After the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I took a look at the trade fit between the Oilers and the eight teams that were eliminated from the dance. Now that round two is all over, it’s time to repeat that exercise with the four teams that failed to reach the Conference Finals.
Today, we’ll start with the eastern teams. Here is the look at the four east teams that were knocked out in round one.
New York Islanders (Lost to Tampa in Five Games):
About four days ago, the Oilers and Islanders were perfect trade partners. Travis Hamonic put a damper on that by rescinding his trade request, a move that will severely impact the off-season for the Edmonton Oilers. Aside from Hamonic, however, is there a fit between these two sides?
The Oilers are in need of defenders, but with Hamonic off the block, the Islanders don’t have much. They likely won’t be trading Johnny Boychuk, Nick Leddy or Calvin De Haan, meaning Edmonton would have to settle on trading for an AHL’er or a depth option. Not ideal.
Edmonton could be interested in Josh Bailey as an option to add center depth, while RFA Ryan Strome may also be of interest. Strome never was able to grab a spot in the lineup and run with it, and the Islanders could be growing weary of the top-prospect. Having seen him in the AHL this season, I’d have time for him, he impressed me.
Pending UFA’s Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen should both be of interest to Edmonton too, although they may be out of the team’s price range.
Verdict: With Hamonic off the block, the likelihood of a trade between the sides is slim at best.
Washington Capitals (Lost to Pittsburgh in Six Games):
A massive disappointment for the Capitals, who once again failed to reach the Conference Finals. Washington will be faced with numerous questions this off-season, including how to finally get over the hump in the postseason. Thus far, that has been the question that Alexander Ovechkin and his teams just haven’t been able to figure out.
The Caps are going to be in a bind cap wise. The team has numerous RFA’s to re-sign and will have little money to do that AND find upgrades in the trade and free agent market.
RFA’s Marcus Johansson, Tom Wilson and Dmitri Orlov should be of interest to the Oilers. Johansson is a solid two-way center, while Wilson would provide some of that hard-nosed play that Edmonton is looking for in the bottom-six. Orlov, meanwhile, would help with the puck-moving issue in Edmonton.
As for other options, the Oilers may be interested in Mike Richards as a free agent in July, but that’s about it.
Verdict: Unless Washington moves one of their pending RFA’s to relieve pressure on the cap, there isn’t much of a fit between the Oilers and the Capitals.
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