Connor McDavid Signing Imminent? | Oilers News & Discussion

Connor McDavid Signing Imminent? | Oilers News & Discussion

Hello Oilers fans. Yes, Austin here with a video. A mid August video. Can you believe it? I uploaded a video at the beginning of the month. Now I got one in the middle of the month. Who knows what is in store for this channel when it comes to Oilers and hockey content. Who knows? Maybe I’ll have a video up tomorrow. Right. Right. We can all hope and pray and dream. Uh I hope your summer has been amazing. I hope everyone is doing well. this video. There isn’t anything truly specific that I wanted to talk about other than kind of going over the Conor McDavid speculation. When will he sign? Will he sign? There’s a lot of fans that are outside of Edmonton that don’t want him to sign for obvious reasons. Uh, and that obvious reason being that it would make Edmonton worse. It would be really funny, the memes. And of course, you have Toronto fans who are delusional and think that he’s going to leave Edmonton and go play in Toronto. That’ll never happen. Leafs fans, I’m telling you right now, it ain’t happening. Uh, but yeah, we wanted to talk about Conor McDavid. I want to talk about the Oilers projected lineup, kind of how I foresee what the lineup is going to look like on opening night. Although there is a lot of time between now, training camp, and of course opening night in October. And then I did want to discuss a little bit about the Oilers AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. uh kind of what their lineup is going to look like, kind of the depth chart down there and if the Oilers even have any callup options as the season progresses. They are a little thin when it comes to right shooting defenseman. They’re a little thin when it comes to scoring wingers and winger depth. So, let’s just kind of take a look at things. Let’s take a look at the projected lineup. Let’s take a look at how things are going to shake around for the Oilers here in Oil country. And uh the summer’s almost over, folks. Well, it is August 16th as of the recording of this video. There’s a couple weeks left until captain skates. Couple weeks until you start getting players arriving into town for the start of training camp. You’re going to have the rookie showcase for Edmonton and then of course training camp middle of September. We’re less than a month away from actual training camp and exhibition games. So, time has been flying. I hope your summer has been amazing. Smash that like button if you like today’s video and uh subscribe if you’re not yet subscribed to the channel. I don’t do super clickbaity stuff. So, if that’s kind of your jam, if you’re not into the clickbait stuff and you just want to hear a hockey fan talk hockey and you want to put your own comments down in the comments section below, please feel free to do that. This is a open space for everyone to share their opinions and uh thoughts and all that good stuff when it comes to the hockey world. So, projected lineup for the Edmonton Oilers. We’re going to talk about the projected lineup and then of course I am going to talk a little bit about the Conor McDavid contract situation because there is some smoke that he may be signing imminently. Uh so we’ll see where that goes and what that contract is going to look like. But for now the projected lineup for opening night. This is kind of how I see the lineup or how I would you know um optimize this lineup for success. Now I do have Howard on the top line with me David and Heyman. Of course, they did pick up Howard from the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier this summer. Uh really touted prospect for the Lightning that did not end up signing in Tampa. Came to Edmonton in a trade. And the Oilers, uh I think they have a really good player here. Will he get topline minutes to start? Probably not. But that’s where I’d like to see him. And I even wanted to put Seavoy up there, too. I think the Oilers should definitely be embracing a bit of a youth movement, right? I think the Oilers, they’ve put so much attention to veterans over the last few years trying to get over that hump and win a Stanley Cup. Now, it’s time to embrace some youth. It’s time to embrace some younger talent on the team. On that second line, you have Pud Coulson, Dry Cidle, and Seavoy. We’ve already seen Dry Cidle take Pud Coulson under his wing. He’s like, “Come here, buddy. Give him a little little head scratch, little nuggie. Is that what they’re called now?” I don’t know what the kids call things these days, but Dry Cidle has taken Pud Coulson under his wing. Took him under his wing last season. Pud Coulson had a lot of time with Dry Cidle and they played very well together. Very positive on ice impacts if you’re into the advance stats. Now, a lot of fans, they may look at Pod Coulson’s actual production on the ice and go, “Hey, maybe he shouldn’t play next to Leon Dryidle.” But I really do think Pod Coulson is going to come into camp in a shooter mindset. Pod Coulson has a very underrated shot. He scored 20 goals in his rookie season with the Vancouver Conucks. He has not hit the 20goal plateau since then, but I do foresee Cod Goolan being more of a shot first mentality player this upcoming season. I know Dry Cidle is kind of their main goal scorer. But at five on five, if you want some depth scoring, if you want scoring on the wings, Basil Bud Coulson is a guy that could put up 20 goals, 25, hell, maybe even 30. Why not, right? Why not even push for 30 goals if you’re Bud Coolen? He