There may be a little trouble brewing on the horizon for the Edmonton Oilers.
National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman has revealed that Skyler Brind’Amour. the son of Carolina Hurricanes head coach and former NHL player Rod Brind’Amour, is currently drawing interest from teams around the league. Skyler is fresh off of winning the NCAA’s Frozen Four as a member of the Quinnipiac University Bobcat’s, and no doubt that has played a major role in how he is being viewed by team’s around the league.
“One other thing I wanna mention about Quinnipiac is they’ve got some players.” stated Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast. “Skyler Brind’Amour… Rod’s son.”
Skyler has already been drafted into the NHL and his rights are currently controlled by the Edmonton Oilers who selected him in the 6th round (177th overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, but it sounds like there may be no guarantee he will end up in Edmonton.
“The Oilers have to make a decision,” revealed Friedman. “The thing they like best about him is he’s a Brind’Amour.”
The Oilers aren’t the only ones who have to make a decision however, with Brind’Amour having the option to go to free agency later in the year if he chooses to do so. Although there hasn’t been an indication that he plans to go down this route, Friedman cautions that there may be other teams in the NHL looking to take advantage of that fact.
“Brind’Amour is gonna have to decide if Edmonton is the best path for him, because like I’ve said before the vultures are circling,” said Friedman. “The way he’s played I think there’s gonna be some teams saying ‘If you go to free agency we’re interested.'”
That leaves the Oilers in something of an unenviable position, one where Skyler Brind’Amour will wield significant negotiating power for a player that has yet to play in an NHL game. Only time will tell if his first NHL game will come as a member of the Edmonton Oilers, or some other rival team in the league.