Oilers linked with talented but expensive blue line rental

With the Oilers' continued need for defensive reinforcements, they've been linked to a player who can certainly help, but may not be a realistic trade target.

Anaheim Ducks v Columbus Blue Jackets
Anaheim Ducks v Columbus Blue Jackets | Jason Mowry/GettyImages

Okay, we'll admit it -- we were beginning to believe the Edmonton Oilers had gotten on top of their defensive issues from earlier on in the season. However, if the nightmare weekend on the West Coast taught us nothing else, it's that this team still needs to reinforce their blue line in order to challenge for a second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

Yes, the Oilers still rank tied-12th in the NHL for lowest average goals allowed per game, ahead of Monday's slate of action. However, they are only a lowly 22nd in team save percentage, while also ranking a poor 24th in penalty kill efficiency.

Now we do appreciate that the overall defensive performance of the team on a collective level has improved of late. This contributed to why the Oilers had won 11 of their last 13 games prior to the Christmas break.

However, giving up five goals to a lowly Anaheim Ducks team does get at least some alarm bells ringing. The reality is that the Oilers do need some blue line help to strengthen the team, if they are finish off the job they came so close to completing back in June.

An intriguing trade target for the Oilers

With this in mind, as per Allan Mitchell of The Athletic (subscription required), one defenceman the Oilers could make a move for, is Ivan Provorov. He has already been mentioned by NHL insider Chris Johnston as one of the top overall trade targets, having ranked him third earlier this month.

Now to give him his due, Oil on Whyte's Devon Hladunewich actually identified Provorov as a potential trade deadline target during the offseason. Now, it looks like the blue liner will indeed be moved, even though the Columbus Blue Jackets theoretical remain in playoff contention, sitting four points out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference at the time of writing.

The main reason for this comes down to the 27-year-old being a pending unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of this season. His cap hit is actually $6.75 million, but the Los Angeles Kings retained 30 percent of his salary after a three-way trade involving his former team, the Philadelphia Flyers.

As a result, the Oilers would only be taking on the remaining balance of of a $4.725 million cap hit for this season. Although this is still quite a lot for Stan Bowman and company, with a cap hit of just over $1.347 million as per PuckPedia, and projected to be around $3.497 million at the trade deadline.

Potentially a big price to pay beyond money

Where the Oilers could potentially really struggle to obtain Provorov, comes with him likely to demand a high return prize which could conceivably mean a first round draft pick. The Oilers do not possess one until the 2026 draft, and even if they did have one for next year, it's a lot to give up for a player who will probably just be a rental.

This is when the Oilers have to contemplate where their philosophy stands at, as of right now. In other words, the balance between going all in now, versus continuing to build a strong roster for the future in order to remain a consistent contender.

What you can say is that Provorov would be an excellent addition to the Oilers. He has all the potential to play as part of a first pairing if required, can log big minutes thanks to his durability, and is comfortable playing on either side despite being a left-hand shot.

The 2015 seventh overall draft pick is also capable of contributing offensively, having average 30+ points during his NHL career. In an ideal world, the Oilers should do everything possible to snap him up, and even try to sell him on the idea of remaining in Edmonton past this season.

Going back to the financial side of things, the Oilers could also potentially use the advantage of Evander Kane and his $5.125 million cap hit currently being on long-term injured reserve. One option is keeping him on there until the playoffs, which would then mean not having to account for any extra money used, whether it be towards Provorov specifically, or upgrading the team in general.

Ultimately, if we're honest we don't see the Russian native ending up in Edmonton. (Not that we'd have an issue with being proven wrong on this one.) What we do know though, is that the Oilers should at least make a play for him, because that blue line really does need the help.

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