Ryan Nugent-Hopkins finally back?!

Sound the alarms! The first overall pick is back, but will he be the same as before?

Last night, the Edmonton Oilers played the Phoenix Coyotes and lost to them 3-1. Although the Oilers lost, there was some good news as RNH came back from his shoulder injury and scored a goal.

All signs are pointing that he will take over the scoring lead from Adam Henrique (RNH missed 20 of the last 22 games and he only trails Henrique by 6 points) but can he do it with the NHL season dwindling down?


Sure the Edmonton Oilers can pretty much kiss the playoffs goodbye for this year, but they do have a bright future of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall.


However, there is a big question mark surrounding the durability of RNH. He does have a small frame for an NHL player (6'1'' 175lbs.) and big guys will be looking to hit him to prevent him from scoring.

So how can the Oilers make sure that their latest first overall pick be healthy? Will he be able to avoid having a promising career marred by injuries? Only time will tell but for this blogger, I hope he does avoid it because for such a disappointing season from the Oilers, they should have a positive to remember from it and that is the scoring tandem of Eberle, RNH and Hall.

Ben Bishop to the Ottawa Senators

It is believed right now that St. Louis has a deal in place with the Ottawa Senators that would send G Ben Bishop to the Ottawa Senators for an unknown return. He is a Group VI Free Agent this year. If he plays 15+ games, this year in the NHL, he will be a UFA if he plays less than 15, he will be a RFA. The main problem apparently, is that GM Bryan Murray wants to sign him to an extension before the trade goes through.

Bishop is a starting NHL goalie playing in the minor leagues due to the amazing season of both Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliot. All the people I have spoke to believe that Bishop has star quality. His big frame, (6'7) allows him to cover more space. Bishop also has good angles and knows where to stand.

Keep it here for updates.

Updates:
11:29 Appears to be done...
11:39 It's done. Awaiting confirmation.
THE OTTAWA SENATORS HAVE TRADED A CONDITIONAL SECOND ROUND PICK TO THE ST. LOUIS BLUES IN EXCHANGE FOR G BEN BISHOP. THE OTTAWA SENATORS HAVE ALSO RE-SIGNED BISHOP TO A ONE YEAR ONE WAY CONTRACT.

Winners:
Alson: Ottawa won this one. Bishop will be a star in this league.It depends on the condition though and what will the other pick be.

Wexler: Ottawa because they needed a goalie to cover in for Anderson. The Sens picked up a really underrated goalie in Bishop because of St. Louis' other star goalies. I think Bishop will lead the Sens into a deep round in the playoffs.

Kyle: Ottawa for sure, since they are high up on the Eastern Conference, the pick will be a late one. In Bishop, they got 2 NHL future all star goaltenders in Bishop and Lehner. In my mind, the Blues could've gotten him for a first round or another prospect.

Mahbod: I actually think St. Louis won. They can use that 2nd round pick to get a John-Michael Liles level player that can boost their play. Ben Bishop is only currently a minor's goalie and Ottawa has countless backup goalies including Auld, Lehner, Leclaire and Mike Brodeur. Ben Bishop just falls in. Although Ben Bishop is expected to be really good; a second round pick is a nice tradeable asset.