The Edmonton Oilers will have no shortage of teams to pick from this off-season to make deals with. In the Western Conference alone, there are now six teams that have to be disappointed with how their season ended.
After round one, I took a look at the four teams that were eliminated and looked at their trade fit with the Oilers. Today, I’ll do that same exercise with the two teams that were eliminated in the second round out west.
Dallas Stars (Lost to St. Louis in Seven Games):
From not in the playoffs to the best record out west, that was Dallas year-over-year from 2014-15 to 2015-16. After a second round exit this spring, the Stars will be looking to shore up a weak defensive group and fix a horrendous goaltending situation.
From a dealing with Edmonton perspective, there isn’t too much here. The Oilers would certainly be interested in Cody Eakin to help at center, but he’s a key piece in Dallas. Ditto for John Klingberg, who would fix a lot of Edmonton’s problems on the defensive end of things.
One player that could be had that Edmonton might like? Antoine Roussel, who could really help the team’s bottom-six forward group.
The Oilers are sure to be interested in UFA’s Jason Demers, Alex Goligoski and Patrick Eaves, all of whom could fill needs within the lineup. Kris Russell is another name to watch, although he’s not an ideal target.
Verdict: Trade wise, there isn’t much of a fit here. The Oilers should be targeting pending Dallas UFA’s, however.
Nashville Predators (Lost to San Jose in Seven Games):
The Predators took another step forward this year, getting to the second round. They were a win away from their first ever conference finals and they showed the rest of the NHL that they are a legit threat. All in all, a pretty good year for Nashville.
That said, the Preds are likely looking for more scoring, especially with Jimmy Vesey deciding not to sign with them. Nashville surely would be interested in adding a value player like Nail Yakupov, wouldn’t they?
There are plenty of targets for the Oilers, too. Ryan Ellis is a strong puck-mover and a powerplay threat that would fit right into the team’s top-four. Colin Wilson could be the perfect big-bodied center to slide into the depth role behind the big three in Edmonton, while Roman Josi is a pipedream.
Nashville has a lot of valuable pieces, but they aren’t likely to move any of them unless they get a big return. To me, Ellis is the most appealing, but he would likely cost the Oilers someone like Jordan Eberle. That’s very risky.
As for free agents, Carter Hutton could be appealing as a backup to Cam Talbot, someone who could give Laurent Brossoit more time in the AHL. Other than that, not much to pick from here.
Verdict: Unless it’s a bigger deal, these two teams aren’t very likely to deal with each other this off-season.
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