La wants another RH defenseman?

He's a LD

He's LD and he's still a pretty decent defenseman, he's just slightly overpaid

I think Russell to LA makes perfect sence. McClellan loved him and he can play both sides, if he was making 2M then I would keep him

Casey might be the only recent, struggling "draft flop" I'd consider trading Puljujarvi for. I could live with it honestly. Spice it up for both teams with conditional picks that increase in value depending on how each player performs?

Trades are good, but lordy howdy that Holtby deal is atrocious. He's never been that great of a goaltender and it's borderline impossible to justify that kind of a cap hit. I was lampooned for suggesting Edmonton trade for Murray and sign him at a similar deal, and he's by a mile the better goaltender and better signing.

I think Holland slow-plays Benson and Bouchard next fall. I wouldn't expect them on the NHL roster until January (assuming typical start date) at the earliest.

He is a LHD


In saying that, I still feel that middlestadt holds a bit more value than Mr. Pogostick... but it would be a fun swap!

If this trade happened I don't believe Mittelstadt could handle #3C, at least not what the Oilers want out of a #3/4C. He might make a decent top 6/9 LW which would work with holding Benson down.

Ok. Didn't realize he was lh.
Probably because of all the Russel to leaf trades

if you want to say Mittelstadt is a struggling player fine. But Puljujärvi is a cancer and buffalo declines.
No one wants to bring that into a locker room. The value there is really low at this point. It's a real bad sign when he doesn't even show up to play and there were nothing but issues with him prior.
Best bet for moving Puljujärvi is one of two things. Bad apple for bad apple, in which case, I don't think it really works for either team it's just causing more issues.
Or you send him to a team with very limited young players and a lot of veteran leadership to straighten his ass the F out.
Honestly, he's lucky he didn't have Babcock for a coach. He would have railed on his ass.

Not immediately: ideally he takes another season in the AHL and is slow-rolled into being a full-time middle-six pivot. If Tippett wants to keep his ideal "shutdown third line" in-tact for next season and roll a soft-minutes, scoring fourth line, I think it would set Casey up brilliantly for NHL success. He's got the wheels to do it, I think he just plays for a really, really bad team right now. He's got really good zone entry stats at evens and I think if he wasn't saddled to names like Thompson, Rodrigue, or Sheary, he'd be finding more results.

In a perfect world, it's not a one-for-one deal: Edmonton should look to try and get more out of this deal. I don't know how they manage that, but he's a name I'd strongly consider. Worst case as you've identified is that he tandems with a Jarvis/Perreault from this draft on a very strong third line for years to come.

Everything in this post is wrong. I'd suggest reading into Puljujarvi's case and explicitly why he wants out of Edmonton so badly. His agent was very clear that he would take a cheap deal on 30 other teams but because Edmonton controls his rights, he was forced into going back to Finland this year. Arrogance and anecdotes mean nothing regarding what Puljujarvi is worth.

I'd be more than happy to recap Puljujarvi's situation for you if you're busy or if you want a TLDR

I'd like a recap, what's the story with why Pulujarvi wants out of Edmonton?

what total bs.
The guy did not come and play this year. That's all that needs to be said. It's arrogance on his part to think he can force anything.
Like every other player in the league he has to fill his 7 years or hit 27 years of age. That's how you force your hand.
This guy was a cancer and a problem from day 1. He demanded to play when they should have let him develop to begin with.
It was all down hill from there.
Everyone who watches hockey knows this guy is a bad apple. This is not simply a team screwing up. You got 20+ other players who showed up to Edmonton. Where the F was he?
He didn't get his way, so he sat. Not only did he cost himself money, cost him self a year to being a FA, but showed the whole league what they would have to deal with in getting him. It's why no one would even reach out a 2nd for him.
Furthermore, he has learned nothing. Even NHL execs have ripped him for his play in europe. He can't get it through his head that a East/West game will never work in the NHL.
So please, stop with the fantasy land reality. He's a problem who needs to be brought back into reality.

I'd rather keep mittelstadt

Kings say no. They don't need a 6/7 defenseman on their roster taking up $4 million in cap space. They are in a good position to take advantage of other teams with cap space issues and get a better than Russell.