The NHL’s trade deadline will take place in six days and it’s pretty fair to assume that the Edmonton Oilers will be involved in the action in some capacity. The odds would suggest that they would just sell off a few pieces, but as we discussed yesterday (here), there is quite a bit of smoke suggesting that the Oilers may in fact be big time players.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman did a Reddit AMA on Monday afternoon and was asked about possible moves that would see players people didn’t expect to get moved move. His response is as follows:
Question: Are there any players that many would assume aren’t in play that you think have a decent chance of being dealt this deadline? I love your 30 thoughts column by the way, thanks for doing this.
Answer: There are always surprises. I’ve talked about Jacob Trouba. I wonder about the ANA D. EDM has one major move, if it chooses to do it. But if I was really going off the radar, it might be Jordan Staal. That’s my own opinion, though.
This may just be Friedman spit-balling here, and maybe I’m reading too much into this, but saying that “Edmonton has one major move if it chooses to do it” doesn’t sound like speculation. To me, it sounds like Friedman has some legit information and that something is on going.
What exactly it could be, well that is anyone’s guess. He could be touching on Travis Hamonic, who is a perfect fit for the Oilers and who has requested a trade to Western Canada. He could also be touching on Kevin Shattenkirk, whom would be another logical fit for Edmonton and who may actually be available. He could also be touching on a player we simply haven’t heard of in the rumor mill to this point.
The point of bringing this up? That the new management group in Edmonton, led by Peter Chiarelli, has options on the table. If the Oilers decide to change the mix of this team up, they have the option of pulling the trigger on a major deal. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, Peter Chiarelli is not afraid to make the ballsy move and he will do what is right for his hockey team. If he believes that moving RNH or Eberle for a defender is the right move, then he will do it.
I’m not sure if that is what Friedman is getting at here, but I’d imagine if we are talking about a “major move” then we are talking about one of these young forwards.
Interesting times ahead in these next six days. The rumors are heating up and will only get hotter between now and 3:00 p.m. est on Monday afternoon.
Schultz And The Habs?:
The Montreal Canadiens, who lost 2-1 in the shootout to the Nashville Predators last night, received word that D Tom Gilbert will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury that will require surgery. This opens up a hole on the right side for Montreal and, of course, many who follow the Oilers suggested that Justin Schultz might be an option for the Habs.
I’m not going to say that it won’t happen, I’m not connected, but it doesn’t make sense from this angle. The Habs are not making the playoffs this season and likely would not qualify Schultz at his $3.9 million price tag. The odds that they trade for essentially a rental defender are very low. This just doesn’t make much sense.
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