It is “quiet week” in Oil Country.
The Gretzky-Hlinka tournament quite rightly attracted the bigger headlines, what with Canada once again claiming Gold.
But much like the swan who appears calm on the surface of the water, the feet are often paddling madly just beneath the surface.
That and more in this edition of…
9 Things
9. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins launched his RNH Stable brand back in 2014. Since then, his career at the track has resembled his sterling NHL run. This past week, “Infinite Patience” won the B.C. Cup Distaff in Vancouver. The mare now has winnings over $600K over her career.
8. Oilers fan favorite Sam Gagner turned thirty-five on Saturday. Gagner still hopes to play in 2024-25 and has been skating at his annual Muskoka Hockey camp. There have also been rumblings of Gagner staying with the Oilers in a player development capacity. But I have no confirmation of that.
7. The Edmonton Oilers will open up 2024-25 with an 8-game pre-season. It starts with Winnipeg in Edmonton on September 22nd. Lots of opinions that this is too much and too long. But for players fighting for a playoff berth each game is one more chance for them so I do not get twisted about it.
6. The fantasy wing of NHL.com has some interesting projections for the 2024-25 edition of the Oilers. They have both Connor McDavid (140) and Leon Draisaitl (120) to up their production. They have Evan Bouchard pegged at a 90-point season. And newcomers Viktor Arvidsson (56) and Jeff Skinner (74) are also forecast to have impact seasons.
5. NHL.com also has its prospect rankings out. It is a process which we at The Cult of Hockey have just completed, also, the results of which will be shuffled out in the coming days. NHL.com lists the newly acquired Matthew Savoie at #1. Roby Jarventie is ranked #2, and the just-drafted Sam O’Reilly #3. I respect their choices. But I can tell you The Cult’s choices are not all the same.
4. Via gripping dressing room footage published on-line at Oilers Plus, this week, it was blindingly obvious to all why Connor McDavid did not come back on the ice to accept the Conn Smythe trophy after Game 7. Leaders simply do not leave their teammates behind in moments like that for an individual accolade. If anything, it would have been fair to criticize Connor if he had. Case closed.
3. One of the few off-season moves by Jeff Jackson I did not feel immediately made the club better was the departure of Vincent Desharnais from the right side. I do understand the economics of it. It remains to be seen if the steps taken to fill the hole left behind will be sufficient. Reading Desharnais’ comments this past week reminds one of why so many of us liked him. I wish him well in Vancouver. But in the cold light of day, Desharnais also faltered in back-to-back playoff seasons.
2. An official retirement announcement came this week for Oilers Defenseman Oscar Klefbom. The smooth Swede has not played a game since 2019-20 due to a severe shoulder injury. What a shame. Klefbom was a terrific player. Image how different Edmonton’s trajectory might have been if Ken Holland did not have to replace both Klefbom and Adam Larsson, through no fault of his own. Klefbom finishes his career with 34-122-156 in 378 games for the franchise.
1.There is a lot of chatter out there over the status of Leon Draisaitl’s contract talks. As I have written in the past, it is destined to be one of two biggest items of business the new Edmonton Oilers General Manager will even deal with here (the other being Connor McDavid). What we can report with certainty is that they are formally underway. Stan Bowman confirms that he has had a conversation with Draisaitl’s player agent Mike Liut. Here is what Bowman had to say about the early stages of what will surely be his biggest decision of the 2024-25 season…whether it gets done or it does not.
“I had a good conversation and we’re starting things off and the timing on that will be what it will be. I do not have an update of where its going to be or the timing on that, but there is nothing negative to report, certainly.”
Bowman is no rookie. He has 12 years of being an NHL General Manager. He will understand perfectly well that this will be a process. Despite some smoke to the contrary, I did not expect an instant resolution. There will not be much simple or straightforward about this negotiation even if it does turn out to be an amicable one. As such, I suspect it will proceed with a deliberate caution.
But that should not alarm anyone. If anything, I think that Stan Bowman will go through a thorough process is a damn good thing. Fans should not want Bowman to feel he needs to sew this up fast in order to put a quick, positive stamp on the team he now leads. Especially considering Bowman’s arrival was not without some ‘discussion’.
Bowman would be doing the franchise a much bigger favor if he sets any personal sites aside, and just does what is right for the team in the long run.
The best G.M.’s, after all, do.
Editor’s Note: There will be no “9 Things” next week. Family holiday. Talk to you in two weeks.
Now on Threads @kleavins. Also, find me on Twitter @KurtLeavins, Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, and Mastodon at [email protected]. This article is not AI generated.
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