In an Edmonton Oilers news and rumors update, there is speculation that the Oilers might be ready to offer an extension to Gaetan Haas, a report that most of the team has been told to leave Edmonton and head home to their offseason residences, and one scribe is making impressive comparables for Kailer Yamamoto.
McDavid, Nurse and Others Head Home
According to a report by TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, most Oilers players, including Connor McDavid and Darnell Nurse, have now officially left Edmonton and headed home to their offseason residences.
Most of the Oilers who remained in Edmonton after the shut down have now made their way to their off season homes – McDavid and Nurse included. Players have been told to treat this time as the off season, in case there is a compacted playoff, followed by a new season.
For these players to be told to go home hints that the NHL realizes it’s still a ways away from any formal kind of competitive hockey. And, as the NHL works on finding ways to open NHL facilities to players, this seems to hint the pause will continue for a while.
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McDavid Added to Players Committee
In other McDavid news, according to the New York Post’s Larry Brooks, McDavid is among a shortlist of NHLers to be tagged as NHLPA reps for the players meant to plan out an eventual return to play. He is joined by John Tavares, James van Riemsdyk Mark Scheifele and Ron Hainsey. Gary Bettman, Bill Daly, Colin Campbell, and Steve Hatze Petros represent the league.
Haas to Sign Extension?
Rishaug is also reporting that the Oilers are likely to sign forward Gaetan Haas to a contract extension. He notes, “Also as speculated, expect contracts to come for F Gaetan Haas 5-5-10 (58gp) and 25-year-old Swedish free-agent defenceman Theodor Lennstrom out of Frolunda.” Rishaug adds that the Oilers are doing this to “round out the edges of its roster for next season.”
Haas was one of many forwards brought in by new general manager Ken Holland on a one-year deal. For Haas, this was his first professional hockey in North America as he’d played his entire career in his native Switzerland. Not necessarily a regular in the Oilers lineup, he’s a good depth center option with speed and determination.
Is Kailer Yamamoto Comparable to Jordan Eberle?
While he took a look at some comparables for Oilers forward Kailer Yamamoto, The Athletic’s Allan Mitchell found something interesting. There are many similarities between what Jordan Eberle did with the Oilers back in the 2011-12 season and what Yamamoto did in 2019-20.
Mitchell writes, “Looking at his comparable players, would Eberle qualify as complementary on his ’11-12 line that featured Taylor Hall and Nugent-Hopkins? Yes.” He adds that Eberle has enjoyed a fine career as a scoring winger with over 724 NHL games, and he has played with quality linemates. Asking if that means something for Yamamoto, he answers his own question:
Is that a reasonable comparable and therefore projection? I think it is. There’s little doubt in my mind Yamamoto is going to play with skill in his NHL career, and the Oilers have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as centres on the top two lines. I’m comfortable with Eberle as the NHL comparable. If healthy, Yamamoto should cover the bet (59 points per 82 games).
source – ‘Kailer Yamamoto’s NHL comparables offer Oilers fans hope for the future’ Allan Mitchell – The Athletic – 04/27/2020
He goes onto say this is one forward Holland won’t have to worry about next season as he’s got him under contract for just over $800k. It’s fair to ask what his next contract will look like if Eberle is his closest comparison.
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