Oilers need to respond after Canucks make big splash in trade market
The Edmonton Oilers need to have another deadline where they go all-in.
After the Vancouver Canucks made the first big move of the trade season last night, acquiring centerman Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames, it is clear that management thinks they have a chance to make some noise in the playoffs.
If the Oilers are serious about contending for the Stanley Cup this spring, they must follow suit and respond with a big trade of their own. The team may be on a 16-game winning streak, but just because Edmonton is having success right now doesn’t mean they have no room to improve.
The #Canucks pushing all their chips in for the season. You think this would take them out of the Jake Guentzel sweepstakes.
Could that be a target for #Oilers as the deadline approaches? Gotta think front office won’t stand by while their division rival beefs up.
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) February 1, 2024
Over the last few weeks, reports from various NHL insiders suggest that the Oilers could be targeting a top-six winger who can play on the team’s second line next to Leon Draisaitl. Right now, those second-line wingers are Evander Kane and Warren Foegele.
While Kane does have a history of producing at the top of the lineup, the 32-year-old has struggled to provide consistent play this season. Foegele has performed above expectations in the role, but an ideal spot for him would be in the bottom six.
If Jake Guentzel shakes loose from the Pittsburgh Penguins, it could be the perfect high-impact target for Oilers GM Ken Holland, who also made a splash at last year’s deadline by acquiring defenceman Mattias Ekholm from the Nashville Predators.
It would also allow the Oilers to one-up the Canucks, as Guentzel is a much more productive and proven player than Lindholm is. The 29-year-old has 22 goals and 49 points this season with the Penguins, which is nearly 20 more than Lindholm’s 32 points.
The problem is the price the Oilers will have to pay for a guy like Guentzel.
Like Lindholm, Guentzel is on an expiring contract and is set to be a UFA at the end of the season. The Canucks were smart to make the first big move at this year’s deadline as they were able to set the market for other players on expiring contracts, and they opted to pay a hefty price.
Despite having a down year, the Canucks ponied up with a roster player, a first-round pick, a high-end prospect, and an additional pick and prospect. That is five assets in return for one player.
Considering that Guentzel is having a much better year, you have to believe that Penguins GM Kyle Dubas will be using that return as the starting point if he decides to entertain offers. The Oilers equivalent to that deal would be something along the lines of Kane, Philip Broberg, a first-round pick, a conditional fourth, and a prospect like Matvey Petrov.
Kane fits the Kuzmenko mould of a skilled player struggling with consistency, but it’s unlikely the team decides to trade him based on their belief in the player and the fact that he has an NMC that could prevent a trade.
There is also the matter of cap space, as the Oilers will need to find ways to make higher cap hits fit. This can be done in a variety of ways, including leaving Dylan Holloway and Phil Kemp in the AHL for a while longer, which would be surprising considering Holloway’s recent play, or by getting teams to retain players.
Holland and the rest of the Oilers brass will have to get creative, but as the arms race starts to heat up in the Pacific Division, it is clear that the option of standing idly by will soon be off the table.