While the Edmonton Oilers haven’t been strong by any means, some ideas surrounding the team are absolutely brutal. The idea of firing head coach Jay Woodcroft has been circulating on social media, and while that seems like a bad idea, it wasn’t as bad as the mock trade that ESPN sportscaster John Buccigross recently put out on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Buccigross proposed the idea (in response to former Oilers defenseman Ryan Whitney) that the Oilers should trade superstar Leon Draisaitl and Warren Foegele to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Jake DeBrusk, Matthew Poitras, Linus Ullmark, Fabian Lysell, and a 2026 1st-round draft pick. For this idea to even have crossed someone’s mind is insane. Draisaitl has been the best player on the team this season and will go down as one of the greatest Oilers of all time. To suggest a trade after a bad stretch is crazy, and it won’t happen.
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But let’s pretend we live in a world where this could happen. The Oilers would lose this trade automatically, as there’s really almost no package that could match the value that Draisaitl brings to the team. While Debrusk and Poitras have proven themselves to be useful players at the NHL level and can provide a solid amount of scoring, as well as adding a starting goaltender in Ullmark that solves their issue between the pipes, that still wouldn’t be enough. Lysell is a very strong prospect and one of my personal favourites, but even with him and a first-round pick, the Bruins still come away as the winners.
Oilers Can’t Panic & Do Something Dumb
The Oilers have a 2-8-1 record and have been flat-out awful to start the season. They have sent goaltender Jack Campbell to the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League (AHL) in hopes that he will regain his confidence and bounce back to make his return to the NHL later this season.
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That was a smart move and will benefit the team for the foreseeable future. One thing the Oilers can’t do, though, is panic and make the wrong move. If they eventually decide to make a drastic change, they need to understand what the underlying issues are rather than just making a move to shake things up.
If the Oilers want to salvage this season, they shouldn’t make many changes. I think that most things will fix themselves, but not everything will. The goaltending and defensive struggles have got to be fixed because those constant problems have led to the team playing with no confidence. There are some liabilities on the team that need to be moved, aside from Campbell, and the team needs to find the nerve to move them.
Trading Draisaitl wouldn’t solve anything. When I say there’s almost no trade package that could match his value to the Oilers, there really isn’t. He would be the best player on any team and has proven he can put up over 100 points a season, and while the package suggested by Buccigross was a lot, there’s no way the Oilers would consider it.
What Moves Should Oilers Make Instead?
There are a few things the Oilers could do to find success. Trying to find an affordable goaltender is the main issue right now, and there are some decent options available. Their next move should be to move Evan Bouchard who has been extremely strong offensively but has been nothing more than a liability defensively. If they can package him in a deal for a better defensive defender and a goaltender, I’m all for it.
The Oilers need to find a solution fast. They were expected to make a run for the Stanley Cup this season, but they’ve been the exact opposite of a contender. They’re lucky it’s early in the season, but it would be nice to see them turn it around. Hopefully, management doesn’t panic and make a dumb move but rather finds the right solution to steer the ship back on track.