Edmonton Oilers fourth on the list in the Justin Schultz sweepstakes, says Oilers insider Bob Stauffer
This just in from Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now on Twitter: “Personally I think the Oilers sit 4th in pursuit of Schultz. Vancouver leads the way imo (home-field advantage). Leafs and Rangers 2nd and 3rd respectively because players recruit players. Gardiner in T.O., and Stepan and McDonagh with NYR.”
So what’s the big deal? Stauffer is just another media guy, right? And didn’t he predict the Oilers would take Ryan Murray?
True, but Stauffer works for the team itself as the colour man on radio broadcasts, and when it comes to having sources inside the Oilers, he is right up there with two Hall of Famers, Terry Jones of the Sun and Jim Matheson of the Journal.
If Stauffer is saying the Oilers are behind some other teams, I’m buying that, even as TSN’s Bob McKenzie and ESPN’s Pierre Lebrun have mentioned Edmonton as as a likley Schultz destination.
The fact is reporters and bloggers from across North America are all speculating on where Schultz will go, and fans from Philadelphia to Ottawa, from Vancouver to Toronto, have their hopes up.
There’s going to plenty of disappointment when the kid does pick a city, but such is the life of the hockey fan.
P.S. In previous tweets, Stauffer had more to say on Schultz: “As for Justin Schultz I did bump into to Newport’s Don Meehan and Craig Oster at the draft. They are well aware of the opportunity in EDM.
“If Schultz does sign with say the Rangers or the Leafs who have defence depth, obviously there may be a trade option for Oilers.”