Will the Edmonton Oilers make another move before NHL trading deadline?
NHL insider Frank Seravalli was asked this question recently on The Big Show with Rusic & Rose. The Frankly Hockey commentator had no doubt that the Oilers are all-in, looking for help both at forward and on defence.
“You’ve got Connor McDavid doing ridiculous Connor McDavid things…,” Seravalli said. “It‘s a burn the boats year again. You’re in the spot, you’re trying to do everything you can with these guys (McDavid and Leon Draisaitl) in the heart of the prime of their career. I have zero doubt that they’re going to be pursuing additional depth scoring help, trying to find the right fit on defence. Maybe they got a little bit of that with Spencer Stastney.”
The Oilers have stabilized in the standings, Seravalli said, but haven’t yet done enough to separate themselves from the competition.
“I think the Oilers are in a spot where they’ve got to do everything to keep that pedal to the floor.”
45 games
My take
1. Of course Seravalli is correct. The time for Edmonton to win is now. Right now and in the next four or five years.
2. Edmonton’s biggest need? A third-line centre who can defend and has the speed to work with two attacking wingers in the offensive end. Adam Henrique, now injured, has been tried in this role but doesn’t have the foot speed to cut it as a third line centre any more.
The Oilers appear reluctant to move Ryan Nugent-Hopkins off the top line, as the top line is thriving.
Jack Roslovic is a strong attacking winger, but he’s not a checking centre in any way, shape or form.
A new 3C acquired in trade would hit the spot, no?
3. The Oilers could solve the issue at 3C by trading for a Top 6 winger, and then moving RNH down to the 3C spot. But it’s no easy thing to find chemistry with Connor McDavid, as RNH and Zach Hyman have so clearly done.
Who says that an incoming winger will mesh with McDavid on the top line or Leon Draisaitl on the second line? That’s no sure bet, not even close. Just ask players like Jeff Skinner, Andrew Mangiapane, Trent Frederic and Viktor Arvidsson — and that’s only Top 6 candidates from the past two seasons.
4. The Oilers appear to have found a Big Bad Bruins of strong forechecking and puck possession line in Draisaitl, Vasily Podkolzin and Kasperi Kapanen. These are three big, fast, tough players.
McDavid’s line likes to cycle the puck with Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm high in the offensive zone, near the blueline. But Drai, Podkolzin and Kapanen are ready, willing and able to cycle the puck down low, along the endboards. It’s making for a hard, brutal experience for opposing defenders, especially as the three Oilers forwards are developing more and more chemistry.
Because Draisaitl is such a great player, the other two are becoming better players in striving to mesh with him.
For an Oilers fan, this is a thing of beauty to behold.
It also takes away some of the need to pick up a Top 6 winger, given Kapanen’s rise to prominence on the team. But can Kapanen keep up this level of play?
5. With Jake Walman coming back, Edmonton will see how its defensive pairings function with all hands on deck. There are plenty of question marks.
Will a Top 4 of Bouchard, Ekholm, Walman and Darnell Nurse get it done? Will they dominate, as was hoped and expected by some heading into the season? Will Alec Regula, Ty Emberson and/or Spencer Statsney get the job done in the bottom-pairing?
Depending on the answer to these questions, the Oilers could also be in the market for a veteran d-man, likely a third-pairing player, heading into the trade deadline.
6. A final big question is whether or not the Oilers can easily move out Mangiapane, who is on the block. If they can, that will make it all the easier for GM Stan Bowman to find the cap space to bring in the necessary help.
At the Cult of Hockey
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