Even with the NHL trade freeze in full swing there are still rumours of what might lie ahead for NHL teams.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the chatter surrounding the Edmonton Oilers in this week’s rumour roundup. 

Foegele for Mangiapane 

An Olympic injury has altered the trade deadline landscape for the Los Angeles Kings. While the team signalled their attempt to strive for more this season by acquiring Artemi Panarin, their offence was dealt a blow because of a season ending injury for Kevin Fiala. This might make the Kings interested in adding another winger, reigniting speculation that Andrew Mangiapane could be of interest to the Kings.

On the other side, former Oiler Warren Foegele has fallen out of favour in Los Angeles. After a strong first season as a King, Foegele has found himself sliding down the lineup, if not to the press box. Fiala’s injury does offer the Kings a good amount of salary cap space, but perhaps this is better used in other transactions. 

Despite the recent playoff history between the Oilers and Kings, both teams might be able to help each other with a deal. Swapping the struggling wingers might help get the most out of them. Neither appears to hold much value, so a re-roll for both teams might be the best option. 

Shift to defence 

Oilers insider Bob Stauffer stated that the team’s deadline desires might have formally shifted from adding a scoring winger to adding defensive support. This is not too surprising given the performance of the team, as well as the plethora of forward options already in the system. 

The team’s defence has continued to struggle, ranking near the bottom third of the league in key areas like penalty killing percentage and goals allowed per game. Many grew tired of Stuart Skinner, blaming the goalie for the team’s issues. Now, Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram have proven themselves to be quite similar. Teams that blame their goalies are rarely able to fix their defensive issues by upgrading in net. Instead, improved defensive play can maximize the effectiveness of the goalies. 

Regardless of who is in net, the Oilers will need to improve their defensive identity. In some sense there might be hope for natural growth, as the Oilers penalty killing has often rounded into form later in the season. Centre Adam Henrique might still have enough to play a shutdown role upon returning from injury. Jake Walman might become a bigger factor if he is able to get healthy, having already missed a number of games due to injury this season. 

Structurally, a defensive right shot defenceman would seem to be the biggest need. Ideally this player would be able to elevate a pairing alongside Darnell Nurse or Jake Walman, logging a leading role on the penalty kill, and helping the Oilers control the play. This is an ambitious list of criteria, one that will be expensive to fulfill. Connor Murphy and Brandon Carlo are some potential options, Luke Schenn representing a less expensive version of this archetype. 

Perhaps another left shot who can play their weak side is the more affordable and available option. Oliver Ekman-Larsson could fit the bill, his name coming up more often recently. Though not a classic style of a physical defensive defenceman, the veteran plays with an edge, is still able to shut down rush attempts against, and seems to have a positive effect on controlling play. 

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