Oilers Trade Chatter

Happy Friday folks! Another week has come to a close, and the Oilers are in the midst of a massive home-stand that could save their season. The games aren’t the only thing happening however right now with our beloved hockey club, trade chatter is picking up as well, and some interesting options maybe opening up thanks to injuries around the NHL.

The Opportunities:

The Philadelphia Flyers are a hockey team that has struggled in the early going this year. They haven’t put together a ton of solid performances, and were already in the market for a defender. Today, the Flyers lost defenders Andrew MacDonald and Braydon Coburn for four weeks a piece with injuries. The Flyers, according to reports out of Philly, are looking for defenders via trade to fill the holes.

Meanwhile in Boston, the Bruins lost top defender Zdeno Chara for four-to-six weeks with a tear in his PCL. The Chara injury is also coupled with an injury to Dougie Hamilton, who took a shot off of his right hand in practice earlier Friday. Oh, and don’t forget Boston traded defender Johnny Boychuk before the season, and is already without Kevan Miller. Boston is in need of something on the back-end to cope with these injuries.

The Oilers Side:

Edmonton has two defenders that are prime trade targets. One is Jeff Petry, a young puck-mover who is a proven top-four defender and in a contract year, while the other is Andrew Ference, the veteran captain who is best served at this point as a third-pairing shut-down defender who brings a physical side to the game. Ference has time left on his contract and a sizable amount of money owed to him as well, and will be far tougher to move.

A lot of teams will be interested in Petry. Yes, he is a UFA at the end of the season, but Petry has a ton of value to NHL teams. Petry is only 26 years old, and is entering the prime of his NHL career. He’s a guy that brings a skill-set that everyone is seemingly looking for too, he’s a puck-moving defender who has a great ability to pass the puck, and can provide offense to a team from the blue-line. He’s Edmonton’s best defender with the break-out pass.

He’s also a complete defender. No, Petry won’t be shutting down Crosby and Stamkos, but he can play defense and is not as liability when used in the correct role, as a second pairing defender in the NHL. He’s only getting better too, which is an added bonus. Oiler fans might not appreciate this asset, but I’ll tell you this much, other teams around the NHL do, and someone is going to get lucky in trading for this guy.

As for Ference, as mentioned he’s more of a third-pairing defender at this point in his career. He’s a guy that provides physical play and leadership, but at this point not much more. His defensive game has taken a step back, and he’s got a bigger contract.

What Can We Expect?:

Edmonton is looking for a center, we know that, we’ve heard this many times before from legit folks like Darren Dreger from TSN. Jeff Petry is a guy that has been rumored as trade bait since he signed his one year deal back in the summer, so he makes sense to move to one of these two teams, who both are looking for top-four defenders. For some reason, Edmonton just did doesn’t like this player, and will likely move him.

As for Ference, I think Edmonton would like to move him. He’s a left handed shot, and doesn’t provide too much anymore, don’t get it wrong, I love this guy, but he just isn’t what he once was. I think Edmonton would like to move him to open up a spot for Oscar Klefbom, but I can’t see either Boston or Philly taking a shot on him with his contract. The only hope? If the Bruins really feel that they can bring Ference back up to speed to where he was a few years ago as a member of the Bruins.

The most likely thing? A Petry trade to Philadelphia in my mind. Boston does not panic, and likely will stay the course, while the Flyers are a team that is in a dire situation and needs a defender badly. I could see them offering up a legit asset if they lose the next few games and defense remains an issue.