis – The Athletic – 03/30/2021
Willis also looked at Kyle Palmieri, Scott Laughton and Conor Garland as trade-target rentals for the Oilers. Laughton was the player if exec thought the Flyers would move in a heartbeat if Edmonton offered up someone like Caleb Jones.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
