Will the Oilers land some college free agents? Will they be able to re-sign Evander Kane?
Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal: The Edmonton Oilers don’t have a full collection of draft picks this year, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they try to sign some college free agents.
Noah Philp of the University of Alberta has drawn the eyes of Oilers scouts. They aren’t the only ones as the Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins have also been scouting him.
The Oilers got a deal when they signed Evander Kane to a one-year, $1.375 million deal. The pending UFA will get interest from teams who will offer money and term. Should the Oilers try to sign him before for free agency, and can they fit it in salary cap wise? They have pending RFAs in Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto to deal with.
Is Dylan Strome in the Blackhawks rebuild plans?
Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times: Chicago Blackhawks forward Dylan Strome had been in the rumor mill for a large part of the season. He has turned his game around and wasn’t too worried at the deadline about getting traded.
He’s a pending RFA with arbitration rights. He’s owed a $3.9 million qualifying offer by July 9th. He’ll be a UFA on July 13th if they don’t send him the qualifying offer or re-sign before that.
‘‘We’ll see what happens,’’ he said. ‘‘Obviously, this is a little different negotiation than last time with arbitration. something I’ve never been through before. There’s a set deadline, compared to two years ago — feels like a long time ago. But I think it’s a little easier in that sense. . . . It’s nicer when you have a date and you know I’ve got to get something done by a certain time.’’
Heading into the weekend Strome had 38 point in 52 games, and 31 points in 30 games since January 4th.
Do the Blackhawks see him as part of their rebuild? He’s only suited for a top-six role and at center but that may block Kirby Dach or Lukas Reichel. They can’t really afford to lose him for nothing after they kept him past the deadline.
The Blackhawks are at home against the Sabres and are
-160 on the moneyline with Betway