Extreme Cold Links: Thursday, January 16

Morning, folks!

We defrosted? We at least lukewarm? It’s so cold I can’t see straight. It’s so snowy I can’t see at all. What is this frozen hellscape and why do we call it home?

Another couple of off days for the Oilers as they’re not back in action until Saturday night, when Taylor Hall and the Arizona Coyotes come to visit.

Yesterday, Caleb Jones signed a two-year extension with an AAV of $850,000 in what amounted to a nice bit of business by Ken Holland. The two years of NHL money will surely be welcome for Jones, and his signing now opens up the possibility of either of Kris Russell or Darnell Nurse moving on before season’s end.

Russell would be the obvious choice for most people but I still think they’ve got to explore Nurse’s market before automatically giving him somewhere near $7MM over any term. Russell probably has a market too given the disparity between his cap hit and actual salary next season. Either way, solidifying Jones’ future here gives them a platform to make a move on either of those guys, and it’s hard to find any real risk to this signing. Caleb Jones is a good player and this deal will look like good value in short order.

The Flames Fans’ desire to put up a billboard of Matthew Tkachuk’s stupid face and NSYNC hairdo sparked Oilers fans to donate money in response to a local Calgary charity. The Flames fans’ monies will now be donated to an ALS charity, too, a cause that hits close to home for Calgarians after Flames AGM Chris Snow was diagnosed with ALS recently.

Lowetide took a look at Bakersfield on his blog and at CSS’s midseason list at The Athletic for possible options for this summer’s entry draft.

Jon Willis posits that, for the Oilers to succeed moving forward, they’ll have to trust a young group of defensemen. He also broke down the Jones extension, noting that all he’s done is improve since the Oilers drafted him.

Gerard Gallant was relieved of his duties this week, 11 days after the Golden Knights sat in second place in the Western Conference. No cab this time. Still just as weird.

Ray Shero lost his job this week too, which is interesting as there are rumors that he and his analytics people didn’t necessarily see eye to eye on some of his moves. His biggest failure, however, is almost certainly failing to address New Jersey’s goaltending issues during Taylor Hall’s time there.

From Us

Oilers Ink Caleb Jones To Two-Year Extension (Copper and Blue)

Looking into the potential reasons why the Oilers are better on the road than at home (Copper and Blue)

Extreme Cold Links: Wednesday, January 15 (Copper and Blue)

Oilers Tame Predators In 4-2 Victory (Copper and Blue)

From Elsewhere

Farm Workers Mid-Season Report 2019-20 (Lowetide)

Flames, Oilers Fans Raise Nearly $20,000 For Charity After Tkachuk-Kassian Skirmish (CBC)

Tkachuk’s Teammates Have His Back Ahead Of Flames-Oilers Rematch (Sportsnet)

31 Thoughts: The Fallout From Bombshell New Jersey, Vegas Firings (Sportsnet)

What Has To Happen When Flames Meet Oilers On January 29th (Sportsnet)

Woodcroft Discusses Benson, Bouchard, McLeod And More (Oilersnation)

Could Oilers, Bruins Connect On Trade? (Oilers Rig)

For Money

Lowetide: Central Scouting’s Midseason List Offers Oilers Some Strong Draft Options (The Athletic)

The Oilers’ Road Forward — And Perhaps To A Stanley Cup — Requires Trusting The Kids On Defence (The Athletic)

Oilers Make A Smart Two-Year Bet On Caleb Jones, Who Has Done Nothing But Improve (The Athletic)