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Good morning, folks!
A ‘busy’ Tuesday leaves us with a few talking points. First, the not-so-well-received debut of Colby Cave in the Top 25 Under 25 was received with the opposite of much fanfare. Believe me when I tell you, it brought me no personal pleasure to rank him 22. Even that felt too high. That he was 17 speaks to the discord among the five of us as to some of the other guys in that range, as those discrepancies were bigger factors in Cave’s placement than Cave’s success could ever be.
Former Oilers pugilist George Laraque tweeted this yesterday:
I’m hearing in Edmonton that Derick Brassard is about to sign a 1 year deal with @EdmontonOilers! Great signing! J’entends du côté de Edmonton que Derick Brassard serait sur le point de signer un contract de 1 an avec les Oilers! Bonne signature! pic.twitter.com/IfSjbs6JbY
— Georges Laraque (@GeorgesLaraque) August 20, 2019
...which generated some real buzz in the Oily City. While Brassard hasn’t cracked 50 points in a season since 2015-16 with the New York Rangers, he likely represents a very real upgrade over at least one of the incumbents slated for top 6 duty this fall. Brassard also shed some light as to why it went so poorly in Pittsburgh, which is worth a look too. Assuming the contract is right - and the rumor indicates a one-year deal so it’s hard to see it being too detrimental in the near or far - this is another signing by Ken Holland I won’t have a hard time being OK with, even if Brassard is a tier or two below his best right now. The Oilers forward group is dire, and Brassard should be an improvement upon it, even if only marginally at this stage.
Jesse Puljujarvi’s camp keeps making the news, but, unfortunately, appears to be doing further damage to his reputation around the city. I still believe in him and understand why he’s behaving this way, but it certainly is unfortunate, the Oilers could really use a player of his pedigree, even if his reputation on and off the ice has taken a hit this summer. Just remind yourself of the laundry list of talented players the Oilers have frittered away for whatever reason when you look to lay blame in this situation. Sure, Jesse could handle this better, but we’ve all been in professional situations we’ve come to realize are untenable, and we’ve had the freedom to be able to make the change of our own volition. Jesse doesn’t have that luxury.
Refer to the links list for the rest of today’s talking points and we’ll see you in the comments. Don’t forget to circle back this afternoon to see who occupies #16 in our 2019 Top 25 Under 25!
From Us
T25 U25: #17 - Colby Cave (Copper and Blue)
Yesterday. (Copper and Blue)
ICYMI: Sunil’s podcast released this week, and his first guest was Lowetide. (Copper and Blue)
From Elsewhere
Lowetide on the Need for Speed in Edmonton. (Lowetide)
Can the Oilers’ powerplay improve next season? (Oilersnation)
The Oilers are close to signing F Derick Brassard. (Oilersnation)
Brownlee on Puljujarvi. (Oilersnation)
The Oilers and Derick Brassard are a good fit for one another. (The Oilers Rig)
Brassard on what went wrong in Pittsburgh. (Sportsnet)
For Money
Bar the Brassard signing, the Oilers will end this summer still shy of shot-first wingers. (The Athletic)
Pronman’s farm series. He’s up to #15 now, and the Oilers still haven’t shown up. That’s...Good. (The Athletic)