Oilers GM Bowman "aggressively" searching trade market: report
The Edmonton Oilers are reeling after an ugly 6-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets that also saw them lose Connor McDavid to an injury.
After a pair of encouraging wins over the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings, the Oilers’ record is 4-4-1. However, they now find themselves behind the eight ball with another disappointing loss.
It’s been a frustrating season for some of the team’s top players, with guys like Zach Hyman and Viktor Arvidsson struggling to score goals. On the backend, the team is still having trouble icing a reliable second pair with Darnell Nurse. Goaltending has also been very shaky, especially for Stuart Skinner, who had a horrid .760 save percentage in Monday night’s loss.
This is far from where the Oilers were expected to be this season, and it apparently has GM Stan Bowman busy working the phones. TSN’s Darren Dreger was on Edmonton Sports Talk this morning, where he revealed a little bit about how the new Oilers GM is handling the rough start.
“The word on the street is that [Bowman] is working more aggressively trying to find some help,” Dreger revealed during his hit. “I don’t think there is anything magical coming from the General Manager’s office, but I do think the ingredients are there for this team to be much better than what we’ve seen here.”
Dreger previously mentioned that the Oilers were not concerned with their third pairing and indicated that this could mean that Bowman is searching to upgrade the top four through a trade of some sort.
The obvious spot to upgrade is a second-pair right-handed defenceman for Nurse to play alongside. Just about every option available to the Oilers has not yielded the desired result, and even swapping Nurse onto the right side for a game proved to be a faulty idea as well. It’s the one area on the roster that has seen near-daily changes, and it’s clear that the team currently lacks a player who can properly perform in that role.
Making trades early in the season is difficult as teams are still trying to get a handle on what they have, and Bowman certainly won’t be the only GM in the market for a top-four RHD. The NHL trade deadline is still five months away, but if Bowman can get this team some help sooner rather than later, it could be the difference in winning the division.