So far this spring, the Edmonton Oilers have been involved in several rumors that have made it so MSM and beyond. It easy to forget those names during the long spring, and since we’re coming up on moving week, maybe this is a good time to list all of the players attached to the Oilers. Feel free to add or delete and I’ll adjust as needed, I’ve thrown in a few names we’ve discussed in the last months here and a few personal favorites to boot.
- D Matt Greene: I don’t remember the first mention, but it’s been out there.
- D Derek Engelland: Matty iirc. 6-7 D, he’d be auditioning for the same job as Greene.
- D Kris Letang: This goes back a little while.
- D Dmitry Kulikov: Maybe it’s just me.
- D Dion Phaneuf: I’d trade for him, most others do not like this option.
- D Nikita Nikitin: I think the Howson connection makes this go.
- D Keith Yandle: Chaos blue, not the guy I’d want to see here.
- D Braydon Coburn: Veteran defender MacT had interest in one year ago.
- D Mike Green: A fleeting thought.
- D Mark Fayne: Has an entire fan club in the Oilogosphere.
- D Andrei Markov: Veteran free agent rumored to be re-signing in Montreal.
- D Jack Johnson: Oh, he’s out there.
- D Zach Bogosian: I still like him plenty.
- D Christian Ehrhoff: Sabres making him available.
- D Matt Niskanen: Cadillac of UFA blue this season.
- D Johnny Oduya: A valuable player.
- D Johnny Boychuk: Bruins rumored to be looking to reduce cap.
- D Mike Weaver: I like him, always have.
- D Dustin Byfuglien: I don’t understand why people don’t love him.
- D Alex Edler: If he’s available, Oilers needs to call.
- D Tom Gilbert: I don’t think he’s coming back.
- D Ron Hainsey: Might be the best value in the group of UFA’s.
- D Anton Stralman: Gunnar says he wants to play in Manhattan.
- C Jason Spezza: I doubt he comes to Edmonton.
- C Brayden Schenn: I think this began around the Eberle/Simmons period last fall.
- C James van Riemsdyk: An apparently available option.
- C Ryan O’Reilly: Top drawer.
- C Nazem Kadri: Would be an intriguing option.
- C David Legwand: He’ll cost the moon, don’t know how much he has left.
- C Josh Bailey: His name has been out there a little.
- C Mikhail Grabovski: A strong option if available.
- C Ryan Kesler: I’d love to see him here.
- C Mike Richards: Only if bought out.
- C Vladimir Sobotka: Universally adored by Oiler fans.
- C Patrik Berglund: This is probably the last good chance to grab him.
- C Michal Handzus: As of yesterday, wildly disappointing name to contemplate.
- L James Neal: Skill winger who could help this team.
- L RJ Umberger: Veteran whose skills are eroding.
- L Bryan Bickell: A big winger, Oilers will be looking for one.
- L Rene Bourque: I sincerely believe the Oilers will try to acquire him.
- L Kyle Clifford: He’s been talked about in the past.
- L Dustin Penner: The man remains a load.
- L Nikolai Kulemin: Love this player for the Oilers.
- L Brad Marchand: Bruins are trading players for less than 100 cents on the dollar.
- L Patrick Maroon: I always liked him.
- L Curtis Glencross: Always kept the candle lit.
- R Drew Stafford: Hi, Matty!
- R Daniel Winnik: Always a favorite, good two-way player with mentor skills.
- R David Moss: We’ve been talking about him so long feels like he’s played here already.
- R Patric Hornqvist: Alan Hull mentions him a lot.
I’ll add or subtract as you wish, but would like to create a laundry list for use this summer. So, please pass along any and all suggestions.
Bob Nicholson will be announced today as a member of the Edmonton Oilers organization. There’s already a lot of rumor and discussion about what this might mean for Kevin Lowe, and there’s much speculation about his stepping away today. As you can imagine, there’s also plenty of joy over the possibility, but I won’t be joining in the parade today. Although there are many Kevin Lowe moves we can point to as being net negatives for this organization, and he should pay for them, I would have hoped Lowe saw fit to hang around for the redemption song.
If this is sail on, I want to thank Kevin Lowe. For being a wonderful player, for representing Edmonton and the Oilers so well, for giving back to the community as a young man and an older one, for being a good person, in and for, our town. There is no rage here, only respect and a sincere hope today isn’t the day he steps away.
You may express your rage with this blog’s author in the comments section, I will not filter. I do ask that you keep personal comments about Kevin Lowe out of this piece, and I will delete them if you don’t respect my wishes in this matter.
LOWDOWN
It’s a fluid show this morning, we’ll cover the Nicholson event, and plan on having Steve Lansky, Dave Jamieson and Harrison Mooney on at some point this morning. I’ll also be off a few days in the next couple of weeks (World Cup and holidays combine for a happy window for me), so hope you’ll drop by the blog for visits as we lead up to the draft.