Oilers interested in trade for Coyotes' blueliner Gostisbehere: report
It’s not just centre Nick Bjugstad that the Edmonton Oilers are eyeing in the desert.
Turns out they have an appetite for defenceman Shayne Gostisbehere, too.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, who reported on the Bjugstad rumour on Hockey Night in Canada on the weekend, followed up on the Arizona Coyotes report by adding that the Oilers have eyes on bolstering their blue line with the injured Gostisbehere.
“I think the Oilers like Bjugstad, and after I said that on Saturday night someone called me on Sunday and they said they think it’s more than interest,” Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts podcast Monday.
“They think there’s been some pretty detailed conversations between the two teams. As I mentioned on Saturday night, if you break down Bjugstad’s performance this year, he’s got 11 goals, 10 are even-strength, one is shorthanded.
“He’s at a $900k number that anyone can handle.
“As a matter of fact, the same person said to me they wouldn’t be surprised if not only Bjugstad is on the Oilers radar, but so is one of his teammates — the currently injured Shayne Gostisbehere.”
Gostisbehere, who is expected to miss four-to-six weeks with an upper-body injury, has 29 points (nine goals, 20 assists) in 48 games with Arizona this season, and 299 points (83 goals, 116 assists) in 511 games with the Coyotes and Philadelphia Flyers.
He’s in the final season of a six-year, $27 million contract that pays $4.5 million annually.
Edmonton has just over $1 million of current cap space, and is over $9 million into long-term injured reserve.
“I don’t know where this is going to go because like I said I think there’s other interest in him, I don’t think Arizona is going to have any trouble moving him if that’s what they decide to do, but I do think Edmonton’s one of the teams there and I think they’ve talked reasonably seriously about it,” Friedman said.
The NHL Trade Deadline is set for March 3.
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