Edmonton Oilers Rumors: Can the Buffalo Sabres Make A Deal?

BUFFALO, NY - DECEMBER 06: Rasmus Ristolainen #55 of the Buffalo Sabres battles for position with Milan Lucic #27 of the Edmonton Oilers during an NHL game at the KeyBank Center on December 6, 2016 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - DECEMBER 06: Rasmus Ristolainen #55 of the Buffalo Sabres battles for position with Milan Lucic #27 of the Edmonton Oilers during an NHL game at the KeyBank Center on December 6, 2016 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)
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Edmonton Oilers
BUFFALO, NY – DECEMBER 06: Rasmus Ristolainen #55 of the Buffalo Sabres scores the game-winning overtime goal with a screen from Kyle Okposo #21 against Cam Talbot #33 of the Edmonton Oilers during an NHL game at the KeyBank Center on December 6, 2016 in Buffalo, New York. Buffalo won, 4-3. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)

What type of players should the Edmonton Oilers target in possible trade deals? Here are a few ideas that might make sense.

Edmonton Oilers: I would like to present to you a trade scenario but I’m not going to use names other than Player A and Player B, and I want you to decide which one you’d choose by looking at their career numbers. I’m sure you’ll be able to guess who the players are but bear with me for this exercise.

Player A – 24 years old – LH Shot – Defenseman – 6’3″ 215lbs

  • 5 season in the NHL
  • 24 goals, 70 assists, 94 pts, -36
  • 4.3 SH%
  • Career high pts in a season: 38
  • 4 PP goals
  • 34 penalty minutes
  • AVG TOI: 21:55
  • Positive Possession Player: CF% 50.6, FF% 51.4,
  • PDO (puck luck): 97.8

This player has endured an injury-ravaged career to date on one of the worst NHL teams in recent history. He’s never scored 40 points in a year and has only played more than 66 games once in his career.

Player B – 23 years old – RH Shot – Defenseman – 6’4″ 218lbs

  • Five seasons in the NHL (346 GP)
  • 31 goals, 120 assists, 151 pts, -102
  • 4.3 SH%
  • Career high pts in a season: 45
  • 10 PP goals
  • 171 penalty minutes
  • AVG TOI: 24:09
  • Negative Possession Player: CF% 43.8, FF% 44
  • PDO (puck luck): 98.8

This player has scored 40 pts in three out of his five NHL seasons despite playing on one of the worst teams in the NHL. So, who are players A and B you ask?