The Edmonton Oilers’ coaching search may have turned on a matter of timing, and not much else. After hiring Mike Babcock, the club wound up with a veteran bench boss many around the league believe was not its first target. That name was Bruce Cassidy.
Edmonton had real interest in Cassidy, who is behind the bench for the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Oilers even asked for permission to speak with him. Vegas said no, and Edmonton moved on.
But veteran broadcaster Rod Pedersen said the door might have opened if the Oilers had simply waited a little longer. Pedersen suggested that if Edmonton had held off for one more week, Cassidy may have become available.
He stressed that it was still speculation, since there was no guarantee Vegas would have let a division rival hire him, but Pedersen said multiple agents told him that was how it would have played out.
Instead, the Oilers settled on Babcock after talks with team leadership. Babcock brings a strong résumé, and the belief is that he could be a good fit in Edmonton. Still, the reporting points to Cassidy as the original plan.
In Columbus, the Zach Werenski situation has cooled, but it is not exactly finished. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic said on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio Power Play this week that Werenski never formally asked for a trade, even though there were internal conversations about his future and the direction of the Blue Jackets.
Werenski has two years left on his deal, and the sense is that he wants to see Columbus prove it can become a playoff team before he commits long term. The uncertainty does not stop there, either.
Kirill Marchenko remains part of the picture, and so does the extension for Adam Fantilli. The tension around Werenski has eased for now, but people around the league do not sound ready to close the book on it.
If the Blue Jackets stumble early, this could become a fresh storyline fast.
For the moment, both sides appear to want to keep moving together. The bigger challenge for Columbus is convincing its top defenseman that the organization is headed in the right direction.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, spent the offseason aiming high and ending up short. Kyle Dubas wanted to make a real splash, including a push to move up in the first round of the draft. That effort may have involved players such as Bryan Rust or Rickard Rakell, but the market was steep and teams wanted major returns for premium assets.
Dubas also tried to land Jason Robertson before Robertson signed a one-year extension to remain with the Dallas Stars. In the end, Dubas decided against “sell the farm,” which says plenty about where the Penguins see themselves right now.
There is still some cautious optimism around the roster, and Dubas may simply be setting up for next summer instead. Josh Yohe of The Athletic wrote:
“Next summer, the Penguins could have in excess of $70 million in cap space. The market will be much better.
They’ll have a better feel for which of their aging players can still be helpful down the road. They’ll have a feel for just how good [Sergei] Murashov is.
They’ll have a feel for which of their young players and prospects are ready for the NHL.”
That patience comes with a big-picture reality attached. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang are all getting older, and Pittsburgh has not won a playoff series since 2018. The Penguins are still trying to find the line between staying competitive and starting the retool.
In Other News...
Sidney Crosbys Old Penguins Deal Looks Different After Agents Admission
Sidney Crosbys old Penguins contract has taken on a new light after agent Pat Brisson opened up about how the deal came together. The 12-year agreement carrying an $8.7 million cap hit was built to bring the average annual value down, and it now reads very differently in an NHL landscape where younger stars are landing much bigger cap numbers as salaries keep climbing.
Brisson said the structure reflected real uncertainty around Crosbys future at the time, which helps explain why the deal was arranged the way it was. With the market moving and Crosby still producing at a high level, the next question is whether he and his camp will revisit his compensation soon, especially as other top players continue to reset the price of elite talent. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Trade Leverage Could Shift Fast Around Rust Or Rakell
The Penguins have already done the part that often starts the trade rumor mill: they listened. According to Josh Yohe, Pittsburgh at least explored the market for Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell, but the offers on the table never reached the point where a deal made sense. For a team trying to balance present value with future flexibility, that matters, because both players still carry the kind of reputation that can draw real interest if the timing and the price line up.
Toronto may be the club worth watching if this conversation heats back up. Brad Treliving has been linked to the idea of one more major swing, and if the Maple Leafs decide they still want to chase a blockbuster, Pittsburgh could find itself back in the middle of it. For now, though, this is less about a finished trade market than a shifting one, with the Penguins waiting to see whether the right bidder eventually shows up. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Still Face One Big Erik Karlsson Problem On Defense
The Penguins head into training camp still trying to sort out the shape of a blue line that looks a lot different than it did a year ago. With several departures from last season and a few new faces in the mix, the opening weeks will be less about polishing details and more about finding the right combinations, especially on a defense that already projects as a potential weak spot.
Erik Karlsson is the biggest piece of that puzzle, and he needs a new partner after the changes around him reshuffled the depth chart. Trevor van Riemsdyk is part of the conversation, while Declan Carlile has also been pushed into the mix as the team looks for someone who can give Karlsson a workable fit. The answer is not obvious yet, which is why the Penguins still have plenty to figure out before camp settles anything down. [Read more 🡒]