With the puck drop to the NHL season 70 days away, the Edmonton Oilers are one of the few teams around the NHL who are going into the season thinking Stanley Cup or bust. After having lost to the eventual cup winners 3 years in a row the Oilers look for this year to be their year to hoist the cup once again finally.
While the Oilers need to make the playoffs, taking a quick look at their roster there is no doubt that they will make the playoffs this season. If they do not we have got bigger problems. So that means by the time the NHL trade deadline rolls around the Edmonton Oilers will be looking to bring in some major pieces to push this team over the edge.
The main area I think the Oilers are going to look to improve in is on their blueline. The thing with the Oilers is they have what could be the best forward group in the NHL and a goalie that has the ability to steal a game or two. It is their defensive group that is only slightly above average. For a team that has only Cup aspirations, you need every aspect of your team to be better than slightly above average.
For this article, I am focusing on players that are going to be rentals. A rental is a player who will become a UFA at the end of the season. Another thing that I have done is take out teams that I know are not going to be sellers at the deadline. For example, Aaron Ekblad becomes a UFA, but I can assume the Florida Panthers will not be sellers, so I did not make him an option for the Oilers. Without further ado, here is the start of the list.