- Oilers goaltender Mike Smith met with reporters today (video link) and indicated that it’s “too early to tell” if he’s going to return next season. The 40-year-old had an up-and-down season and acknowledged that he played through injuries for most of the year but still managed to post a .915 SV% in 28 games during the regular season, a number that he came close to maintaining in the playoffs (.913). Smith is signed for next season already with a $2.2MM cap hit but he is not subject to the 35-plus rule that many veterans are. In the last CBA, a provision was put in that says the rule does not apply if the compensation in each year is uniform or if the salary increases each year. The latter applies to Smith so Edmonton wouldn’t face a cap penalty if he opted to retire.
Oilers Rumors
Dylan Holloway To Make NHL Debut
With their backs against the wall, the Edmonton Oilers are trying something new. Dylan Holloway will make his NHL debut according to several reports including Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. The Oilers are also expected to dress Brad Malone in the do-or-die game four, with Kailer Yamamoto unavailable due to injury and Evander Kane suspended.
Holloway, 20, was the 14th overall pick in 2020 and made his professional debut this season with the Bakersfield Condors. The former University of Winsconsin winger had eight goals and 22 points in 33 regular season games, before adding four points in five postseason contests. He figures to challenge for a full-time role with the Oilers next season, given players like Kane, Josh Archibald, Derick Brassard, Colton Sceviour, and Kyle Turris are all scheduled for unrestricted free agency this summer.
Making your NHL debut in the playoffs is something not a ton of players get to experience, though there is a shining example on the other side of the ice. Cale Makar jumped right into the 2019 postseason with the Colorado Avalanche and made an impact immediately, scoring what ended up being the winning goal.
Currently, Holloway is the third highest pick from the 2020 draft to have yet to suit up for an NHL game, following just Jake Sanderson and Yaroslav Askarov. That will change tonight, when he tries to help keep the Oilers alive in the Western Conference Finals.
Evander Kane Suspended One Game For Boarding
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced that Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane has been suspended one game for his hit on Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri early in the first period on Saturday night. The hit happened as Kadri and Kane skated towards the end boards to battle for a loose puck, Kane giving Kadri a shove several feet before the boards, causing Kadri to lose his balance and hit the boards awkwardly. Kadri would stay down on the ice for several minutes before being helped off. The Avalanche forward did not return and according to Head Coach Jared Bednar, has been ruled out for the remainder of the series, and perhaps longer.
In rationalizing the suspension, the Department of Player Safety said the following:
“It is important to note that this is not a scenario in which Kadri puts himself in a vulnerable position immediately prior to the hit in a way that turns a legal check into an illegal one. While we acknowledge that Kadri positions himself in front of Kane in order to shield the puck, this action is not a sudden or sharp movement that changes the nature of Kane’s hit in a way that he cannot control. And while we acknowledge Kane’s argument that Kadri loses his footing as he approaches the boards, we believe that this is a direct result of the shove and is not an unavoidable occurrence that causes an unfortunate accident. This shove is deliberate at a dangerous distance from the boards while the two players are traveling at speed and causes an injury.”
Kane has been suspended several times in the past, including two separate three games suspensions, once for elbowing and once for abuse of on-ice officials. Losing Kane, even for just one game, is a difficult blow for Edmonton, as the winger had one of the best seasons of his career to date in 2021-22 after being released by the San Jose Sharks and later signing with Edmonton in late January. Kane had 22 goals and 16 assists in 43 regular season games followed up by 17 points, including a playoff-leading 13 goals, in 15 postseason games for Edmonton thus far.
Evander Kane To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
The Edmonton Oilers already need to reverse-sweep the Colorado Avalanche in order to keep their season alive, and they now might have to accomplish that feat without one of their best wingers. The NHL Department of Player Safety announced today that Evander Kane, the mid-season signing who has fit so well in Edmonton since his arrival, will have a hearing regarding his hit on Nazem Kadri, a boarding penalty that has knocked out Kadri for the rest of the Western Conference Final and perhaps even longer.
The hit in question happened only a minute into last night’s game. Kadri was chasing a loose puck into the Edmonton corner, and Kane was pursuing him. As Kadri began to stop to retrieve the puck which had bounced to his left, Kane shoved Kadri and Kadri went tumbling into the boards. A nearby official immediately called for a penalty, and Kane was assessed a five-minute major for boarding.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar referred to the play as “the most dangerous play in hockey,” and Kadri’s agent, Darren Ferris, took his comments a step further, calling on the league to “address the targeted hit” on his client, one that he deemed “serious and dangerously callous.” ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski highlighted a different line of thinking regarding the hit, relaying a sentiment from league sources that the hit was “reckless and unfortunate but not intentional.”
