Surprise -NHL Trade Deadline

This years NHL trade deadline is less than 24 hours away and the Oilers are set to trade Jeff Petry in that time frame. But we all expect that to happen, is there going to be anything we don’t expect to happen? Is there going to be any bold moves, or any moves other than Petry for that matter? I’ve got a few ideas, some are good, some not so good but all things I’d consider if I was the Oilers this trade deadline.

Boyd Gordon?

Now before you get all gritensity on me and close the article just hear me out. We may have seen they type of NHL player Anton Lander or we may not have but it looks like Lander has finally turned into the NHLer we’ve been hoping for. There are a few differences between Gordon and Lander of course;

Lander has more offence. Boyd has more defense. Lander is unproven and we dont’ know what to expect. The opposite can be said about a proven Boyd Gordon, in fact we know exactly what to expect with him. But, Lander is winning face offs at a good percentage, playing good defense and chipping in points at a very good rate. Gordon wins faceoffs and plays defence.

So why not have young Anton written in for the fourth line spot next season. Not to mention that Gordon’s value will never be as high as it is right now, he’s still got a year left on his contract worth 3.0 million, and if you try and trade him next year you can bet other teams won’t be willing to pay as much for what would be a rental.

Who know’s what you’d get for Gordon, but the Flames did get a second and a third for Glencross. In a deep draft year those picks could help if MacT is going to try and move up at any point.

Trading Gordon may or may not work out, but if you count on the Oilers signing Derek Roy, Lander, Nuge, Draisaitl (maybe) then add a center via draft (McDavid or Eichel) that’s 5 solid options. Mac T may even look to add another center via trade or free agency. So why not now.

Tyler Bozak?

The Maple Leafs are in full on re-build mode, they’re liquidating faster than a clothes truck in a New York City alleyway. Anyway, center Tyler Bozak is available and I think Craig MacTavish should take a serious look at him. Bozak’s possesion stats aren’t the greatest but he can play hockey and having him at center behind Nuge wouldn’t be all that bad. Then you have a depth chart that looks like this;

Nuge

Bozak

Roy

Lander

Draisaitl

McDavid or Eichel (Who’s obviously sit 2nd or 3rd on the list)

That’s six centers, SIX. Looks a hell of a lot better than it did last year, and so if all of those players listed above you can move Drai and McEichel onto the wing on any given line. Depth, what a good problem to have.

Mike Richards?

I’m not sure Richards is available, he’s been playing in the AHL for a while now but he’s managed to be a point/game player down there. With the rosters expanding shortly I could see the Kings wanting to have him with the big team going into the playoffs. Now I understand that his cap hit is massive, but if MacT could convinve Lombardi to eat some of Richards salary then he’d be another good fit to bolster the teams depth at center.

This season has been a rough on for Richards, but through out his career he’s averaged 48 points/season, that is pretty good offense for a guy playing on your second or third line. He can kill penalties, he can play the power play. A pretty serviceable player that I think, because of the Kings cap issues, can be had for a reasonably low price.

The Others

There have been a tonne of other rumors out there that definetely carry more weight then the ideas I’m spitballing around, and they’ve been written about at length. You can check out Alex’s take on some of those moves here, and here and of course make sure to keep track of everything Oilers related here tomorrow or sooner if there is news.

Thanks for Reading