This just in from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, his speculation on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast that the Nashville Predators might well be looking at trading away free agents Michael Bunting, Michael McCarron and Nick Perbix at the 2026 trade deadline.
Would any or all of those players make sense for the Edmonton Oilers, who are looking to bolster the team for a 2026 Stanley Cup run?
Friedman said the Islanders and Nashville had talks about a Bunting trade, and that Perbix has also been mentioned as a trade target.
Bunting, 30, is a scrappy middle six winger on the last year of a deal that pays him $4.5 million per year. He’s got 12 goals and 29 points in 53 games.
Perbix, 27, has another year on a deal that pays him $2.75 million per year. He has eight points in 50 games.
“Obviously, everyone’s curious about the big Nashville guys,” Friedman said. “The other guy for the Predators, I think, is going to be a name out there, is going to be McCarron. I think he’s a fourth-line center, does the things you need to do in the postseason. I think he’s going to be a guy out there as well.”
McCarron, 30, is a tough 6-feet, 6-inch, 230 pounds, right-shot fourth liner, who earns $900,000. He’s got three goals and 10 points in 52 games.
McCarron
My take
1. Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now has talked repeatedly about the Oilers looking to bring in a big, fast Top 9 forward. McCarron does not qualify as a Top 9 forward. Bunting does, and he’s also an aggressive player, but at 6-feet, 186 pounds he’s not that big. He’s also expensive. Even if Nashville were to retain on his contract, could Edmonton find the cap space to bring him in?
2. I’ve not done the hours of video analysis it would take to credibly assess any of these players, but presumably the Oilers have done so, with pro scouts assessing them closely, and often live. I can’t tell you which player would work out for the Oilers, but the price is right on McCarron’s contract. He also fills an obvious need on the Oilers to get more hitting and aggression from the bottom line.
That said, the trio of Curtis Lazar, Trent Frederic and Mattias Janmark just had their best game of the year against San Jose. Lazar has stepped up in a big way as a checker, hitter and driver of that fourth line. He threw a hellacious hit on San Jose’s Timothy Liljegren.
Frederic was skating as well as he has since coming to the Oilers. Janmark? The Oilers still obviously value him as a PK player, even as he has just three goals these past two regular seasons.
But McCarron could well be an enticing player to add.
3. The Oilers also need another d-man, a big defender who can hang in on the third-pairing. Perbrix is 6-feet, 4-inches, 210 pounds, so he qualifies as big. But his contract is also heavy for an Oilers team pressed up against the cap.