Johnny Oduya?

TSN 1260’s Jason Gregor put out an interesting tweet on Wednesday afternoon following the Hawks’ decision to sign Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews to matching eight-year deals:

@JasonGregor: Shannon just said he is hearing Oduya is guy #Hawks looking to move to get under Cap. One yr on his deal, #Oilers should be calling.

The Hawks are going to be in cap trouble, paying both Toews and Kane over $10 M per season, and will have to find room to keep both Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook on board. That means that some depth players will have to be trimmed from the roster, and top-four defender Johnny Oduya could be one of those guys.

It makes some sense for the Hawks to move him. He’s a good player, but he’s already 32 years old and makes $3.3 M per season. No, he isn’t easily replaceable, but he’s easier to replace than one of the studs named above or younger defender Nik Hjalmarsson. The Hawks have some decent defensive prospects as well that could step up and fill a hole.

Oduya is also a free agent following the 2014-15 season, and will likely end up walking for a bigger contract anyways next July. It’s better to get an asset for a player you are likely to lose than wait and get nothing in return.

Should The Oil Be Calling?:

Yes, as Gregor says the Oilers should absolutely be calling on Johnny Oduya. He’s a veteran NHL defender who can fill a top-four role and be counted on. Oduya has been playing about 20 minutes a night for the last three seasons in Chicago, and has been handling PK time for one of the league’s best franchises.

Oduya also brings some offensive production to the table as well, as he has scored double digit point totals in each of the last three seasons since joining the Hawks. He’s a guy good for about five goals a season and around five-ten assists a year. Nothing spectacular, but he isn’t your Mark Fraser-type black hole offensively.

Defensively is where Oduya makes his money. He’s good at shutting the opponent down and good at moving the puck in the right direction. He posted a 53% Corsi For this past season, and marks of 54.9% and 49.3% during the 2012-13 and 2011-12 seasons respectively. Keep in mind he split 2011-12 between the Hawks and Jets, playing mainly with Winnipeg before a deadline deal.

Oduya has also been over 50% in the playoffs the last three seasons, including a 52% mark during the Hawks 2013 Stanley Cup run.

He’s not huge, but has decent size at 6-feet and 190 pounds. That’s about average size, and he’s proven he can be successful playing his style.

Again, Oduya isn’t a stud or a top-pairing defender even, but he’s a legit NHL defender that has had a lot of success in recent seasons playing a top-four role. The Oilers currently have Jeff Petry and Mark Fayne that can do that, and two bets in Martin Marincin and Nikita Nikitin. Oduya would be adding a sure thing to the blue-line, which is still needed.

Due to Chicago’s cap troubles, it’s likely that Oduya could be had for a David Perron-type package from last July, which was a younger player and a second round pick. Could Oscar Klefbom get you Johnny Oduya? You better believe it. Could, say Martin Gernat or David Musil and a second get you Oduya? It very well could as well.

Adding a player like Johnny Oduya would strengthen an already improved Oiler blue-line and would give Edmonton more reliable defensive play, which has been sorely lacking for years.

If these rumblings are in fact true, and we have no reason to doubt them, then Craig MacTavish should be working the phones seeing what is there for him to come by. Adding Johnny Oduya would only be another strong move in what has been a strong summer for the second year GM.