The best trade Edmonton Oilers G.M. Ken Holland never made: 9 Things – Edmonton Journal

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The Edmonton Oilers’ 2 best forwards, defencemen and their #1 goalie sat out the final exhibition game in

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Vancouver Saturday night.

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

What was important, however, was the battle within for the final few roster spots.

Details on that and more in this edition of…

9 Things

9. It would be impossible not to be happy for Brendan Perlini. His 6 pre-season goals has not been achieved by anyone so long as the NHL has kept track of exhibition statistics. He’ll start as the opening night 4LW.

8. It has been since Devan Dubnyk in Edmonton that the Oilers have developed a home-grown goaltender. He’s headed to Bakersfield for now, but Stuart Skinner is on the precipice of breaking that 7-year drought. He had a .920 SV% in pre-season.

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7. Oilers General Manager Ken Holland attended the Golden Bears hockey game in Edmonton Friday night against Mike Babcock’s Saskatchewan Huskies. Some wondered if Holland would still have the fire in his belly for this job as this point in his life. I would submit that if he didn’t, he would not be spending his Friday evening at Clare Drake.

6. It will be fascinating to watch what Holland does or doesn’t do with his 2022 1^st Round pick this winter. The cupboards are far from bare. The organization’s last 3 Number 1’s are already percolating at various levels. So, if the Oilers are a Top-8 team at the deadline, I can see the G.M. exploring moving that pick (probably in the 20’s somewhere) for help down the stretch. Stay tuned…

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5. I expect to see William Lagesson on the waiver wire by tomorrow afternoon. No disrespect ti him, with Kris Russell and Slater Koekkoek locks to make the club Lagesson’s handedness works against him. Don’t be surprised if Philip Broberg is on the opening day roster in terms of a paper transaction, in order to help maximize what the club can recoup in terms of LTIR, which Oscar Klefbom is destined for.

4. I believe that the Oilers have offered Colton Sceviour a 2-way contract to become a member of organization. But I don’t think the veteran has made the big club yet and is probably weighing the offer against whatever might be available for him elsewhere. If Sceviour can make the same or better dough somewhere else, we shouldn’t be surprised. Earned a nice assist on the Perlini goal Saturday in what was his best pre-season effort.

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3. There has been much discussion about fighting in hockey since Zack Kassian’s injury on Thursday. Now, I believe the debate over scrapping in the game is always worthwhile in terms of the health of the players. But let’s not forget that Kassian’s injury could just as easily have happened if he was taken into the boards and his lid came off. It wasn’t the direct result of a punch. So, here’s an idea for the NHL: If one player removes another combatant’s helmet (intentional or not) it’s a match penalty. If that one thing didn’t happen Thursday night, the chances are much better that Kassian wouldn’t have been hurt.

2. I am confident in saying that both Ryan McLeod and Tyler Benson have made the club and will start the season in Edmonton. I expect the club thinks it would lose Benson on waivers and that they are not prepared to lose an asset they have spent this long developing on waivers for nothing. And I DO think Benson would be claimed. In the lineup, his play-making ability and willingness to play a physical game are pluses. He has pressed too much in pre-season, if he can relax a little he’ll be better. As for McLeod, he brings a lot of different skills to a 13F spot: Speed, the ability to kill penalties, a decent face-off man. And hey…if he isn’t getting into the lineup 10 games in, he IS waiver exempt.

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1.The 2 highest tiered skaters in the 2021-22 Edmonton Oilers opening night lineup with a direct tie to Ken Holland are Tyson Barrie (1RD) and Jesse Puljujarvi (1RW). Barrie has twice been signed by Ken as a UFA/pending UFA and was the league’s top scoring D-man last year. So, that worked out o.k. And Puljujarvi has looked very good indeed during the exhibition campaign. The advantage for both sides in the Jesse revitalization turned out to be the great unknown. Puljujarvi was not in Edmonton when Holland and Dave Tippett were hired. So, there was no left-over friction between the 3 of them. And that allowed everyone a fresh start which turned out to be the best thing possible for all.

From there, two critical things occurred: The Puljujarvi camp (with a new agency) decided to delineate between the old guard and the the new. Given how things went under Peter Chiarelli, I would suggest that was a significant leap of fair on their part. But the new guard also did not take personally any of the murky water that had gone under the proverbial bridge before. In assessing Ken Holland’s success in taking this club forward to date, can we agree that Jesse Puljujarvi was the best trade he never made?

In the final analysis, it was a talented player swallowing his pride and giving it another shot, plus a veteran General Manager understanding the value of the asset when a majority did not.

Find me on Twitter @KurtLeavins

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