With the NHL trade deadline at the end of the month the Edmonton Oilers management team need to figure out what they plan to accomplish before the deadline. Should they go all in or should they just do minor tweaks?
The NHL trade deadline is on March 21. That means there is just over two weeks for the Edmonton Oilers to make upgrades to this team prior to the playoffs. At the deadline I believe there is three types of teams. Win now teams, minor tweak teams and sellers. Each team plays a role on deadline day.
The question from an Oilers perspective is are they a win now team or a minor tweak team. Could Ken Holland trade away high quality assets for major help for this team to win the Stanley Cup? Could he just trade away low level assets that could get this team past a few rounds of the playoffs? These are the questions we are wondering.
Are the Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup Contenders?
On paper I don’t think that the Oilers are serious cup contenders this year. When you take a look through the NHL there are a handful of NHL team that have better rosters than the Edmonton Oilers. If you asked me if the Edmonton Oilers could beat Vegas or Colorado in a best of 7 series, my answer would be no.
This is why I don’t think the Oilers should go all in this trade deadline. Yes, the Oilers have a playoff team. I just think in order to compete with the Avalanche and Golden Knights there is just too much that needs to be added to the current roster.
I think the Oilers need to add at least 3 pieces if they want to be a great team. A solid starting goalie, rigid shutdown style right side defenseman and another skilled forward. It is possible for the Oilers to add all these from now to the deadline, but it very unlikely to happen.
Can the Edmonton Oilers Win a Couple Play-Off Rounds?
The way the Oilers are playing since Jay Woodcroft took over, I would not want to be the team that plays them in the first round. This roster is playing very good right now and once they get healthy they should get even better, but they still aren’t a great team.
I don’t think a team should go all in at the trade deadline unless they are a great team. The Edmonton Oilers are close to being a great team, but I don’t think they are quite there yet. Once this team gets back to being healthy under Woodcroft they may end up being a lot better than they are now.
The Road To The Deadline
The good news for the Edmonton Oilers is they still have 8 games to play till the deadline. If they win a majority of these games they may move the needle into the great category. That could make them an all-in team at the deadline. If that is the case Holland will need to be smart with his assets and his cap space in order to make moves.
There are several problems that need to be overcome in order to make a trade. Cap space, roster space and draft picks all need to be considered when making a trade. These will make it hard for the Edmonton Oilers to make a trade.
I do expect the Edmonton Oilers to make at least one trade that will make a difference for this team. What degree of difference is the question we are all wondering? As much as I would like to see a big name player brought in, I don’t really see it happening this deadline.