Oilers looking at Chychrun and Edmundson in possible trade for defenceman: report

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: the Edmonton Oilers want to upgrade their defence.

In a pair of reports over the past day, hockey insider Pierre LeBrun is suggesting that the Oilers are talking to “every selling team you can think of” in order to upgrade their defence.

Among the players he’s looked at, LeBrun said, are Jakob Chychrun of the Arizona Coyotes and Montreal Canadiens blueliner Joel Edmundson.

“Our understanding of the situation is that Ken Holland has been on the phone of late, a little more than usual. And he is fully investigating what’s out there on the defenceman trade market,” LeBrun said on TSN’s Insider Trading segment on Tuesday. “So yes, our understanding is he’s talking to Arizona about Chychrun, to Montreal about Joel Edmundson. Think of a team that has a defenceman that’s potentially on the trade market, and the Edmonton Oilers are trying to investigate fully what that means and what the price is. The prices are very high.”

The 24-year-old Chychrun has five goals and 15 assists in 24 games this season with the Arizona Coyotes, and has three years remaining on his contract at a cap hit of $4.6 million. He is a left-handed defenceman, but is capable of playing on both sides of the ice, averaging 22:43 of ice time this season.

Edmundson, meanwhile, carries a cap hit of $3.5 million through this season and next. Aged 29, he has one goal and four assists in five games this season while averaging 20:18.

“I think Ken Holland is willing to be patient, doesn’t want to make a panic move,” LeBrun added.

The Oilers are currently tied for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, sitting with a 21-18-3 record, the same mark as the St. Louis Blues.

In any season with Connor McDavid on your roster, it’s hard not to consider yourself as a trade deadline buyer if there’s any chance of going on a lengthy playoff run.

But just because the Oilers are interested, doesn’t mean the move is necessarily around the corner.

The Oilers currently have eight defencemen signed for a combined cap hit of $23 million, as per CapFriendly. Seven of the eight are signed through next season, with Evan Bouchard’s rookie contract set to expire this summer.

The NHL trade deadline is set for March 3.

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