Kane has a prior disciplinary history, racking up fines for elbowing and kneeing in the past as well as suspensions for things such as elbowing, cross-checking, and abuse of officials. Kane has also previously criticized the Department of Player Safety for its decisions, and it remains to be seen the effect Kane’s prior actions will have on this upcoming decision.
If Kane is suspended, the Oilers will find the prospect of scoring goals on Colorado to be even harder than it has been for the past two games. The typically lethal Oilers offense has been limited to just two goals in that time frame. Without Kane, who has been nearly goal-per-game in these playoffs with 13 in 15 games, getting back on track should be even harder.
Should the Oilers lose on Monday, this hit and likely suspension could cast a shadow on Kane’s upcoming unrestricted free agency. As mentioned, Kane has been extremely productive in these playoffs and was nearly a point-per-game player in the regular season. Interested teams will have to balance Kane’s undeniable offensive talent with his controversial off-ice reputation when considering pursuing him as a free agent. This hit and a potential upcoming suspension could end Kane’s season on a decidedly sour note before a very important summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Oilers Expected To Terminate Ilya Konovalov’s Contract
Oilers prospect Ilya Konovalov hasn’t had a great first season in North America and it appears he won’t be getting a second one as Dynamo Moscow’s GM Alexei Sopin told Championat’s Sergei Yemelanov that an agreement is in place to bring the netminder back to the KHL next season. The move is pending a contract termination from Edmonton which is expected to come once their playoff run comes to an end.
The 23-year-old was a third-round pick of Edmonton back in 2019, going 85th overall. He remained with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL for two seasons after being picked before opting to come to North America for this season. However, Konovalov was limited to just 17 games with AHL Bakersfield this season, posting a 2.73 GAA with a save percentage of just .893. He was briefly up with Edmonton on their taxi squad but didn’t get into any NHL action.
This move has been in the works for a while as last month, Dynamo Moscow traded for Konovalov’s rights at the beginning of the KHL’s transactions window. Assuming the termination goes through as planned which should come sometime later this month, Edmonton will lose Konovalov’s NHL rights but free up a contract slot. They’d also clear out the logjam in the AHL crease with both Olivier Rodrigue and recent college signing Ryan Fanti already under contract for next season.
Zack Kassian Earns Fine For Unsportsmanlike Conduct
The Department of Player Safety has handed out a $2,500 fine to Edmonton Oilers forward Zack Kassian for unsportsmanlike conduct, following his actions in last night’s game. Notably, this is not the “maximum allowable under the CBA,” words hockey fans have come to know (and hate) in recent years.
With the Oilers down 3-0 in game two of their third-round series, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Bowen Byram took a hit and ended up partially on his opponent’s bench. Kassian, on the bench, decided to not let Byram leave intact and pulled the helmet off the Colorado defender. When Byram retaliated by shoving the Oilers forward, they both ended up with minor penalties.
Kassian will earn a little bit more on review, as the league hands him a fine today. The Oilers are down 2-0 in the series as they head back to Edmonton, and this incident will cause the league to keep a bit of a closer watch over Kassian the rest of the way. While it isn’t a suspension, the fine can be taken into account in any future disciplinary decisions.
In fact, it’s already the second fine that Kassian has received in these playoffs, following the cross-check he delivered to Sean Durzi earlier on. It’s not exactly a “three strikes” rule in the NHL but the league likely will escalate the penalties at some point if the Oilers forward continues to be involved in supplementary discipline decisions.
Darcy Kuemper Out; Pavel Francouz Likely Starter
Darcy Kuemper wasn’t on the ice for the Colorado Avalanche at morning skate according to Gene Principe of Sportsnet, as Pavel Francouz and Justus Annunen occupied the nets instead. The veteran netminder was pulled from game one with an upper-body injury, and head coach Jared Bednar wouldn’t comment on the specifics yesterday, other than to say “we’ll see” if he would be ready for game two. Bednar confirmed following the skate that Kuemper is indeed out for tonight’s match.
