Evan’s NHL Daily: Oilers In Trouble? Kovalenko’s Dad Speaks

As we sit here on July 25, the Edmonton Oilers haven’t really done much of anything this offseason. While teams around the NHL made moves to improve, the Oilers have stood still, mostly because of their salary cap situation. Their two restricted free agents have gotten some good comparisons in recent days, and the Oilers might be in trouble when it comes to keeping their team together.

For the Colorado Avalanche, Nikolai Kovalenko’s dad, Andrei, spoke about his son’s situation, and we got dates for the upcoming rookie tournament.

All that and more in this Tuesday edition of Evan’s Daily.

Colorado Hockey Now

Things will inevitably change, but I took a stab at what I think the lines for the Avalanche would look like to start the year if I was running things…which I’m not.

The 2023 Rookie Faceoff tournament was announced, as well as the schedule. The tournament takes place in Vegas this year, with 6 NHL teams sending their top prospects.

I watched 5 Montreal games on Monday to get a good look at Jonathan Drouin, and will watch a few more for an upcoming film room on CHN. Talk about a team with no structure.

Kovalenko Update

Nikolai Kovalenko has not signed yet, but fear not, it will happen.

His dad, former Avalanche winger Andrei Kovalenko, confirmed it will probably happen sometime this week. He also had this to say about his son:

“In any case, Nikolai will spend the upcoming season at Torpedo, as planned. Last year, he managed to reach a certain level. Both in the regular season and in the playoffs, he became the team’s top scorer, earned the respect of his partners, the coaching staff, and the fans.

I like that Nikolay does not stop there, he is super motivated. The NHL decision is also a motivation for a professional athlete.

We have already said that the most difficult thing for an athlete is not to rise to a certain level, but to stay on it and grow further. Now Nikolay, his link and the entire team will be given special attention by the opponents. Where there may have been an underestimation a year ago, now there will be an overestimation.”

Either way, expect him to sign soon for it to become official.

Around the NHL

On the DFO Rundown podcast, it was discussed how the Edmonton Oilers might be in some trouble. They thought they could get Ryan McLeod signed for under $2 million, but the Philipp Kurashev arbitration ruling helps McLeod out, and he might be looking at closer to $2.5 million. That pinches Evan Bouchard a bit, who could have been looking at a deal similar to what Bowen Byram and K’Andre Miller got. With just $5.6 million in cap space, can they fit these two pieces in, or will they have to sacrifice someone else? Is the status quo enough for them to take that next step?

National Hockey Now

Pittsburgh: Some potential PTO options for the Penguins.

Boston: Will the Samsonov arbitration ruling impact what Swayman gets from the Bruins?

Also, check out their most recent podcast, which included Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy.