The Edmonton Oilers still have questions and concerns about their system
Sportsnet 590 THE FAN: Jason Gregor in the Edmonton Oilers offseason goes so far. There are still some questions going into the season. They will carry three starting goalkeepers next year. They could use more bodies after trading Darnell Nurse. The Oilers have the salary cap space now to make some moves between now and the trade deadline.
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Justin Bourne: “So, if we look at the Oilers on the day, you know, with the draft behind us, and free agency behind us, the roster is pretty much the same. The new couple of D's, (Shakir) Mukhamedullin, if I put that right, try hard. And Freddie Anderson, how do you feel? Have they made any big changes?”
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Gregor: “Well, the biggest change is probably the fact that they have the first place I remember, right.” So they got about seven and a half million dollars, and they've signed all their guys.
Like, actually, they're going to concede three goals, that's my understanding. Anderson, (Tristan) Jarry, and Devon Levi. And I think it's fair to say, guys, that there are, there are question marks here. Because you know, Freddie Anderson, he's not a 55-game starter anymore, right? You see, it was what he was, last year, he started 35, 22, 19, 33 I think his last four years. So he has a history of injuries, no one can argue with that.
So Tristan Jarry didn't have that history, but the last two years he has, so between the two of them, they can, they can play enough games, and maybe Devon Levi is the third string hitter, playing 20. I think that's their strategy. They don't have a lot of money tied up in their goal now. When Freddie Anderson is healthy, I don't think anyone can argue with him that he is a good scorer. But, when it's healthy it's a fact you can't ignore.
On defense, Darnell Nurse doesn't miss any games; he only missed 18 games in the last nine years, and your best skill is honesty, so he always shows up.
Now, Ryan Shea had a great year in Pittsburgh, and I looked up, you know, his minutes played, I looked at who he was playing with, you know, he's a second baseman. And (Evan) Bouchard and (Connor) Murphy on your right side, those are your top two defenders on the right side, you have (Jake) Walman, (Mattias) Ekholm, and Shea now on the left side.
My concern is that the Oilers don't have an overpowering blue line yet. Not too big, but you know, Ryan Shea, are you competitive enough? Yes, I think that he, he, will minimize the big mistakes that Nurse would make every now and then. But more importantly, I think it just gives them flexibility that now they can go to the trade deadline, and if they don't have the pieces, they don't have to just, you know, try to scratch and scratch and claw. They will have a significant amount of cap space to add some players.
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And I wouldn't be surprised, guys, if, like, we're already trading in Calgary, Minnesota. I don't think the trade summer in the NHL is done because free agency has passed. I think there are a lot of teams still looking to make moves.”
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