{"id":422767,"date":"2026-01-23T02:18:28","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T02:18:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/422767\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T02:18:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T02:18:28","slug":"ranking-the-edmonton-oilers-biggest-trade-deadline-needs-the-hockey-writers-edmonton-oilers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/422767\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranking the Edmonton Oilers’ Biggest Trade Deadline Needs – The Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2026 NHL Trade Deadline<\/a> is fast approaching, and the Edmonton Oilers are looking to finally get over the hump after back-to-back heartbreaking Stanley Cup Final losses. The Oilers have some needs to address, so general manager Stan Bowman must work the phones and improve the roster.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s one area that doesn\u2019t require improvement, and that\u2019s goaltending. Goaltending has been a topic of concern and an area of weakness for years. However, Bowman addressed that by trading for Connor Ingram in October and acquiring Tristan Jarry in December<\/a>. Now, their tandem is set, so the focus shifts to fixing other areas of their roster.<\/p>\n

However, Edmonton is constrained by the salary cap, and they don\u2019t have a wealth of valuable assets to trade away. They may not be able to address all the areas they want to. Therefore, they must select and prioritize what they deem most crucial. With that said, let\u2019s rank the Oilers\u2019 trade deadline needs from least important to most important.<\/p>\n

Least Important: Depth Defenceman<\/p>\n

While acquiring a depth defenceman would cost the least, and be the easiest to obtain, it shouldn\u2019t be at the top of the priority list. That\u2019s not to say management shouldn\u2019t add another defenceman because blue line depth is essential if you hope to survive a deep playoff run. It\u2019s unrealistic to assume that you can get through an entire postseason with seven defencemen.<\/p>\n

Related: Stan Bowman Still Has Work to Do to Improve the Oilers<\/a><\/p>\n

The Oilers currently have Spencer Stastney and Ty Emberson as their fifth and sixth defencemen, with Alec Regula<\/a> clearly as their number seven. The question remains: Are the Oilers comfortable with Regula as their seventh defenceman heading into the playoffs? Regula has struggled this season, so management could look to add a defender to push him down the depth chart.<\/p>\n

Defencemen that Bowman could target<\/a> include Tyler Tucker, Logan Stanley, Luke Schenn, Jamie Oleksiak, and Connor Murphy. Depending on the asking price, they would be better off spending assets and cap space elsewhere. There are more glaring holes that must be addressed.<\/p>\n

Second-Most Important: Scoring Winger<\/p>\n

Some might say this is the biggest need, but it should be second on the priority list. While the Oilers don\u2019t necessarily have elite wingers, they have solid complementary players<\/a> who have developed chemistry with Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid.<\/p>\n

The top line of McDavid, Zach Hyman, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is elite and should remain intact. Then, there\u2019s the second line of Draisaitl, Vasily Podkolzin, and Kasperi Kapanen, who also play extremely well together. Jack Roslovic<\/a> can also slide on that line and fit in perfectly.<\/p>\n

The problem with acquiring a scoring winger is that they\u2019re expensive in acquisition cost and salary. Artemi Panarin<\/a>, Jared McCann, Brayden Schenn, Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou, and Jake DeBrusk could be available. Making the money work with any of these players is extremely challenging and would require significant salary cap gymnastics. Andrew Mangiapane<\/a> and Adam Henrique must be moved to make this plausible, but they have no-movement clauses (NMC), complicating matters.<\/p>\n

If the right deal is available, and they can remain cap compliant, the Oilers should definitely acquire a top-six scoring winger. But that\u2019s not the biggest need.<\/p>\n

Most Important: Third-Line Centre<\/p>\n

If the Oilers only make one move this trade deadline, it must be acquiring a third-line centre<\/a>. The Oilers\u2019 bottom six has struggled immensely, and they desperately require a solution down the middle. Henrique is injured until after the Olympic break, but he has had an abysmal season as the third-line centre, registering a measly two goals and 10 points in 43 games. He hasn\u2019t been productive enough, and an upgrade is required.<\/p>\n

\"AdamAdam Henrique, Edmonton Oilers (Photo by Curtis Comeau\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

In Henrique\u2019s absence, Roslovic has stepped up and filled in as the third-line centre. However, he\u2019s much more effective as a winger. After the trade deadline, Roslovic should be the second or third line right-winger. He\u2019s not defensively responsible enough to be a long-term solution at centre, especially in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

The Oilers could target Boone Jenner, Charlie Coyle, or Ryan O\u2019Reilly to fill that role. The first two are pending unrestricted free agents (UFA), with Jenner making $3.75 million, and Coyle $5.25 million. O\u2019Reilly has a $4.5 million cap hit, with one year remaining. All three are plausible options. If the Oilers trade Mangiapane and waive or trade goaltender Calvin Pickard, they will save $4.6 million to use for acquiring an effective third-line centre. Plus, if they also convince Henrique to waive his NMC, they could also add another impactful piece at the deadline.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the Oilers\u2019 biggest need at the 2026 Trade Deadline? Keep following The Hockey Writers<\/a> for all your NHL content throughout the season.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 NHL Trade Deadline is fast approaching, and the Edmonton Oilers are looking to finally get over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":422768,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5125],"tags":[23057,198,146,5300,5,4,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-422767","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edmonton-oilers","8":"tag-2026-nhl-trade-deadline","9":"tag-edmonton","10":"tag-edmonton-oilers","11":"tag-edmontonoilers","12":"tag-hockey","13":"tag-nhl","14":"tag-oilers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115942019292932569","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422767\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}