The Edmonton Oilers haven’t had the most exciting offseason, but it has gone well. They brought in a few pieces and re-signed Ryan McLeod. The final thing everybody is waiting on is the new contract for Evan Bouchard. While fans have a good idea of how much it is going to cost the Oilers to re-sign him for a year or two, let’s look ahead at who the team might be able to pick up at the trade deadline next year.
There’s no doubt in my mind that the Oilers will be in the playoff race and adding at the deadline, so they will be able to accrue some cap space over the season and also maybe move a player out in a deal to bring in the help. The forward group isn’t a concern, at least not to begin the season, and the goaltending is set as well. Barring any unfortunate injuries or events to either of those positions, the defence is going to be the area where an upgrade is needed. Let’s look ahead at potential targets the Oilers might be interested in who also could be available by the trade deadline because of the teams they play for.
Oilers’ Trade Deadline Targets on Expiring Contracts
First off, the Oilers need the help on the right side, so players who can slot in at right defence will be of interest and more valuable to the team. With the salary cap expected to go up next summer, certain players hoping to get paid in the future only signed for one year and weren’t especially picky as to what team they signed with. This means there are some defencemen on one-year deals on teams that won’t be in the playoff race that should become available at the trade deadline.
The Oilers don’t necessarily need more offence from the back end and they won’t be going out searching for that, but if an opportunity lands in their lap, I also don’t believe they will turn it away so easily. While players like Tyson Barrie, Tony DeAngelo, Brandon Montour, and Justin Schultz might all be unrestricted free agents (UFA) at the end of next season, there are some problems that would prevent the Oilers from seriously looking at them.
Barrie and his contract was moved for a reason. He just doesn’t fit with the Oilers and he doesn’t possess top-four defensive skill. DeAngelo is the same way, except he is much cheaper and won’t be available. The Carolina Hurricanes will be a powerhouse and won’t be moving on from value deals like that at the trade deadline. Although some think the Florida Panthers will be a fringe playoff team once again due to some of the season-opening injuries and players lost, Montour would cost a high price and if he doesn’t get a new contract with Florida, will probably not be moved either. Schultz isn’t on the same level offensively as the first three names mentioned anymore, but is also on a Seattle Kraken team that will probably also be in the playoff race. Though he could serve as a better option than Vincent Desharnais or Philip Broberg for the Oilers’ playoff run, it might not be in the cards.
Now that we got the unlikely offensively minded defenceman out of the way, let’s look at some more realistic options. These include Matt Dumba, Chris Tanev, Tyler Myers, Nikita Zadorov, Joel Edmundson, Erik Johnson, Dylan DeMelo, Ian Cole, Alexandre Carrier, and Ilya Lyubushkin. Most of these players are currently on fringe playoff teams like the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres, Winnipeg Jets, and Nashville Predators, but just as easily as teams could do well and not sell at the deadline, others could.
I think that if the Oilers are going to acquire anybody during the season, cap space will have to be retained. This is especially true if someone like Cody Ceci isn’t being moved and because a player worth adding won’t generally have a low cap hit.
Someone like Lyubushkin, who was just traded to the Anaheim Ducks, will likely be on the move and at a cap hit of under $1.4 million average annual value (AAV) without a third team involved. Dumba, a top-four, right-shot defenceman, would have a cap hit of under $2 million AAV if 50 percent of the salary is retained and a third team isn’t involved. The other players are where there is more speculation.
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Almost all of the teams I mentioned above — Flames, Canucks, Capitals, Sabres, Predators — missed the playoffs last season. That could very well be the case this season, too. While the Sabres, Canucks, and Flames stayed their ground, the Capitals and Predators, who were still somewhat in the race, decided to sell. Depending on the direction of the team, that could surely happen this season too, and more than enough rental defencemen will be available to choose from.
Players With Term That Could Emerge
Last season saw just how a very valuable player could emerge mid-season when the Oilers acquired Mattias Ekholm. He had multiple years left on his deal and I wouldn’t put it out of the realm of possibility for the Oilers to do that once again. Maybe this time they won’t acquire someone with as much term or as high of a cap hit, but a defenceman who can play the right side with another year left on their contract would give the Oilers that player for two playoff runs. Let’s take a look at some potential and realistic options.
Someone like Aaron Ekblad is far too expensive and will very likely not be on the move, but solid defencemen like David Savard, Jeff Petry, Neal Pionk, and Adam Larsson might. Savard and Petry are the two I’d have my eye on here. The Canadiens can still retain salary on one player and Petry, already having cap retained by two teams, would be very cheap. Ceci’s contract also ends in 2025, the same time as these players, so it would make sense in this case to move him out if he and Darnell Nurse don’t clean up their game together.
Even if things go perfectly for the Oilers in the first half of the season, there’s always room to improve. The Oilers have their best shots at winning the Stanley Cup in the next few seasons, so the trade deadline is the time to go all in and acquire the necessary and right pieces for the road ahead.