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In No Particular Order: Options Leaving, Scouting Changes, Lucic Deal? |
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Apologies for the delay between blogs. I keep waiting for the Oilers to do something worth discussing but as every day continues the odds of the team making a big change grow smaller and smaller.
A few interesting pieces of information have broken over the past few days, none interesting enough to stand alone so they all get clumped together in this weeks In No Particular Order
CHANGES TO THE SCOUTING DEPARTMENT
Holland has been turning over a number of positions throughout the Oilers staff and it was expected that scouting would be shaken up as well. Changes weren't going to be made until after the draft, due to the risk of scouts being hired by other teams and providing that information.
Tyler Wright worked with Ken Holland in Detroit as the Director of Amatuer Scouting and will now take over that role in Edmonton as well. Recently Wright was a factor in the drafting of Dylan Larkin at the #15 spot in 2014 which was a great selection but Detroit's drafting in recent years has been average at best. We really won't be able to say much positive or negative about Wright for a few years. At the very least it is a new voice in the room.
Archie Henderson meanwhile will take over the role of Director of Pro Scouting, previously held by Duane Sutter. The pro scouting has been atroish for years and it was a miracle (or nightmare) that Sutter lasted as long as he did. The Oilers have continuously failed to bring in impact NHL players and seem to constantly over-value players that the opposition is desperate to get rid of. Henderson has most recently worked for Detroit but has also spent his 20+ year tenure with the Senators, and Capitals.
OPTIONS SLIPPING AWAY
It is about that time to remind people that I am a blogger. Overall I have very little information about the internal affairs of the Edmonton Oilers, though occasionally I get a bite or two. I do not know if Edmonton was looking at Ryan Dzingel or if they ever tried to trade Puljujarvi to Chicago for Jokiharju. What I do know is that good players are being signed at reasonable money or traded for plausible assets and Edmonton still looks to be sitting back with an incomplete roster.
The options that remain in free agency are in a word "meh." With the space available, Edmonton might be able to squeeze in a Derick Brassard and maybe a one year deal to a Justin Williams or Thomas Vanek... but is that what this team has come to?
With every passing day it seems more and more likely that Holland's "plan" is to sit back, evaluate the team over this season and try and make larger sweeping changes next season when the team has cap space and a better idea of where their young players stand. Long term it is an understandable plan, but it isn't going to make the ride any easier for fans.
LUCIC TRADED?
July 17th is a day that Oilers fans should be refreshing their social media pages. That is the day that the Oilers pay Milan Lucic his 3 million dollar bonus; part of his contract. Rumblings continue in regards to some kind of three way trade between Calgary, Vancouver, and Edmonton, with Neal, Eriksson, and Lucic being the likely moved players. Should such a thing occur, it makes sense that Edmonton would have to pick up the tab for Lucic's bonus before any team should want to take him on.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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