The Edmonton Oilers have found a way to string together two wins in a row with a roster as void of talent on the wing as one could possibly get.
Elliotte Friedman says the Edmonton Oilers are on the hunt for upgrades on the wing and they’re looking at a couple of pending unrestricted free agents in New York and Carolina.
As we draw nearer to the Feb.25th trade deadline, the trade rumors are going to become more frequent and more ridiculous. One example is what Philadelphia is rumored to be asking for their own pending UFA Wayne Simmonds.
That said, any GM looking to make a trade this far away from the deadline is probably going to be faced with some outrageous asks.
Mats Zuccarello
Friedman says the Oilers have checked into Zuccarello and aren’t looking to give up a “major young piece” for a rental. He also went on to say that last season, the Rangers traded Michael Grabner for a prospect and a 2nd rounder. That to me sounds like a fair price in this instance as well.
The Norwegian winger has struggled to produce for the majority of this season, but he’s begun to heat up as of recent.
Zuccarello has 7 goals,14 assists, and is -18 this year. He is earning $4.5M this season.
The Oilers are going to have a massive influx of prospects entering their AHL program next season and my feeling is that they probably wouldn’t mind culling the herd a bit there. My offer would be forward prospect Ostap Safin, defenseman Ethan Bear, and struggling forward Ryan Spooner.
It looks like an overpayment but I need Spooner’s contract off of the books and Joel Persson or Filip Berglund will step right in next season and take over for Bear with ease.
Michael Ferland
In his 31 Thoughts blog, Friedman also mentions the Oilers as being one of four teams interested in Ferland’s services.
I can see this player being of more interest to the Oilers than Zuccarello to be honest. His salary ($1.75M) is far easier to swallow, his style of play is preferable to the current head coach, and he’s out-performing the pint-sized Norwegian. To date, Ferland has 13 goals, 12 assists, and is +7. To add to that, he’s 6’2″ and 208lbs.
The Carolina Hurricanes have also said that they would like to get something for the former Calgary Flame instead of losing him for nothing this summer. That puts Edmonton in an advantageous position.
I could envision Ferland bringing the Hurricanes a similar return to that what the Oilers received for Patrick Maroon last season, a 3rd round pick and a prospect.
My offer would be a shade over that though. A 3rd round pick in 2020, Ty Rattie, and defensive prospect Phil Kemp.
New Forward Roster
Ferland-McDavid-Draisaitl
Lucic-RNH-Zuccarello
Khaira-Cave-Chiasson
Rieder-Brodziak-Kassian
Notice that Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto are not on this roster. In my mind, they’d be playing for the Oilers AHL affiliate. Probably where they should be.
That is a group of forwards that, in my opinion, would put the Oilers in a solid position to make the playoffs. I’d like to see a bit better center on the 3rd line mind you but I might just be nitpicking.