has a great underrated shot when he uses it. He just doesn’t use it often. Uh he averages about one shot per game. We need more than that. We need we need two, three go be like Oie. Just shoot from literally everywhere. These Russians know how to shoot the puck. Pod Cosen is no exception to that. And uh Matthew Seavoy, he only played a few games last season for the Oilers and I thought he looked great in his time in an Oiler uniform though it was brief. That was after the four nations. They gave Seavoi a few starts and uh in his first game ever, he assisted on a goal on his first shift or or maybe his second shift. It was his first game. It wasn’t his first shift, but uh Seavoy, he got in on the for check against I want to say Philly. Was Philly that first came back from the for nations? I don’t even remember, man. It’s been so long. My brain does not remember this stuff, but I do know it was right after the forations. Seavoi looked really good. And then the Oilers, they were stumbling. They were stumbling. This team is known to be slow starters after, you know, all-star breaks, summer breaks. Uh we’re going to have an Olympic break this season. So hopefully for the Oilers because they have some more youth on the team. Hopefully they are not slow starting out of the gate. Once again, this team needs to get off to a good start right away. I know they’re probably not too focused on winning a division title, though. As a fan, I would really like that. This team’s whole goal is just stay healthy and then win the playoff start. just go on your run. This is not going to be a very physical team in the regular season either. They are going to continue to embrace that puck possession style game that they played all of last season, but once the playoffs start, you’re going to have guys that bang bodies, especially a guy like Zack Heyman. So for Seavoi, his job is going to be playmaking, getting in on the for check, utilizing his speed, and then of course helping chip in with some offense. I think Seavoy and Dry Cidle, those are two pass first type players. Bud Coulson, he can be the trigger man on that line. Now, when we talk about the third line, uh Trent Frederick, Ryan Njen Hopkins, and Andrew Mapani. Now, realistically, Mapani, he likely is up in the second or first line, right? I think Mapani is going to be brought in. He’s going to be given that opportunity next to either McDavid or Dry Cidle as a trigger man as well. This is also someone that’s being brought in to play on the penalty kill and special teams for the Oilers. and Mapani’s on ice impacts defensively are solid. Now, he does have an offensive touch to him, he does have some scoring touch and for a guy like that, if he ends up playing on the third line, Nan Hopkins also well suited to a third line role at this point in his career. He played next to McDavid a lot last season, but I found Nan Hopkins was at his best when he was separated from Conor McDavid. And if you want to have your three-headed monster of centerman down the middle, McDavid, Dry Cidle, Nent Hopkins, I think this is a great line. Trent Frederick can round them out. Frederick can also play center if he has to. Uh Frederick is one of those versatile wingers that can also put the puck in the net. Look for him to score 15 to 20 goals this season. Uh as long as he stays healthy, his play style power forward. He gets into a lot of fights. He hits a lot, pen kills. So for Trent Frederick, the main thing is can he stay healthy long enough to produce efficiently for Edmonton. I think a third line of Frederick Nj and Mjapani. If you need them to go out and score a goal, they can do that. If you need them to shut down the other team’s top players, I also think they can do that. So that third line could be very versatile for Edmonton depending how you want to work around it. But NG and Frederick, those are your like two main third line pieces. And then if you want to have Kappen in there or if you want to have Seavoy there or whoever you want to have as that other winger option on the third line, I think that’s a great shutdown or scoring line for Edmonton. Fourth line, Yanmark Henrik and Kenan. That is once again it’s more of a defensive line, but there are players who have some offensive ability. Adam Henrik at this point in his career, I’m not expecting much from him. I’m expecting maybe 10 goals if we’re lucky and uh 25 points. That’s where he is now. He is at the uh tail end of a very solid career. Uh you know, he probably is really itching for a Stanley Cup right now. I think the team was trying to move him, but he does have a no move clause. So for Adam Henrik, fourthline center role, I think that’s perfect for him. He can play 8 to 11 12 minutes. He’s he’s basically in the Derrick Ryan role now, right? Where Dererick Ryan at the end of his career, he was playing in and out of the lineup on the fourth line. He’s not going to get a ton of minutes, but next to Yanmar and Kaan, two speedsters who can get in on the Vortchek. That could be a pretty good line. And then for extra depth, you have Curtis Lazar. Again, Lazar and Henrique, I think, are going to be in and out of the lineup regularly on that fourth line in the center position. Tomas, no idea where he fits in this lineup. So, I have him on the outside looking in, see if he can come into training camp and have a good look with a few other forwards and see how uh see if they can, you know, start building some chemistry. Now, defensively for Edmonton, they are still very solid. They have Ekhol and Buchard on that top