Two Trades That Could Help The Edmonton Oilers Right Now

DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: (l-r) Keith Gretzky and Andrew Shaw of the Edmonton Oilers attend the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: (l-r) Keith Gretzky and Andrew Shaw of the Edmonton Oilers attend the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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Edmonton Oilers
EDMONTON, AB – JANUARY 20: Milan Lucic #27 of the Edmonton Oilers battles for the puck against Dougie Hamilton #19 of the Carolina Hurricanes on January 20, 2019 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

Bottom line

This is a trade that would work well for both teams.  Carolina gets a better fit for their roster spot at right 3rd pairing D, while the Oilers get a puck mover who could benefit from a change of scenery and fill a need on the back end for a minimal cap hit in exchange for a player who looks less and less like a long term fit here with each game he plays.

Hamilton is a low-risk bet for the Oilers that could net them a high reward in roster fit if he works out, and can easily be traded if he doesn’t.

Meanwhile, the Oilers can get rid of a player they want to desperately get rid of, and Carolina can help us out in that regard if we meet them halfway and take back some cap space, and if they stash him (Manning) in the minors as expected, then the financial impact on their cap would be very minimal, and they get to get rid of a headache for their organization (Hamilton).