Big news coming out of Nashville a few days ago as 2013 fourth overall pick, Seth Jones, was dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for, budding star, Ryan Johansen. The deal comes as a reasonable shock to the hockey world, but much has been said about Jones and Johansen in the past weeks in terms of trading, and it made sense for both sides. Johansen was catching headlines with, newly hired head coach, John Tortorella benching the 23-year-old, and Nashville was willing to unload from their plethora of defenders in exchange for some much-needed offence. Both teams came out on top in this one. The question that hasn’t been explored, however, is what this means for teams like the Edmonton Oilers, who were linked to Seth Jones before the trade, and who else they can turn to as the market for premier defencemen slowly shrinks, and when the supply goes down, the price goes up.
The Oilers, as we all should be made aware of, are in desperate need of a game changer on their back-end to help close the gap for Darnell Nurse and Oscar Klefbom. Both Nurse and Klefbom are fantastic defender but, neither are ready to lead this team defensively. An excellent acquisition moving in this direction was the free agent signing of Andrej Sekera this past summer who, after a relatively slow start, is performing very well. If Peter Chiarelli can pull off a move to acquire a, preferably right-handed, guy of Sekera’s caliber before the deadline we could see a the Oilers make a decent run for the postseason in their very lowly division. The market for a move like this is thin, while teams don’t exactly like to get rid of quality NHL D-men, and it will have to take a savvy effort from Peter Chiarelli.
All hope shouldn’t be lost, obviously, as there are some plausible options out there that Oilers brass could explore….
Travis Hamonic:
May as well get the elephant out of the room right away. By now it should be old news that Travis Hamonic is sitting patiently waiting for the Isles to work a deal out. Hamonic, who requested a trade this past summer, cited that he would like to return closer to his home province of Manitoba. Remarkably for Oilers fans, he had Oilers on an exclusive list of teams that he would prefer to be traded to. Also worthy of mention is the fact that is a right-handed shot. This, however, is no guarantee that Hamonic will be donning the Oil drop anytime soon. Isles GM Garth Snow has apparently been playing hardball with interested suitors and seems determined to score a young defender back, an asset that the Oilers can’t afford to give up. The only way Hamonic ends up with the Oilers before the deadline is if Chiarelli can sweet talk snow in taking back a forward like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Jordan Eberle. The Jones-Johansen swap could actually strengthen the possibility of a deal like this, given that the price seems fairly even.
Kevin Shattenkirk:
Well, I hope you enjoyed that little spiel on Hamonic, because it gets a little more unlikely from here on. Kevin Shattenkirk has been traded once before, back in 2011, and their have been rumblings since last years draft that the Blues would be open to moving the veteran of 371 NHL games. He’s been among the NHL’s second tier of elite pivots and he would be very big addition on Edmonton’s blue line. Shattenkirk also posses a right hand shot, and could slot in very nicely on the top pairing with Klefbom. His contract is up next season, which is plenty of time to discuss an extension. The Blues are in need of some complimentary pieces up front for their offensive stars such as Tarasenko and Steen. Once again, the attractive Oiler players are Hopkins and Eberle. Also helping this deal seem more possible is the emergence of rookie Colton Parayko. While his name has been out of the press lately, it wouldn’t surprise me if the notion gets tossed around more often as the deadline lingers nearer and nearer.
Dustin Byfuglien:
Ok, maybe I lied, this may not be too outlandish at all. The Winnipeg Jets are in a tough spot with their brooding blue-liner as they are chock full of capable right handers, and Byfuglien might be the odd one out. He’s a free agent at the end of the year, so it would make sense for the Jets to trade him at the deadline to get at least something before he enters free agency. Now, the Jets are most likely looking to move him to the East (who would want to face big Buff more than twice a season) so the Oilers might have to pay a premium to get him. Lets imagine for a second though….Darnell Nurse and Dustin Byfuglien….Calgary fans should shiver at that idea. Edmonton would have to be cautious in these trade talks, as they shouldn’t have to part ways with a guy like Nuge or Eberle for a pending FA. This is a deal that would require a 1st rounder and a prospect from Edmonton….a guy like Davidson perhaps. The first rounder would only be in play, of course, if Edmonton was making a legitimate push for the postseason. Who knows, I might not be close, I wouldn’t trade a high value guy like Nugent or Eberle for a player that may only play half the season with the team. If the Jet’s don’t get a better offer, which is unlikely, then the Oilers could be in position to score Big Buff.
The Oilers have taken some big strides this season, and if Chiarelli is able to snag one of these three guys at the deadline, playoffs could be a very real thing. Here’s hoping to the best!
Follow me on Twitter @CrazyOilersFan and feel free to leave your opinion in the comments!
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