pair. Uh, as long as Echolome comes in healthy. I do think we have one more really good year left with Echome. Yes, he’s getting older. I think he’s 36 now, maybe 37. I don’t remember how old Ekholm is. I want to I’m going to quickly look at it look it up because I don’t want to, you know, offend the Echome supporters or on the off chance the Matias Ekholm is watching this video be like, “Yeah, Ekholm’s 37.” In reality, maybe he’s like 35. So, I’m going to quickly take a look at Echome here. He is 35 years old, not 37. Matias Echome, if you’re watching, I do apologize, my friend. Uh, you are obviously not that old. Uh, I am turning 32 soon. So, uh, I’m very close in age to you. Now, we are obviously very young, but in hockey terms and in terms of professional athletes, 35 and up is kind of that point where you you really start to see like huge drop offs in production. There are some outliers. We have seen those outliers in the past. Look at Cory Perry this past season for example. But for Matias Ekholm, I think the Oilers will get one more truly solid number one pairing Dman uh role out of him before his play really starts to decline. And uh you know, if he had been 100% in the playoffs, would the Oilers have won the Stanley Cup this year? It’s tough to say, right? Same with Heyman. We you can look at the ifs, the ands, the buts, it doesn’t matter. They didn’t get the job done. Ekhol and Bousard, that is the top pair for Edmonton. They are out there producing offense. They are out there shutting down other teams top players and they are going to be the two players that Edmonton relies on the most. But they do have extra help now with Jake Walman on that second pair with Darnell Nurse. Although you may see Emerson or Koulak step into that second pair role. Emerson really curious to see where he’s going to fit in terms of his utilization. He played a ton of minutes and a ton of role for probably the first 70% of the season for Edmonton. But after they picked up Wman, Emerson’s ice time really dropped and then he was on the outside looking in on most nights heading into the playoffs. So for Tai Emerson, he’s still very young. They have him locked up for a couple more seasons at a very decent cost here. Uh Ty Emerson, his whole job is is he going to take that step forward? Can he handle, you know, tougher minutes, tougher matchup minutes? And uh you know, what is his ceiling, right? What is Ty Emerson ceiling? Because he’s not going to be an offensive guy. That’s not who he is. He is an old school shutdown defenseman. He’s great with his stick, great at gap control. He’s good on his feet, but, you know, he’s he’s not amazing at, you know, producing offense. He’s not going to be one of those guys that is just really flashy, right? Tai Emerson is a player that I think a lot of fans like. I personally big Emerson fan. And uh the more he grows into this role in Edmonton, he’s going to be part of the future and solution here. He I do consider him part of that youth movement in Edmonton. So we’ll see how Emerson continues to grow. Brett Kuak coming off a very solid season for Edmonton as well. And then you have Troy Ster as the seventh Dman. I like the look of Emmonton’s defensive core. I think Em’s defense is underrated. I think there are a lot of fans who look at MTO’s defense and they go well they they they need a a more secure type of defender. They they need um you know more consistent defending. And I think when it comes to the you know the the defensive core of this group, it’s a solid core. You have a solid top six and then Stetchure as a seventh. Dman is also really solid. So their big issue is once again in the pipes. And you know, maybe issue isn’t the word I should use. Uh, their biggest question mark is in the pipes here. You have Steuart Skinner returning as the likely starter. You have Calvin Pickard returning as the backup. And for the Emmonton Oilers, they did not go out and get a um starting goalender this season, this off seasonason, whatever you want to call it. This is a position that I think Stam Bowman and the uh, you know, internally in the organization, they have faith in Stu. He’s only 26. This is usually the time where goalies start becoming regular NHL starters. 25, 26, 27 is usually that age where they jump in. It’s like baseball players, right? An MLB player usually is not full-time in the majors until they’re 25 or 26. That’s just kind of the nature of how certain players develop. Goalending in the NHL is very similar unless you are like an elite starter or if you are coming from like Russia or Finland or Sweden. they tend to, you know, their goalending programs tend to be much stronger than Canada’s nowadays. Um, and for Steuart Skinner, he doesn’t even have to be amazing, right? All we’re looking for from Stu this season with his glorious mustache is consistency. All we’re looking for is a 9005 save percentage basically every night, right? Can you average a 905 save percentage almost every night? Can you give the team a chance to win? Can you make sure that you know we’re not getting down early in games? That’s what we’re looking for. And the Oilers is say it seems like the way they have addressed the goalending situation. They got rid of Dustin Schwarz as their goalending coach and they brought in uh I’m forgetting his name now. I did a video on it a couple weeks ago. You can watch. They brought in another goalending coach and hopefully that is enough. If it’s not, Bowman better be on the phones early in season. We saw Colorado last year on the phone getting Wedgewood and