2 Trades The Oilers Could Pull Off This Off-Season
The Edmonton Oilers are a step away from being a Stanley Cup contender. With the team being rather quiet at the trade deadline there isn’t much expected of them in the playoffs but they still have a strong enough team to make a deep run. With that being said, many fans are looking forward to the off-season where the Oilers should be rather aggressive in their pursuit of adding players to fill out positional needs via trade, draft and free agency. The focus of my article today is going to be how the Oilers can flip multiple assets in order to make their team stronger, starting with a Tyson Barrie swap.
Tyson Barrie has been involved in trade rumors for a while now and moving him one for one for a defensemen that’s younger and from Alberta could be the upgrade the team has been looking for. Soucy is turning 28 this July, and has 20 points in 56 games with the Seattle Kraken while having an impressive +11. 6’5, 211 pound has been praised by scouts and executives around the league because of his impressive two way game, a game that Tyson Barrie lacks. With Evan Bouchard moving into the Oilers D core full time, he is the ideal power play quarterback and could easily replace the roles Tyson Barrie has had over the last couple of seasons.
Barrie has taken a step back as far as offensive output goes, scoring 36 points in 67 games so far which is a pace that would have him lower then last seasons totals, he also sits at +1. This trade would benefit both teams, as Seattle would get the power play quarterback they have lacked since joining the league and the Oilers would be improving their D zone. On top of all this, the money works just fine, and if Seattle wants to add another piece, it should still be giving the Oilers a slight amount of relief.
The Oilers need help as far as cap space goes. Paying a team to take the contract of Zack Kassian while receiving a D man in return is a farfetched dream that could become possible if the Oilers play their cards right. I like Mark Friedman for the Pittsburg Penguins. A 26 year old, 5’11, 185 pound defender with 9 points through 42 career NHL games. Friedman has a right shot, and seems to only be improving with every opportunity he gets. Getting a fresh start with the Oilers as a 6th, 7th D man could help his career, and it becomes a win-win situation for Edmonton who cleared up some money.
Kassian, 31, has 17 points through 52 games with the Oil this season. He stands at 6’3, 211 pounds and could be the much needed gritty player the Penguins have been searching for, for a few seasons. Now, this trade could happen with anybody and the Oilers will likely have to give up a 2nd round pick or better to have a team take on the full cap hit of Zack Kassian. But, this is a place to start.
With these two trades, the Oilers lineup could look as follows next season:
Kane – McDavid – Puljujarvi
Hyman – Draisaitl – Yamamoto
Holloway – RNH – Ryan
Foegele – McLeod – Free Agent Pickup
Nurse – Bouchard
Kulak – Soucy
Keith – Ceci
Friedman
The 4RW slot needs to be filled by someone the Oilers pickup that is willing to fill a middle six role and is good at doing it. With Keith likely coming back next season, he and Ceci would continue to play together on either the 2nd or 3rd pairing with Friedman coming in as the 7th D man. If he retires though, it opens up a spot for Friedman as he has played both sides with the Penguins and being a young player, he could adapt into the position the team needs him to play.