Avoiding Zach Hyman: 5 Other Wingers the Oilers Should Pursue

Jason Zucker (scorer seeking second-opinion)

This 5’11, 192lbs LW had a bit of a down year with only 9 goals and 18 points in 38 games last season with 13 (8g, 5a) of those points coming at 5-on-5. Zucker’s struggles were exacerbated by the emergence of Jared McCann and the arrival of Kasperi Kapanen- which gave the Penguins more options to rely on for scoring.

As a result, Zucker ranked 8th among forwards in scoring but still managed to get into scoring positions with 61 individual scoring chances (ranked 5th). He also kept up his physical play with 65 hits which ranked him 4th among Penguin forwards.

I wrote glowingly about him 2 years ago before his trade to Pittsburgh and, while his play has dipped since going there, I remain convinced of the player. I get the impression that it’s simply a poor fit between Zucker and the Penguins. However, given his contract (5.5mil x 2), I wouldn’t be prepared to pony up very much for him and would need the Penguins to take on some cap in return.

Likely cost: Kassian (700k retained) & a 3rd

Tomas Tatar (rebound rental)

A 5’10, 173lbs LW coming off a bit of a disappointing conclusion to his time with the Montreal Canadiens. With 10 goals and 30 points in 50 games (7g, 14a at 5-on-5), it’s not like his scoring during the regular season was a problem, but his lack of playoff success continued a trend that has persisted with him throughout his career.

For a team pushing to do some damage in the playoffs, it’s fair to question whether Tatar is the best target for the Oilers. However, his consistently high level of 5-on-5 scoring would still bring something that the Oilers could use in order to ensure they reach the playoffs.

Given his playoff struggles and his prior relationship with Holland, Tatar may be just right as a UFA bandaid solution for the Oilers’ top-6. If he can be had on a short term deal at a reasonable cap hit (ala Barrie last year), he could buy the Oilers’ scoring prospects an extra year or two to develop and avoid any unreasonable commitments to UFAs this offseason.

Likely cost: 4mil x 1 or 2 years

These names are only a few on a long list of potentially available options from around the league. Other names the Oilers should consider include Jaden Schwartz, Nino Niederreiter, Mikael Granlund, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Max Domi to name a few. In my opinion, the acquisition of any of these players would be preferable to dishing out the kind of money that Zach Hyman seems to be commanding on the market.

What do you think? Are you okay with the Oilers adding Hyman for the rumored amounts? Let me know down in the comments!