Oilers keeping tabs on Jordan Eberle with trade deadline looming: report
The Edmonton Oilers are staying active in the trade market with tomorrow’s deadline looming over the league.
GM Ken Holland was busy yesterday, snatching up Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick from the Anaheim Ducks in a three-team deal involving the Tampa Bay Lightning. It seemed like that was going to be it for big trades, as Holland later told media that he was going to be looking for a depth defenceman.
Well, after seeing their division rival Vegas Golden Knights make two big splashes by adding Anthony Mantha and Noah Hanifin, it seems like the Oilers are looking to get back into the market.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported this morning that Edmonton is keeping tabs on Jordan Eberle’s situation with the Seattle Kraken.
Believe #Oilers are one of the teams keeping an eye on #SeaKraken and Jordan Eberle situation.
Seattle and Eberle are working on an extension, but it sounds like term is the hang-up. If Seattle doesn't have Eberle signed, he will be moved prior to Friday's deadline.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 7, 2024
Eberle would be a great candidate to round out the Oilers’ top six, having been a proven scorer in the NHL for quite some time. It’s been a tougher year for Eberle, who is playing on a Kraken team that has regressed from their first playoff season last year. In 58 games, he has 14 goals and 37 points.
Last season, he had 20 goals and 63 points in 82 games.
Oilers fans are very familiar with the player, with Eberle having been drafted by the Oilers in 2008 and spending seven seasons with the club before being traded to the New York Islanders in the summer of 2017. During his time in Alberta’s capital, he was a fan favourite who was known for scoring highlight-reel goals, something that was quickly apparent from his very first NHL game.
The price to re-acquire a player like Eberle shouldn’t break the bank for the team. He’s on an expiring contract so he would be a rental and the cost for similar wingers, like Mantha, have been a lot cheaper than centremen like Henrique.
With 50% retention on Eberle’s $5.5 million cap hit, the Oilers would likely need to pony up a second-round pick and something like a fourth-round pick. That is the price that Vegas paid for Mantha with that type of retention.
That would bring the cap hit down to just $2.7 million. Double retention would drop it to around $1.3 million, which the Oilers could fit after sending Dylan Holloway down to the AHL this morning.
The deadline is just over 24 hours away and the Oilers need to add another impact player if they want to keep pace with the Golden Knights. We’ll see what unfolds.
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