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3 Oilers that will be traded after the New Year

By Almar Reyes

EDMONTON, CANADA - DECEMBER 23: Jesse Puljujarvi #13 of the Edmonton Oilers battles with Oliver Ekman-Larsson #23 of the Vancouver Canucks in the third period on December 23, 2022 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Lawrence Scott/Getty Images)
EDMONTON, CANADA - DECEMBER 23: Jesse Puljujarvi #13 of the Edmonton Oilers battles with Oliver Ekman-Larsson #23 of the Vancouver Canucks in the third period on December 23, 2022 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Lawrence Scott/Getty Images) /
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Edmonton Oilers Tyson Barrie(22) celebrates goal
SUNRISE, FL – NOVEMBER 12: Teammates congratulate Tyson Barrie #22 of the Edmonton Oilers after he scored a second period goal against the Florida Panthers at the FLA Live Arena on November 12, 2022 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) /

D Tyson Barrie

This particular trade might be a head scratcher for some, but the Oilers definitely have to look to trade right handed scoring defenseman, Tyson Barrie. Most will question why on Earth will the Oilers trade Barrie who has scored 27 points this season. However, if we dig much closer to Barrie’s production, most of his points are coming from man advantage, which is 19 points.

If he plays alongside Draisaitl and McDavid on the powerplay, points will be of abundance for sure. The Oilers have up and coming scoring defenseman in Evan Bouchard, having Barrie in the lineup pushes down Bouchard in the depth chart, and hindering his progress. By trading Barrie who is a liability in the defensive end, will free up the lineup and also freeing up $4.5 million for 2023-2024 season.

That cap relief will be a welcome gift for the Oilers as they try to look to extend the aforementioned Evan Bouchard next season.  Of course, the Oilers will have to find a team that will be willing to take Barrie’s cap hit, and that is the tricky part for Ken Holland. We might see a three-team-deal involving a team like Arizona who can absorb that cap space.

The Oilers need to move Barrie after the New Year as they can still sell him high to a team that is in dire need of scoring from the back end.

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