Hot Links: Wednesday, August 19

Morning, folks!

Yesterday, the talk of the town (as I saw it, at least) revolved around an article about fixing the Oilers defense. The article tried to make the case that, because Darnell Nurse was more productive offensively at 5v5 and because he hasn’t missed many games, Oscar Klefbom should be moved instead.

For me? Nurse all day. I’ll dive deeper into this as part of my summer (fall? winter?) series on the roster. Where do you land?

There’s obviously a possibility that trading neither is the best course of action, but if the Oilers return next year with the same top four D, they probably can’t expect a significant leap forward as a team unless Ethan Bear and Caleb Jones (or Evan Bouchard, or Philip Broberg) do most of the leaping. But, to accommodate all four of those guys, one of the incumbents has to go. Further, Klefbom, Nurse, and Larsson are what they are. Larsson maybe even less so with his (apparently) chronic back issues. Massive improvement isn’t coming from the top four as they are today.

Fixin’ Up On A Budget (Copper and Blue)

Hot Links: Tuesday, August 18 (Copper and Blue)

Oilers Need To Be Patient While Dealing With Goaltending This Off-Season (Sportsnet)

A Decade Of AHL Rookie Centers (Lowetide)

WWYDW: The James Neal Conundrum (Oilersnation)

What Should They Do? Oilers Have Tough Decisions With UFA’s (Oilers Rig)

Let’s Talk About Some Positives (Oilersnation)

Evaluating The Edmonton Oilers: Fixing The Forwards (Oilersnation)

Q&A: Legendary Oilers PA announcer Mark Lewis discusses his temporary comeback (Athletic)