Overall verdict
It appears the Peter Chiarelli era in Edmonton ended with more of a whimper than a bang. The Oilers only hit on their first and second round picks - good picks to hit on, mind you, but not nearly as impressive overall as their results in 2015 and 2018. Encouraging to see that the Oilers hit on their first round pick for the second year in a row - too bad the Oilers might lose him to an offer sheet now.
Holland would go on to do less of a housecleaning with the scouting staff, installing a few of his own while getting rid of some of Chiarelli's, standard fare for a GM takeover. Don't be surprised if Stan Bowman brings some of his old Chicago buddies to Edmonton in the near future.
Two juicy rumors to keep things going in the offseason
1) Evander Kane will be on LTIR to start the season
Kane was unfortunately unavailable for the Cup finals against Florida after the first two games in the series, as that sports hernia he suffered had finally caught up with him and he was too injured to play. Bob Stauffer recently weighed in on the health of Evander Kane, noting the power forward is likely to start the season on LTIR. This won't be a repeat of the Mark Stone situation in Vegas where he's out all year and then magically healthy for the playoffs when his cap hit doesn't count, in this situation, the Oilers will only be accruing LTIR cap space, so don't get excited about the Oilers going out and acquiring a $5 million player for next season at least.
The Oilers can extend this time by sending Kane to Bakersfield to play for the Condors on a conditioning stint, which I would assume they will since even losing a month of playing time - and not participating in training camp, for that matter - tends to create a physical deficit for NHL players that's tough to come back from without the slower pace of the minors. It sounds like Stan Bowman and Co. will find a way to keep him around for the long term, as the Kings and Ducks have both asked him about waiving the No Movement Clause of his contract for a trade to be orchestrated, but he turned down both clubs because he wants to remain an Oiler, possibly for the rest of his career. His contract reverts to a 16 team Modified No Trade Clause in the 2025-26 season, the last of his $5.125 million contract. Kane will be 35 by that time, so whether he comes back or retires at that point remains to be seen.
If Kane is willing to sign something short term and cheap, I wouldn't mind him in the bottom six forward group after his current contract expires. That being said, Kane has a lot of hard miles on his body and has played a feature role on most of the teams he's played on so it's entirely possible he may not pass a standard physical once his current contract is up or he may be on LTIR for the remainder of his current contract. But this guy is a loyal Oiler, through and through. I wish him the best, and I hope you do.
2) If the Oilers don't match Philip Broberg's offer sheet, they might sign Tyson Barrie to reunite with us and take his roster spot
I like this rumor - I like it a lot because it makes so much sense. At this point, Barrie is still a free agent, he hasn't had any takers yet despite the fact he is an established point man on the power play and a right shot blueliner, traditionally a position that's in demand due to there being a lower supply of players for that position. He's only 33 years old, so he still has some time left in the NHL before retirement. The trade to Nashville, while it was a home run for the Oilers as Mattias Ekholm has fit here like a glove both on and off the ice, was incredibly detrimental to Barrie's career.
In Nashville, Barrie was buried behind Roman Josi on the power play and was often a healthy scratch off the roster altogether. Nashville didn't re-sign him and he didn't seem happy to play there. He could sign here for cheap and either be cheap scoring help beside Darnell Nurse on the second pairing or leave that job to Troy Stetcher and pair with Brett Kulak or someone else on the third pairing. He would then take the point position on the second PP unit, freeing Darnell Nurse (the incumbent of that position) for doing what he does best - munching even strength minutes with PK time and an element of physicality through the game while at the same time putting up another 30-40 points of offence. Barrie would provide a great 1-2 punch at the point position on the Oilers' PP, with a good chance at making it even better than it was last season.
After all, Barrie was only traded away because Evan Bouchard was ready to take his spot on the PP. Bouchard is still great at doing that on the first unit, but imagine if Barrie came back and played that position on the second unit....we might have the best offensive defencemen duo of any PP units in the NHL. Since there hasn't been a lot of demand for Barrie, we could sign him for cheap the way Broberg was supposed to be, and give him a job on a team that we 100% know he fits into - not to mention he was good in the room and Connor Mcdavid likes him. I would imagine Mcdavid would be happy to vouch for Barrie in Stan Bowman's ear.
After that year, who knows what would happen with Barrie? He made $4.5 million in his last contract but it's unlikely at the age of 34 - which is what he would be at that point - that he would need to be signed for that much. Since Barrie would be cheap, even if he only plays on the third pairing and leaves the younger Troy Stetcher on the second pairing - a job Stetcher is also capable of playing - this would help solidify an area of weakness on D for the Oilers right now.