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Morning, folks!
Yesterday, Ken Holland spoke to the media after news broke of the NHL returning. Here’s his interview, courtesy the Edmonton Oilers official YouTube channel:
He spoke at length about a number of things, but perhaps more critically, the Oilers GM confirmed that Oscar Klefbom would indeed be out for the season:
Ken Holland on @OilersNow says Oscar Kelfbom is out for the upcoming season. He's still deciding on shoulder surgery. Adds Klefbom is hoping to be ready for the fall.
— Reid Wilkins (@ReidWilkins) December 21, 2020
We knew this was coming, but still. Oooof. It does, of course, help explain why the Oilers are linked to a few defenders in advance of training camp:
Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet 960 says he thinks the Oilers are looking at Slater Koekkoek and Ben Hutton. "I wouldn't be surprised if they add one of those two guys.
— Oilers News and Updates (@oilersaccess) December 22, 2020
Here’s Ben Hutton’s RAPM chart, courtesy Evolving-Hockey (I included Slater Koekkoek’s in yesterday’s links):
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Either of Hutton or Koekkoek would be a nice get for the Oilers at this stage.
There was also this:
"We gotta get at it. We've gotta get at it now. Ethan is not in EDM now. We've got to find a solution to get him (here)." - Ken Holland on Ethan Bear.
— Mark Spector (@SportsnetSpec) December 21, 2020
I don’t know about you lot, but that Ethan Bear — maybe the team’s true 1D now that Klefbom’s out for the season — isn’t even in town three weeks before puck drop is a bit concerning. For a number of reasons.
Along that same vein, Holland provided an update on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ extension, too. Here’s RNH on the negotiations:
RNH on contract extension: "There has been a bit of talk in the past. Obviously, a weird, different time to be talking contract... I'm just focused on getting the season started. I'm going to put it on the back burner and just really focus on getting the season going."
— Reid Wilkins (@ReidWilkins) December 22, 2020
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