Trade incoming? Oilers have been scouting Blue Jackets: report
The rumour mill surrounding the Edmonton Oilers has connected them to yet another team.
After weeks of speculation that Oilers GM Ken Holland has been working the phones to upgrade his goaltending, it now appears the team is scouting players on the Columbus Blue Jackets. At least three Edmonton scouts were spotted watching the Blue Jackets play the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night.
Considering previous rumours that the Oilers have an interest in Canadiens’ goaltender Sam Montembault, it may be easy to think he’s the player that the scouts have an eye on. Not so fast.
According to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline, this was the second straight time the Oilers had scouts watching the Blue Jackets.
Second straight game for them here. Gentlemen, start your rumors. https://t.co/Id5o0Is80H
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) November 30, 2023
The obvious assumption is that the team has an eye on the Columbus goaltenders. Elvis Merzlikins was in net for the Blue Jackets on Wednesday. The 29-year-old Latvian broke into the NHL during the 2019-20 season and had three very good seasons with Columbus.
His rookie season saw him appear in 33 games where he put up a 13-9-8 record with a stellar .923 save percentage. Merzlikins is, however, coming off the worst season of his career as he struggled to be consistent with a 7-18-2 record and a .873 save percentage on a lowly Blue Jackets team that finished near the bottom of the league.
Those poor results seem to have rebounded so far this season for Merzlikins. Though the Blue Jackets continue to struggle in the standings, he has been solid between the pipes with a 5-8-3 record and a decent .907 save percentage.
The problem with this trade is Merzlikins’ cap hit, which comes in at $5.4 million. The Blue Jackets would have to either retain heavily or take back an expensive contract in return to make the money work for the Oilers.
There is also the possibility that the Oilers could target a Blue Jackets defenceman. The Fourth Period‘s David Pagnotta threw out Adam Boqvist’s name as a player that might intrigue Edmonton.
Oilers / Blue Jackets – two teams that have been looking to make moves for some time. I wonder if Adam Boqvist is a D target for Edmonton. https://t.co/26PkwTLXUr
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) November 30, 2023
Boqvist is an interesting player. He was initially drafted eighth overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2018 and was traded to the Blue Jackets in 2021 as part of the Seth Jones deal.
The Swedish defender has not quite lived up to his high draft billing yet. He posted a career-high 24 points in 46 games last year and is off to a fairly slow start this season with just two points in 10 games.
The defensive results from the past three seasons aren’t encouraging for Boqvist. Per Natural Stat Trick, in 1,899 minutes on the ice with the Blue Jackets, he has an expected goals-for percentage of 49.48 and a high-danger chances-for percentage of 45.68.
Those aren’t egregiously bad numbers, so maybe those could be bumped up by playing on a stronger team. It does make him a bit of a risky bet for the Oilers if they are hoping to stabilize their defence.
Could there also be a deal to be made surrounding a pair of struggling players with expensive cap hits in Jack Campbell and Patrik Laine? Probably not, but it’s an interesting question.
Other intriguing options on the Blue Jackets roster who could be targeted in a trade include defenceman Andrew Peeke and a recent waiver wire pick-up, goaltender Spencer Martin.