Oilers News & Rumors: Perlini, Benson, Sceviour, Keith, Ceci…

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In an Edmonton Oilers news and rumors update, Brendan Perlini finishes the preseason with six goals. Is that enough for the forward to have solidified himself a spot on the Oilers’ opening night roster? Meanwhile, did Colton Sceviour do enough to earn himself a contract coming off of a PTO? Duncan Keith and Cody Ceci played big minutes on Saturday night as the top pair but there are varying opinions as to how they fared. Finally, the Oilers have waived William Lagesson and Kyle Turris, while assigning Stuart Skinner to Bakersfield.

Perlini Has Earned a Spot

It’s been easy to see how good Brendan Perlini has been in the preseason for Edmonton. Some will argue that it’s just preseason and he’s unlikely to maintain his pace of scoring — much like Ty Rattie did when he was lights out good in the 2018 preseason — but others believe he’s the exact type of forward the Oilers could use in the bottom-six, especially if head coach Dave Tippett chooses to double shift Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl every once and a while.

Perlini has also improved Devin Shore’s game and that’s a good thing. The thing working against Perlini is that he’s on a two-way contract. That allows Edmonton to move him without concern they’ll lose him, whereas, if Tyler Benson is not on this team because Perlini is, the Oilers could lose Benson on waivers.

Oilers Waive Turris and Lagesson, Assign Skinner

43 players hit the NHL waiver wire today. Among them from the Oilers was defenseman William Lagesson and forward Kyle Turris. Turris played fairly well for Edmonton in camp, but if he’s claimed, it will actually help the Oilers with their salary cap situation. There’s a small chance Lagesson gets claimed, but the Oilers likely feel they have the depth to deal with this loss.

This means Benson has been kept on board because the Oilers don’t want to risk him being claimed by another team. The Oilers also assigned Skinner to the AHL after a decent outing against the Canucks on Saturday in the final two periods of the Oilers’ last preseason game.

The good news when it comes to Skinner is that Edmonton might have seen enough to know they can call him up in an emergency situation or in the event of an injury. He will certainly be the starter in Bakersfield and he could see some time with the Oilers this season.

Colton Sceviour Yet to Accept Oilers Offer

Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal reports that he believes the Oilers have extended a two-way contract offer to forward Colton Sceviour. He’s yet to sign and Leavins thinks it could be because Sceviour is still considering his options. He says he believes he showed his versatility at camp and did what he needed to do to stay.

Players on PTOs can be signed by any team and he may want to weigh the two-way offer against whatever else might be out there.

Related: NHL Insider Makes Bold Prediction: Oilers Will Win Stanley Cup

Leavins writes:

If Sceviour can make the same or better dough somewhere else, we shouldn’t be surprised. Earned a nice assist on the Perlini goal Saturday in what was his best pre-season effort.

source – ‘The best trade Edmonton Oilers G.M. Ken Holland never made: 9 Things’ – Kurt Leavins – Edmonton Journal – 10/10/2021

Did Keith and Ceci Play Well or Get Caved In?

There’s some debate after Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks about how well the Cody Ceci and Duncan Keith pairing is working so far on the Oilers’ blue line. Many noted their big minutes in the absence of players like Darnell Nurse and Tyson Barrie, while others acknowledged the minutes, but pointed out the pairing was badly outshot while on the ice.

Duncan Keith
Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith – Photo Credit: Andy Martin Jr

Jonathan Willis pointed out that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Keith and Ceci were the three worst Oilers for Corsi totals during the Oilers preseason, but did admit it was just preseason. Analytics supporters jumped all over the numbers pointing to the pair being the final shot attempt numbers in the game being 21-7 in favor of Vancouver. Meanwhile, actual shots on goal were 8-3 in favor of the Canucks.

There are a few things to consider here. First, the Oilers didn’t have their top forwards in the lineup last night, which would clearly tilt the ice away from the Oilers potentially spending time in the offensive zone. Second, this is still a relatively new pairing trying to figure each other out.

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