Oilers must pursue a scoring winger to play alongside their stars

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl may soon have a new partner on their wing. According to Edmonton Oilers analyst Jason Gregor, the team is more likely than not to acquire a scoring winger ahead of this year’s trade deadline.

Speaking on the latest episode of his podcast, Gregor tied the expectation to the Oilers’ past pursuits and current market.

“I'm going to say top of the list, mark it down, things that I think will happen before the trade deadline, the Oilers get a scoring winger,” he said.

“They tried to get Mikko Rantanen last year. So you know Stan Bowman’s looking to get a big-name winger… I know it’s 125 players who currently are UFAs in the final year of a multi-year deal, and another 50 players who signed one-year deals, so that’s a lot of pending UFAs; there’s gonna be some guys available at the trade deadline.”

The need itself is obvious. Edmonton boasts two of the most gifted offensive players in the world in McDavid and Draisaitl but when both are neutralized or forced into the “Nuclear Option” which coach Kris Knoblauch has openly opted for, the rest of the lineup has to scramble to generate offense. 

The Stanley Cup Final failure last spring hammered home the point. When McDavid and Draisaitl didn’t dominate, Edmonton lacked enough support scoring to grind through the series against deeper opponents.

That is why a winger makes the most sense. The blue line is solid, the goaltending might seem shaky just yet but Stuart Skinner knows how important this season is for him and is expected to perform, but the Oilers middle six remains a weakness. Adding a 20-30 goal scorer would allow Knoblauch to roll three lines with real bite.

The trade market supports Gregor’s case. This season’s deadline will be heavy with pending UFAs, from proven scorers on one-year deals to veterans on the final season of multi-year contracts. While true franchise wingers like Rantanen are rarely moved mid-season, there will be plenty of impact options who can slot into a contender’s top six.

Bowman has already shown a willingness to be aggressive but measured by targeting players with upside who don’t completely gut the team’s future. That suggests a realistic outcome that the team will be looking for a rental winger with proven scoring touch, not essentially a blockbuster megadeal that costs the team multiple blue-chip prospects.

Leon Draisaitl urges patience on Oilers “Nuclear Option”

Leon Draisaitl has weighed in on the ongoing debate surrounding the Edmonton Oilers’ “Nuclear Option” , the tactic of loading him and Connor McDavid onto the same line. Speaking to the media earlier this week, the star forward made it clear that while the tactic has its critics, it’s not meant to be permanent.

He also made it clear that trusts head coach Kris Knoblauch to make the right calls.

“Guys, we’ve done this, 10, 11 years, it’s going to switch, it’s going to go back and forth,” Draisaitl explained.

“I do think it’s probably easier to coach for him [Knoblauch], when we’re together, coach the bench. We’ve done this for so long, we know exactly how to flip-flop back and forth, and if we’re together or apart, obviously always excited to play with him, always a pleasure to be on the same line as him, we’ll see where it goes.”

Of course, this isn’t something set in stone and Knoblauch himself has noted that the “Nuclear Option” is just one of several strategies he will deploy depending on the opponent and game situation. With some help with a scoring winger in place this season, it might not even have to be.