Oilers reportedly looking to add another blue-liner before trade deadline

The Edmonton Oilers have had an eventful couple of days including, as per Devon Hladunewich, acquiring blue-liner Troy Stetcher from the Arizona Coyotes. However, they are apparently still attempting to do more, as we tick down towards Friday's 1:00 p.m. MT trade deadline.

According to Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff, the Oilers are one of a number of teams looking for defensive reinforcements. However, the key is that they are focused on someone relatively inexpensive.

This is entirely understandably, given the Oilers' salary cap position at the time of posting. More specifically, as per Cap Friendly, they have just $1,035,008 of available cap space.

The question is, who could or should Ken Holland and company be focusing their attention on? Well, according to Gabriel Foley of Pro Hockey Rumors, two potential targets are the Buffalo Sabres' Erik Johnson and David Savard of the Montreal Canadiens.

Erik Johnson

Beginning with Johnson, he would without doubt be a short-term solution, give the combination of his age and contract situation. He's 35 years old and set to become an unrestricted free agent following this season.

The right-shot defenceman has never quite lived up to being selected first overall in the 2006 draft, not helped by constantly battling injuries. At the same time though, he has still enjoyed a fine career which includes an All-Star selection in 2015 and winning the Stanley Cup a couple of seasons ago.

Johnson is on course to record the second-lowest average ice time of his career this season, at 13:48. However, it's his veteran leadership, penalty kill capabilities and overall experience which could prove crucial for the Oilers, come playoff time.

The Bloomington, Minnesota native has missed the last few games due to illness. However, as per Daniel Becker of Sabre Noise, he was held out on Wednesday (and Thursday) night due to being on the trade block.

David Savard

Turning to Savard, he isn't much younger at 33 years old. However, he does have another year remaining on his contract following this season.

The 2009 fourth round draft pick is as tough as they come, playing with the type of fearlessness which can galvanise his teammates and demoralise opponents. He also still averages 20+ minutes per game, playing as part of the Canadiens' second pairing.

Interestingly, Savard finally got to experience Stanley Cup glory the season before Johnson. Either player would be a solid and intriguing addition for the Oilers.

Both have similar cap hits, with Johnson at $3.25 million and Savard at $3.5 million. However, this is where Cody Ceci comes in as an asset to send in the other direction, with his own cap hit of $3.25 million.

Whether either of these potential trades -- or another one altogether -- come to fruition, remains to be seen. Regardless, it figures to be an interesting Friday in Edmonton for Oilers fans.

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