Edmonton Oilers: Which ‘Core Player’ is the Odd Man Out?

From Internet rumors to comments from Peter Chiarelli himself, it looks like the Edmonton Oilers are considering trading away a “core player” for the sake of getting a number one defenseman. But with recent talk, the question surrounds who is most likely on their way out.

That being said, there are three forwards who could very well be dealt by Chiarelli: Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle. Nail Yakupov is incredibly likely to be traded in the offseason, considering he requested to be moved and the Oilers will likely go through with it.

What the Oilers have now though is not working; the core has not gotten them to the playoffs, and the core has not dug Edmonton out of the basement of the NHL. That being said, let’s look at all the pros and cons and see which one is most likely on the way out.

Taylor Hall

Hall is a forward who has incredible point totals and overall ability, but wears his heart on his sleeve. You can see it in the way he acts on the ice that he gets incredible passionate and is very forward with his emotions. This is something that fans see, as well as management, and it is not necessarily a negative. Passionate players will usually give their full effort, but in the second half of the season, Hall wasn’t giving each game his 100 percent.

That being said, if Connor McDavid is to take the captaincy (which he likely will, according to NHL insider Mark Spector), will Hall be able to deal with it? Hall had his moments of leadership in the first half of the season and pulled the weight when McDavid got injured. However, once McDavid came back against the Blue Jackets, Hall’s play and leadership stumbled. The 2010 first-overall pick even admitted that McDavid was the leader on the ice by the end of the season.

The big thing about trading Hall is that he would likely get the biggest return. He is a huge name, and after seeing his ability to produce 5-on-5 and seeing how he became an NHL All-Star, teams will want to go after Hall for his potential and scoring ability. That is the only reason I see Edmonton deal him: Hall goes for a big name in return. I’m talking an Erik Karlsson, an Oliver Ekman-Larsson or a P.K. Subban.

Jordan Eberle

Eberle is an excellent winger and is the longest tenured of the core for Edmonton. He was the first high draft pick that the Oilers called on to help their team out of their struggles, and he couldn’t exactly help that much. Eberle possesses great skill, such as remarkable stickhandling and has the potential to be a sniper with Edmonton, skating alongside McDavid.

After returning from injury, Eberle didn’t get to play with McDavid and struggled a bit; it was when McDavid came back that Eberle really started to get a pep in his step. It was said at one point that he would have been on pace for about 60 goals if he had played the entire season alongside the 18-year-old centre. With Eberle’s speed, stickhandling and sniping ability, he creates great scoring chances and capitalizes on his opportunities.

On the other hand, if McDavid really does have the Midas touch and can turn any winger into gold, does it make Eberle more expendable? It may, especially if someone like Kyle Okposo is going to be available in free agency.

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In fact, many talented, high-scoring wingers are on the market, and that may just make it simpler for the Oilers to deal Eberle and get a decent return. I see him heading to the New York Islanders in a deal for Travis Hamonic.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

The “Nuge” is the winger that I would trade last. He is incredibly underrated and has the potential to be one of the best centres in the National Hockey League. He is incredible dangerous and with the right coaching and development, he can truly make a difference here in Edmonton.

I think that if he were to be traded, though, it would get us a great return (maybe a Kevin Shattenkirk or Travis Hamonic). It would not get the same kind of defenseman that you would get with Hall, but many teams need centres like Nugent-Hopkins that can create plays and go under the radar.

Baby Nuge spent a lot of time on the shelf at the end of the season, and if you lose him, you lose a lot of depth down the middle. Leon Draisaitl and McDavid can’t pull all the weight, and it’ll be tough to find a decent centre to replace him. There aren’t many available.

He’s a great centre who still has a lot of potential and a long ways to go until he reaches full development. He has had to deal with a lot of injuries, which is just one of his flaws, but he is able to make plays on the fly and is overall a pretty big center, despite his child-like appearance, and with the right coaching, he can be physical and tough with the right coaching.

I think getting rid of Nugent-Hopkins would be detrimental to the Oilers’ depth and would leave them with a huge empty roster spot, and it would give another team a great asset that would be much better than the player they deal to us.

Next: Edmonton Oilers: Nail Yakupov Trade the Right, Likely Choice

Who’s Out?

I’m going to say that the trade order goes like this: Eberle, Hall, Nugent-Hopkins. It will be one of them to go before the Oilers consider getting rid of a centre. It is easier to replace wingers, especially with all the talent in free agency, so I say that Ebs or Hallsy goes first, depending on how big the offer is.