Hot Links: Tuesday, August 18

Morning, folks!

What to do about Andreas Athanasiou? Ken Holland spent two second-round draft picks to acquire the former 30-goal man, but the early returns have been uneven at best. Holland has a decision to make, and there is pain on either side. No matter how you slice it, the acquisition cost was steep. I think most of us here were at least on board with the intent of the move at the time — and I was on vacation in Kona so I mean it’s hard to get too mad about anything out there, but there were obvious signs that it could play out like this:

So now they’ve got this player who has some tools, whose qualifying offer is far too high (thanks, Ken), and who becomes an unrestricted free agent if the Oilers choose not to extend it to him. Yeesh.

Unfortunately, the acquisition cost is sunk. Can’t change it now. All Holland can do now is try his best to objectively determine whether Athanasiou helps his club as he is today, and not worry so much about getting value from those spent picks.

The worst part of all of it? For Ken Holland, solving this dilemma still leaves him with a ton of work to do if the Oilers are going to continue progressing into a legitimately good team.

Hot Links: Monday, August 17 (Copper and Blue)

That’s a wrap... (Copper and Blue)

Pipe Dreams? (Copper and Blue)

Dollar Sign On The Muscle (Lowetide)

Oilers Blueline Needs Changes (Oilersnation)

What Happened To Edmonton Oilers’ Scoring Wingers? They’re Still Scoring, But For Other NHL Teams (Journal)

Off-Season Targets: Third-Line Centre (Oilersnation)

31 Thoughts Podcast: A Conversation With Brendan Morrison (Sportsnet)

Blue, Blue Day (Lowetide)

Lowetide: Ken Holland’s Bet On Andreas Athanasiou And How Oilers Will Proceed (Athletic)