Kuemper, 32, has dealt with injury issues his entire career and already had a bad-luck incident in the playoffs that took him out for a few games. Against the Nashville Predators in the first round, a stick came through Kuemper’s mask and hit him in the eye, forcing Francouz into the net for a game and a half. While the Avalanche had no trouble finishing that series, they’re in tough against an Edmonton Oilers team that has had no trouble scoring goals.
If it is Francouz, it’s another chance for him to prove not only that he can handle an NHL playoff game, but that he can be part of a tandem for next season. Kuemper is a pending unrestricted free agent, while the 31-year-old Francouz is signed through 2023-24. To this point in his short NHL career, and despite strong regular season numbers, the Czech netminder has been completely unreliable in the postseason, recording an .891 save percentage in nine appearances. Six of those came in the 2020 bubble playoffs when the team ultimately went with Michael Hutchinson in the deciding game seven against the Dallas Stars.
The Oilers meanwhile had their own goaltending issues in game one, which saw Mike Smith pulled from the net after allowing six goals on 25 shots. Darren Dreger of TSN tweets that there is a “strong indication” that the team will go back to Smith for game two, which shouldn’t be much of a surprise given how much faith they have shown in the veteran netminder thus far.
Through 13 games this postseason, Smith has a solid .917 save percentage and even leads the playoffs with two shutouts. While he can be a bit of an adventure at times, there’s little doubt at this point that he gives them the best chance to win.
Leon Draisaitl Practices For The First Time Since The First Round
- Oilers center Leon Draisaitl participated in practice today for the first time since sustaining an ankle injury late in the first round, notes Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link). The injury didn’t slow the 26-year-old down (he had 17 points in five games against Calgary last round) but he hadn’t been taking part in practices in an effort to help the injury heal. The fact he returned to the ice today has to be considered a positive sign for Edmonton as they get set to open their series against Colorado on Tuesday.
NHL Announces Conference Final Schedule Scenarios
After one-half of the conference finalists have been set, the NHL has released the potential schedule matrix for the 2022 Eastern and Western Conference Finals.
No matter what, the Eastern Conference Final will start June 1, whether it be in Raleigh or Manhattan. The Tampa Bay Lightning will be the visitor after sweeping the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Florida Panthers in the Second Round. The Lightning actually finished with the same point total as the New York Rangers (110), but surrender the tiebreaker, so it’s impossible for them to start the series at home. They would also start on the road against the Metropolitan Division champion Carolina Hurricanes. The Eastern Conference Final will be televised on ESPN in the United States.
For the Western Conference, the schedule depends on the result of tonight’s Game 6 between the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues. If Colorado is victorious tonight, the series will start on May 31st in Denver. If it goes to a Game 7, the Edmonton Oilers will travel to either Denver or St. Louis for Game 1 on June 2. In the United States, the Western Conference Final will be on TNT.
The last possible day for Conference Final action is June 15, with a potential Western Conference Final Game 7 between the Oilers and either the Avalanche or Blues.
Snapshots: PWHPA, Kane, Chiasson
The Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association has entered into a relationship with Billie Jean King Enterprises and The Mark Walter Group according to Hailey Salvian of The Athletic, with the purpose of exploring the launch of a new professional league. The list of “foundational pieces” needed for a new league are as follows:
- A six-team league with 23-player rosters and three coaches
- A 32-game schedule played from January to April
- A four-team playoff with three best-of-five series to determine the league’s champion
- A minimum salary of $35,000 and a league-average salary of $55,000
The PWHPA recently met with the PHF–currently the only pro women’s league in North America–along with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. Ties were cut soon after and as Salvian reports, the PWHPA board unanimously voted to end discussions of collaboration between the two sides.
- Evander Kane did not travel with the rest of the Edmonton Oilers, as he was away for the birth of his son. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic tweets that there is not yet an update on whether Kane will be available for game five tomorrow. The 30-year-old winger has been outstanding for the Oilers in the playoffs, scoring 12 goals in 11 games to lead the entire league. He also leads in shots, as Edmonton’s top line continues to dominate play whenever on the ice.
- With rumors circling that Alex Chiasson may be on his way to Switzerland last season, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV reached out to Vancouver Canucks president Jim Rutherford. The executive explained that the team “will not make a decision on him until after free agency,” presumably meaning following the frenzy of early July. Chiasson, 31, ended with 13 goals and 22 points in 67 games after signing a one-year, $750K contract on the first day of the season.