Once again there are a few Oilers related news bits that don't merit a blog on their own so we are going to lump them all together in another episode of In No Particular Order.

HAAS AND BOUCHARD JOIN THE OVERSEAS CLUB

Another two Oilers have been loaned to other leagues overseas. Gaetan Haas, who played 58 games for the Oilers this past season has returned to his old stomping grounds Bern SC of the Swiss National League. Going 5-5-10 with Edmonton through the 19/20 season, I felt Haas only improved as his year went on. Not only does Haas bring NHL speed, but he is exceptionally adept at drawing penalties and is sound defensively. He should have the inside track on centering the fourth line for Edmonton next season as well as could become a key player on the PK.

Bouchard meanwhile had a brilliant first season in the AHL, producing numbers as a 20 year old akin to the likes of what players like Roman Josi did at the same age and level. Bouchard has been loaned to Sodertalje SK, a Swedish League that is below the AHL in terms of talent level. Bouchard should immediately step onto that team as it's best player and be able to play a ton of minutes.

Ideally, it would have been better to see Bouchard play against tougher competition but it is important to keep in mind European teams are about to be flooded with NHL players, wanting to get some games in prior to NHL season start (more on that in a bit) and it is up to the coaches there to decide how they want to deploy their players. These leagues are also notorious for limiting the ice-time of rookies. This way at least, Bouchard is going to likely get plenty of chances to play both at 5 on 5 and on the PP.

European Leagues like the ones mentioned above are either in training camp or already playing pre-season games. Meanwhile the NHL won't get into training camp until the end of November at the earliest. Players who are able to get in game action prior to this like Haas, Bouchard, Puljujarvi. and Nygard will have an advantage coming into camp. This is especially important for younger players like Puljujarvi and Bouchard as it could help both have break out seasons similar to what Yamamoto and Bear did through the 19/20 season.

With the AHL tentatively prepared to start early December, I expect more players like Tyler Benson may soon find their way overseas too.

NEW DATES FOR DRAFT, FREE AGENCY, SEASON START

Mark your calendars, the 2020 NHL Draft will get underway October 6-7. No official word yet on how the draft will be broken down but I think it is safe to assume that the 6th will be dedicated for the 1st round of the draft with the remaining rounds being done on the 7th. Originally it was believed that the Draft would go on the 4th to 5th.

Free Agency meanwhile has now been set for October 9th. It is going to be a tight and compacted off-season for General Managers with some already taking advantage to make deals.

While it looks like we have some hard dates for the beginning of Free Agency and the Draft, when the beginning of the 20/21 season will happen is much murkier.

I think most of us knew that the tentative "beginning of December" plan for season start was a pipe dream at best. New reports suggest that teams are internally preparing for a mid January or early February start. This would almost certainly mean a shortened season of 60-65 games as well.

One of the biggest unknowns that the NHL is trying to plan for is whether or not there will be any fans once next year begins. A number of teams are already starting to implement an internal cap to make up for the profits lost already and though TV revenues might be the biggest provider, the lack of fans still hurts teams bottom lines.

It will be curious to see how teams like the Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, and Detroit Red Wings come out of the gates. A February season start would essentially mean any team who did not make the qualifying rounds will have not played hockey in almost a full year.

A CRACKNELL SIGNING COMING?

TSN's Ryan Rishaug has reported that the Oilers have had conversations with 35 year old winger Adam Cracknell and a signing is likely to occur. This bit of news has a few people up in arms for some reason.

Cracknell, who has played in 210 NHL games spent all of last season in the KHL. He played close to a full season for the Dallas Stars (69 games) back in the 16/17 season but aside from a couple callups has been an AHL vet since. Edmonton fans should be vaguely familiar with him as he did play 8 games for them in 15/16 after being claimed off waivers from the Canucks. He did not register a point for Edmonton.

This is an AHL depth signing folks. Tomas Jurco, Brad Malone, and Josh Currie are all free agents and I would not expect each of them to necessarily be back. Cracknell is an AHL player who can help mentor some of the young guys. This is not a move that we need to discuss any further.

Thanks for reading.

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