The Edmonton Oilers MUST make significant moves if players like John Tavares and Erik Karlsson join the Western Conference. Or should they?
Edmonton Oilers: Isn’t that the rhetorical question?
Elliotte Friedman spoke not long after the NHL’s trade deadline on his 31 Thoughts podcast about how the Vegas Golden Knights were VERY close to acquiring Erik Karlsson and that negotiations between the Senators and the Golden Knights could start up again this summer.
So that’s one club, the best reigning Pacific Division champion mind you, that would be getting significantly better. Another one is the San Jose Sharks.
The Sharks have been the latest rumored landing spot for John Tavares. If they let Joe Thornton go or negotiate a cheaper contract, they could very well add Evander Kane as well.
Will the LA Kings go out and get Jeff Skinner from Carolina?
So if those three teams win the summer arms race, what does that mean for the Edmonton Oilers? Is this club as it stands right now good enough to beat out Anaheim or one of last year’s wild-card clubs from the Central Division like Colorado, St.Louis, or Dallas?
Potential Trades
I’ve been talking about rumored Oilers trades all week, and you have to wonder if they’re going to have to pull a rabbit out of a hat here to compete in the Pacific next season IF the moves mentioned above happen.
So does that mean they move their 1st round pick to upgrade the defense? Is that pick even enough? Do they have the prospects to package with that pick to acquire an impactful player?
Yesterday I spoke about Ryan Rishaug’s trade proposal where the Oilers were giving up Klefbom and the #10 overall for Rasmus Ristolainen. I can’t see why the Sabres would do that but would the Calgary Flames accept something like that for Dougie Hamilton? They want to get back into the first round after dealing their pick to the Islanders for a very underwhelming Travis Hamonic.
The point I’m making is that if the Oilers can have some balance on their blue line. Perhaps that would go a long way to staying competitive within a division that could be adding some elite talent this summer. I’m not 100% confident that they can compete for a playoff spot. Even if 90% of the roster bounces back and has a great year.
Next: Oilers Rumors: Can the Buffalo Sabres Make A Deal?
Make no bones about it; this is a very crucial year for Peter Chiarelli and Todd McLellan? The ball is in their court, and they need to pull everything together next season and get this team as close as possible to the playoffs or else they’ll be packing their stuff and heading to the unemployment line.