Trade incoming? Edmonton Oilers have a logjam forming on defence
The Edmonton Oilers may have to make at least one other trade this offseason.
GM Stan Bowman has already completed two big deals early into the summer, shipping off Darnell Nurse to the San Jose Sharks and acquiring Devon Levi from the Buffalo Sabres. Those were big moves and will almost certainly have a major impact on Edmonton’s roster next season, but there is another issue at hand.
By bringing in Shakir Mukhamadullin and Ryan Shea while re-signing defenceman Spencer Statsney, there is now a logjam forming on Edmonton’s blueline. As it stands, the Oilers have a total of eight NHL defencemen making $1.3 million or more.
Those players include:
- Evan Bouchard (RD)
- Mattias Ekholm (LD)
- Shakir Mukhamadullin (LD/RD)
- Ryan Shea (LD)
- Jake Walman (LD)/RD)
- Connor Murphy (RD)
- Ty Emberson (RD)
- Spencer Stastney (LD)
Edmonton also has a few AHL guys like Josh Brown, Atro Leppanen, and Alec Regula who could push for spots in training camp.
It’s unlikely that the Oilers will carry more than seven defencemen throughout the season, so trading somebody out of the current group seems like the most optimal option while also gaining assets in return.
So, what could that trade look like?
Who is the odd man out?
It’s safe to say that any trade involving a defenceman is most likely to affect the bottom tier of that group.
Right now, the Oilers have an abundance of third-pairing depth defencemen and will probably look to move out one of those players before anybody at the top of the depth chart. For that reason, all of Bouchard, Ekholm, Walman, and Murphy are safe and locks to make the opening night roster.
You could also probably add Shea into that group, considering Edmonton invested a $20-million, five-year contract into him on the opening day of free agency.
That leaves just Mukhamadullin, Emberson, and Stastney to fight it out at the bottom of the defensive group.
Edmonton just traded for Mukhamadullin and inked him to a two-year extension, and the young Russian can play both sides, which will give head coach Mike Babcock the most options.
Whatever trade Bowman cooks up will likely involve either Emberson or Stastney, both of whom have recently inked extensions with Edmonton. So, who is the odd man out between those two? It’ll likely come down to utility.
Emberson has already built up a lot of goodwill with the Oilers organization and was a perfectly suitable third-pairing defenceman last year and into the playoffs. Stastney, on the other hand, quickly found himself as a regular in the press box as the season progressed.
Another point in Emberson’s favour is that he’s a right-handed defenceman as compared to Stastney’s left-handedness. Righties are more coveted around the league, and Edmonton is likely to covet a player like Emberson more than Stastney.
Emberson also holds the slight edge analytically, according to HockeyStats.com.
HockeyStats.com
HockeyStats.com
For those reasons, it feels like Stastney could find his way out of town sooner rather than later.