From contracts to goaltending and young rookies, Edmonton Oilers General Manager Stan Bowman, head coach Kris Knoblauch, and two players, Jake Walman and Zach Hyman, met with the Oilers media today to dive into what all fans have been wanting to know, and a little more.
Below are some interesting questions that were asked and answered during the Oilers’ training camp press conference before all the madness officially starts back up again.
Where are the Oilers at on Connor McDavid’s contract?
“I just go by what Connor says, which is that he wants nothing more than to win in Edmonton,” began Bowman. “So I take him at his word, and he’s going through his own process, and I think you have to understand that and respect it, and I do, and when he’s ready, he’ll be ready.
“When I talk to Connor, I’ve never gotten the impression that he’s really focused on money. When I talk to him—he’s all about winning. He never talks about, ‘I need to make this much money.’ So, the cap is going up, which is great for our league. It shows that the league is healthy and the revenues are growing, and when that happens, salaries escalate. How that exactly relates to Connor? He would be in a better position to answer that one than me, but I think it’s obviously better than the cap flat lining or going down.”
Is Carter Hart being considered?
“Right now, we’re not looking at those types of situations,” answered Bowman. “I like where Stu (Stuart Skinner) is at with the way he trained and his outlook coming into the year.
“So I think we’re going to go forward with (Skinner).”
What are your (Stan Bowman’s) expectations of Matt Savoie and Isaac Howard?
“I’m looking at it with an optimistic lens,” said Bowman. “I think they’re going to bring an element that we need on our team, and I think we want some of that, and you have to be willing, with younger players, to give them a little bit of latitude. And I think (that’s) where we’re at with those two.
“I actually think it’s good to have some youthful enthusiasm. I mean, Matt’s played a couple games in the NHL, but every new building he goes to is a new experience. He’s excited to play a road game in Calgary. He’s never been there before and played for the Oilers,” added Bowman. “So, same thing with Ike (Howard). He’s never played in any NHL building. So I think what we’re looking for from them is some of that youthful enthusiasm, (because) it can be contagious to our group.”
How concerned should fans be about Zach Hyman?
“He’s not going to miss much time if he misses any, so I’m not worried about Zach Hyman,” stressed Bowman. “I mean, if he doesn’t skate for a day or two, that doesn’t matter.
“He’s a vet, he’s a pro. We saw last year how valuable he was, and he’s going to be a big player for us this year.”
How are other contract extensions moving along?
“We have had sort of preliminary discussions with a bunch of people who are going into their last year of the deal, not just (Jake Walman and Mattias Ekholm), but there are other players as well,” said Bowman. “I don’t know if we’re going to wrap all those up in the next little bit, or if it’ll bleed into the season, or if we’ll wait until next year, but we’ve had a number of players going into the final year of their contracts that we’ve already engaged with their agents and had positive conversations.”
“I can tell you that I am very appreciative to be in this position,” added Walman. “I can tell you one thing—I enjoy the city. I enjoy playing hockey here, and I think that it’s a great fit for me hockey-wise and family-wise.”