Blackwood uh by December because you know that was their weak point. It was goalending uh for Edmonton. Their weak point is still in the crease. Calvin Pickard, he does what he’s supposed to do as a backup. This is someone that if he has to take over the reigns from Stu early in the season, Edmonton is probably in big trouble. And that’s no disrespect to Calvin Pickard. That’s just the reality of the situation. So, let me know your thoughts on this lineup in the comments section below. Let me know who you think the Oilers could be targeting if they do go out and get a goalender. It’ll be very interesting to see how this lineup shakes up because when we take a look at the AHL depth chart here uh on defense, oh my god. Oh my goodness gracious. If Brown is up at any point this season, I’m not going to be happy. He still has two years left on this contract. What a what a contract. Good job. Good job. Uh um Oh, what’s his name? Jeff Jackson. There we go. the summer of Jeff Jackson. Now, goalenders. Uh we have and Tomkins. They recently signed Tomkins. I think he played for Tampa recently. Um Anger is a young goalender who will likely be backup and or starter in Bakersfield. Defensively, uh Bo Ay or Bo Aki, if I’m mispronouncing that, I do apologize. This is his first year at the pro level. He will be in Bakersfield uh building his game up. at once at one point he was pretty highly touted as an offensively minded right defenseman, but you know, injuries and size and there’s a lot of there’s a lot of things going on with uh Bohacki that just haven’t come to fruition that I think a lot of fans have hoped for. Regula, Alec Regula is someone that Edmonton picked up off of waiverss from the Boston Bruins last season. Regula has not played in a year and a half, so we’ll be curious to see what his status is coming into training camp. Will he be good to go? I don’t even know the nature of his injury. I don’t even know what’s going on. But this is a player again, someone to watch as the season progresses. How are they building up their game? Are they a call-up option? I hope so. If not, you have Denine as a call-up option. You have James Hamlin, Noah Phelp. Noah Philp should be pushing for a full-time roster spot this season. Right. If Noah Phelp is not on the roster out of training camp, I think it’s safe to say that he is likely not a full-time NHL player. But I do hope they give him a a a true look and a true chance to make the NHL roster. And of course they have Hudson who they recently signed um from college. Uh they have Samansky. They have uh Yo Yarventi. Hopefully Yarventi can stay healthy. Clattenberg is someone to keep an eye on. Petro, he’s basically not an NHLer and likely will never be. Uh, and then you know, Stefan, this is uh Patrick Stefen’s son, James Stefen, who uh I kind of lift listed as like a wildcard like project for Edmonton last year before the season started. Uh, his last season with the Portland Winter Hawks, he had 50 goals. But if you would take a look in the ECHL, he had nine points in 12 games last year. With Bakersfield, he had three goals in 45 games. Is this a player that will develop in anything? Probably not. But I do like the idea of this long-term project for Stefen. And uh it would be pretty cool for the Stefen legacy to uh you know get over the fact that Patrick Stefen missed that empty netter back in 2007 against Edmonton when his dad was playing for Dallas where Patrick Stefen is Yeah. You know what I’m saying, right? The Stefan legacy in Edmonton is Patrick Stefen missed the empty net. He goes down, scores, ties the game up. The Oilers lose that game in a shootout and then Chicago gets Patrick Kane. Uh that’s just how the lottery fell, the the lottery balls fell that season. Uh and you know the the the domino effect, the butterfly effect because Edmonton did not win that game and they did get a point that led to some crazy standing situations. There are videos on it. I’m ranting at this point. This video is almost 20 minutes of me yapping. So we are going to end it here. I um I’m really excited. I’m excited for the season. I’m excited to talk hockey. Of course, I want actual news to come out so that I can actually make, you know, proper content here, cuz this is just me kind of regurgitating the same talking points as basically everyone else on the internet. Until contracts are signed for Conor McDavid, until training camp starts, until that lineup is set for October, that’s all speculation. And uh, you know, I like to speculate, but at the same time, I don’t like to create content that is only speculating. So, uh, hopefully there’s some actual news to come. very very shortly. I love all of you. I hope you enjoyed today’s video. Make sure you tell someone that you love them. And as always, fight like a kid, fight like Ben. Let’s go Oilers. Hopefully McDavid signs soon. When he does, don’t worry, I will have a video up the second that that contract is signed and uh we are going to discuss everything about it. We know McDavid is going to resign in M10. The question is for how long? That is the question of the day. How long will McDavid sign and uh for how much money as well? Leave a comment down below. Tell them that you love them. Love all of you. We’ll see you soon. Take care, oil country.

In today’s Edmonton Oilers News Update, I discuss the likely imminent contract extension for Connor McDavid, as well as discuss the teams’ current depth chart and likely opening night roster! #oilers #edmontonoilers #nhl

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