Who Should The Edmonton Oilers Trade For From The Coyotes?

To follow up on previous bottom-dwelling team potential trade targets for the Edmonton Oilers I have been doing, in this article, I have picked the team that has some recent trade history with the Oilers. If you want to take a look at the other teams I have done so far here are the Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks.

Arizona Coyotes 38 Points(16-28-6)

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Arizona Coyotes are near the bottom of the standings again this year. Betting on the Coyotes to be near the bottom is an easy bet every year. This year hasn’t been any different.

It seems like with the Arizona Coyotes as soon as one of their players becomes good they instantly become involved in rumours to be traded. That has changed this year as their top defenseman Jakob Chychrun has been rumoured to be traded since mid-last season.

Nick Bjugstad(11G-10A)

If the Edmonton Oilers are looking to add a solid depth forward I think Nick Bjugstad would be a great option. He has a low cap hit of $900,000 and the Coyotes have lots of cap room so sending money back the other way wouldn’t be an issue.

Nick Bjugstad could be the right-handed center the Oilers are looking for. He would only play in the Oilers bottom six as well as on the penalty kill. I think for the Edmonton Oilers to be successful they shouldn’t have any of their top 6 players killing penalties on the regular.

If your top 6 are playing on the penalty kill they are more likely to get injured blocking a shot. You don’t want to lose Hyman or Nugent-Hopkins for a long period of time cause they get in front of a point shot. Not playing top players also gives them more time to rest so they can be more efficient when on the ice. Adding 3 minutes a game shorthanded may not sound like a lot, but that’s a lot of extra rest.

Jakob Chychrun(5G-20A)

Adding Jakob Chychrun would be a huge move for the Edmonton Oilers. He would slide into your top 4 easily and would be a part of your team for years to come. If I was Ken Holland I wouldn’t be afraid to pay a bit more for Chychrun because he is still under contract past this year.

Most people look at Chychrun for his offensive skill, but he is also a solid defender. On an Arizona Coyotes team that has a -46 goal differential, Chychrun is sitting at a plus/minus of +6. The Edmonton Oilers need the help in the defensive end more than the offensive side, so it is good to see that he isn’t a tire fire in his end like most of the Coyotes are.

Edmonton Oilers Can Send Cap To The Coyotes

The best part about potentially making a trade with the Coyotes is they have a large amount of cap space left. So not only could they retain the salary of a player coming to the Edmonton Oilers they could also take a player back.

If the Edmonton Oilers were wise they try and make a trade with the Coyotes to send them players and free up space. Just like they did in the offseason with Zack Kassian. In a perfect world, they would send both Foegele and Puljujarvi to them and take nothing back. That would free up just under $6 million. That would be enough to bring in a solid amount of help at the deadline.