In an Edmonton Oilers news and rumors update, the team made some moves in the wake of the Evander Kane signing. Colton Sceviour has cleared waivers but the real questions will come once Kane has played a few games. Do a couple more wins mean the Oilers go all-in before the trade deadline? Do they have a goaltender in mind? Finally, Dylan Holloway continues to impress. How long before he’s given a shot in the Oilers’ top-nine?
Evander Kane On the Ice After Speaking With the Media
Evander Kane led the stretches for the Oilers at practice ahead of Saturday’s game versus the Montreal Canadiens. He’ll be in the lineup for his first contest as an Oiler and there’s a mixed reaction from the fan base on his arrival. Some are excited for what he can bring to the team in terms of offense. Others aren’t sure this was the right move for the franchise.
Among the concerns addressed by the media was that Kane didn’t show more contrition for his past and acknowledge what’s led to where he is today. Some were focused on the fact that he didn’t talk more about his previous issues with other teams or really focus on trying to be a better person and taking more responsibility for his own actions in all of this. In my opinion, Kane did the right thing by focusing on what he can do for the Oilers and how excited he is to play with the team and the players they have here. His two-part interview with TSN’s Kayla Grey was all the talking he needed to do for now about off-ice issues.
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If there are other concerns moving forward, he and the team can deal with them. This is a new start, a fresh start and the best move is to focus on that because the signing has already happened. Kane skated with Connor McDavid and Kailer Yamamoto at practice. You can guarantee they’re not thinking about Kane’s past, only how they can build chemistry.
Colton Sceviour Clears Waivers
Sceviour was placed on waivers almost immediately after the Kane signing was announced. He cleared waivers today and will head to the Oilers taxi squad.
Sceviour has been a regular on the fourth line in Edmonton so his being placed on waivers was a bit surprising. He’s played 30 games this season and is considered much more a regular than some of the other members of the roster. Because he was in Edmonton’s top four on the penalty kill unit, it will be interesting to see how head coach Dave Tippett roles out his special teams. With Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman back, was Sceviour going to get bumped off those units anyway? Or, will Kane be asked to pick up some of the slack by killing penalties?
Koskinen Playing Well, Is That Enough?
Stuart Skinner will get the start in goal for the Oilers on Saturday. It’s probably a wise decision despite the fact Mikko Koskinen has given the team some strong goaltending over the last three games. The book on Koskinen is that he can’t sustain strong play over a longer period of time and needs ample rest.
The same people who’ve noticed this about Koskinen also know that he might not be the guy to rely on in the net moving forward. Even though he’s 15-8-1 on the season, there’s potentially even more pressure after the Kane signing to add a goaltender. I took a look at what Kane means in terms of a potential blockbuster move to add a goalie by Ken Holland and there are reports by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that Holland attempted to acquire Martin Jones from the Philadelphia Flyers, plus has kicked tires on Rangers’ Alexandar Georgiev, Dallas’ Braden Holtby and Anton Khudobin. The Oilers are also being connected to Ville Husso out St. Louis, Joonas Korpisalo of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Vitek Vanecek from the Capitals, and the Islanders’ Semyon Varlamov.
Dylan Holloway Continues to Impress
Dylan Hollway scored his first goal in the AHL on Friday. He’s looked good since joining the team and there is a lot of talk that he’ll be pegged for NHL action and be one of the final pieces added to the Oilers’ top nine before the regular season is out.
Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now wrote on Twitter, “Wouldn’t be surprised to see Dylan Holloway play 20-25 games with @Condors playing approximately 18-20 mins a night in every situation (PP/PK/EVS)…and then being an option for @EdmontonOilers in late March/early April.” Meanwhile, fellow broadcaster for the Oilers, Jack Michaels wrote, “It’s early still, but Evander Kane might not be the last top nine “acquisition” for the Oilers this season.”
