In an Edmonton Oilers news and rumors update, there is injury news for the team, with updates on Tyson Barrie, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and others. Meanwhile, Evander Kane has been performing well after being signed and is starting to look more and more effective. Is there a plan for Kane beyond this season? Finally, are the Oilers going to look at the goalie market and make a deal? Or, are they sticking with what they have?
Barrie Out 7-10 Days
There is good and bad news for the Oilers as defenceman Tyson Barrie is out with an upper-body injury. The bad news is that it’s another injury in a string of recent injuries for the team. The good news is that it isn’t very serious. According to Postmedia’s Jim Matheson, the injury is expected to miss seven to ten days.
Barrie hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire this season, but he’s still a serviceable top-six blueliner and the Oilers’ top option on the power play when it’s clicking. The Oilers now only have six defensemen on their active roster and it could be that the team recalls Philip Broberg if head coach Jay Woodcroft wants to stick with the 11 forwards and seven defensemen strategy.
Nugent-Hopkins Placed on IR
The Oilers placed forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the injured reserve list on Thursday. In a corresponding transaction, the team removed forward Kyle Turris from IR. Woodcroft called Nugent-Hopkins’ injury “more week-to-week than he is day-to-day”, but it’s not a serious enough injury that the team will put him on LTIR and get cap relief headed into the playoffs.
Related: 3 Issues That Resurfaced in Oilers’ 4-3 Overtime Loss to Blackhawks
The Oilers certainly miss Nugent-Hopkins and Jesse Puljujarvi who are key contributors in their top-six and on the power play. The hope is that Nuge reinjuring his shoulder isn’t a long-term issue.
Evander Kane Producing For Oilers
With two more goals in the game versus the Chicago Blackhawks last night, Evander Kane is up to seven goals, six assists, and 13 points in 16 games for the Oilers this season. He’s certainly been the excellent value addition the Oilers were hoping he would be when they signed him as a free agent.
Kane talked about getting one point in the Chicago game and the road trip being a point in which the team needs to rally together and build upon a .500 record. He’s right that they played some tough teams but the Oilers need more if they hope to make a dent in the postseason.
There’s no word yet on whether or not the Oilers are contemplating a conversation with Kane about sticking put past this season, but if he gets hot and scores 15-20 goals by the time the regular season ends, it’s likely he prices himself out of any potential extension with the team. It might not be the worst idea to broach the subject and see where everyone’s head is at.
Oilers Likely Not Making Goaltending Change
NHL Insider Chris Johnson was recently a guest on Edmonton 1260 and discussed what he was hearing about the Oilers’ goaltending situation. He noted, he doesn’t believe the Oilers will make a move to add a netminder ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline. He said, “At this point, Edmonton has done plenty of due diligence on who may be out there and what it might cost.”
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The only thing that might change things is if teams with decent goalies fall out of playoff content and make those goalies available. Even then, the ask would have to be right for GM Ken Holland to make a move. Johnston says, “It seems like there’s just not an answer easily available for them at a price point that makes sense, especially with limited cap space.”
The Oilers did move a goaltender this week when they traded Alex Stalock to the San Jose Sharks for future considerations.
