Edmonton Oilers fans knew making a trade for an impactful player today wouldn’t be easy, but most still believed something would happen.
Many teams in the Western Conference were able to make massive improvements. The Dallas Stars added Mikko Rantanen, while the Colorado Avalanche picked up Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle. The Oilers, on the other hand, stood pat.
While the Oilers were able to add a physical and depth scoring forward in Trent Frederic, along with a dependable blue liner in Jake Walman, the expectation was that they would make one final move on deadline day. Whether it was another impactful defenceman or a goalie, many believed this team needed to do more in order to compete with some of the other elite rosters in the Western Conference.
Had this been the outcome a month ago, it may not have seemed like much of a big deal. The Oilers are struggling as of late, however, which has caused some panic from their fan base. Despite those struggles, they still sit second place in the Pacific Division and trail the Vegas Golden Knights by just four points.
The silver lining for the Oilers on this disappointing day is that, whether it be late in the season or in the playoffs, they will get what feels like a deadline addition in Evander Kane’s return. The 33-year-old has yet to play this season but is making progress in his recovery from a number of surgeries. He suited up for 77 games in 2023-24, scoring 24 goals and 44 points.
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