In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Edmonton Oilers publicly announced the timeline of Connor McDavid’s return from injury. It’s not great news for the Oilers, but it could have been a lot worse. Meanwhile, the team has called up two AHL players to help fill in while McDavid is away. Is there anything else the team might do? How did the trade between Utah and the Detroit Red Wings come about? Are the Vancouver Canucks searching for a specific style of defenseman and why aren’t the Calgary Flames looking at trading Rasmus Andersson?
McDavid Out Two to Three Weeks
After going down in Monday’s game versus the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Oilers will be without McDavid for two to three weeks. That’s about 12 or 13 games the team will have to try and stay afloat and win without their captain and the best player in the league on the ice.
Related: Oilers May Have Made Big Mistake Letting Go of Broberg and Holloway
To try and fill in open holes, the Oilers have called up Drake Caggiula and Noah Philp from Bakersfield of the AHL. As for what else they might do over the next two weeks, that could depend on their record in the first few games. TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that the GM Stan Bowman is aggressively searching for a defenseman. There isn’t much action out there, but Olli Maatta was traded by the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday which proves a trade is possible.
Utah Went for the Less Expensive Defenseman
The Utah Hockey Club was looking for a defenseman after news that both Sean Durzi and John Marino were out long-term with injuries. There was some talk that the team was going to try and manage with their internal options, but the organization ultimately decided to make a move when Maatta was available and not overly expensive.
There was some talk that Utah looked at Ivan Provorov out of Columbus. He is on an expiring contract. But, he would have cost Utah more in terms of trade assets and his cap hit was higher. At $4.725 million, the Blue Jackets would have retained salary, but Utah would have had to pay a sweetener for that favor.
Utah was looking for a stopgap and believes Maatta is capable of a depth role. He is a defensive defenseman who typically plays third-pairing minutes and can handle penalty-killing duties.
Canucks Want a Puck-Moving Defenseman
Frank Seravalli was a guest on the Halford and Brough Show Wednesday and was asked about what the Canucks might be looking for the trade market. While Seravalli said there wasn’t “news” to speak of, there was speculation. The Canucks are “on the prowl” for a puck-moving defenseman. “They want to find a way to move the puck better. They believe that’s a key inefficiency right now.”
Seravalli said that Rick Tocchet is frustrated with the fact that their defenseman outside of their first pairing aren’t great at it. If the Canucks are going to add anything, that’s their priority.
Flames’ Andersson Not Going Anywhere
Seravalli also said that Rasmus Andersson isn’t going anywhere and the Flames don’t have any intention of making a move. His strong start and the fact he’s part of a collection of players who want to be in Calgary, “they’ve purposefully tried to quiet the noise there.”
Seravalli added that a big question the Flames will have to ask is, if they have to trade Andersson at some point, what do they have left? Moving him off the roster takes away a player who was open to staying, and a top defenseman, leaving only MacKenzie Weegar as a legitimate top-four blueliner.