As we approach the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, a reevaluation of the roster is necessary. For the first couple of months of the season, the clear need was a goalie. But as Stuart Skinner has undergone a resurgence, Calvin Pickard has been a solid backup when called on, and even Jack Campbell seems to be settling his game down in the AHL, that need may be put on hold.
Instead, we are starting to look at skater depth. One area to look is improving on defence on the right side.
But most of the rumours and speculation at the moment seem to be headed towards the forward position.
A few names have been swirling around lately, and one of the intriguing ones is Boone Jenner, captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Jenner available for trade?
The Blue Jackets are not where they would like to be this season. The rebuild has not progressed the way the team was anticipating, not helped by the turmoil at the head coaching spot with the misguided hiring and quick resignation of Mike Babcock over the past offseason.
This gives an opportunity for the front office to take on the seller role once again.
Although it seems unlikely that Columbus would trade their captain, for the right package the team might be willing to agree to a trade. Unfortunately, this may mean a massive overpayment. But for the sake of due diligence, it is an avenue worth exploring as Jenner possesses a lot of intriguing qualities that might improve the Oilers forward depth.
Would Jenner be a good fit as an Oiler?
Someone like Jenner would be a great add for the Oilers. He has leadership experience as the Blue Jackets captain, he is a goal scorer, hitting the 30-goal plateau once early in his career and regularly scoring 20 goals and 40 points since then. He is a player who has commanded a ton of respect from his teammates and around the league.
Jenner’s style as a hard-nosed player with a strong work ethic would be an excellent fit on the Oilers third line, likely spending time with youngsters Ryan McLeod and Dylan Holloway as those two develop into solid NHLers. And his scoring touch and playstyle would be an easy fit in the top six when needed, a role is used to as he has averaged around 19 and 20 minutes of ice time per game in recent seasons.
He is also quite versatile at forward, able to spend time at centre or on the wing. Though with a career faceoff winning percentage of 54.1, one could imagine the bulk of his time would be spent at centre.
Potentially one of the most important aspects of targeting Jenner in a a trade is his contract. He is on a very affordable deal, making $3.75M per season for two more years after this. The Oilers are a cap strapped team and having a solid depth forward at his pricepoint makes him a more valuable target.
Since it’s clear he would be a good fit and addition to the Oilers, it seems the bigger question is if he would have a positive impact on the team’s performance.
Jenner’s performance
With the lower cap hit does come a lower ceiling, however. Jenner has a career high of 30 goals and 49 points, achieved back in 2015–16. Since then, he is usually maxed out around 20 goals and 40 points, with a couple of seasons in the mid-20s for goals.
In the 2023–24 season, he currently has 13 goals and 18 points in 35 games, a hot start scoring-wise that was halted by a fractured jaw.
Jenner has obviously not been on a great team, with the Blue Jackets spending most of their time hovering around the bottom of the standings. And his individual performance might be impacted by this.
Generally speaking, Jenner has not has a majorly positive impact on the team’s performance while on the ice. Nothing particularly bad, and probably good in comparison to teammates, and he does show some promise in generating chances, but overal a fairly neutral impact.
It is a good sign he can generate chances and shots as the Oilers are a team that has been excellent at this all season and can capitalize on them or help put Jenner in positions where he can capitalize on them himself.
The discrepancy in Jenner’s expected goals above replacement compared to his actual goals above replacement at even strength might indicate a player who is being held back by a poorly performing team.
What could the Oilers give up in a Jenner trade?
It has been made public now that the Oilers are willing and expecting to part with their first round draft pick this upcoming draft for a deadline upgrade. This draft pick is the easy base to build a package on.
The other piece that does not seem to have a fit on the roster is Philip Broberg. His stock has been rising at an incredible rate lately as his performance in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors has been phenomenal. Although it would be great to see him get a real chance on the Oilers, he is likely to find himself included in any deadline deal Edmonton makes.
The Oilers are in a money-in, money-out situation and will have to clear a little bit of space to make this work. Leading candidates to be moved in this type of deal could be Warren Foegele and Cody Ceci.
That would be a foundation for this trade to be made. Maybe it would also have to include an additional pick or prospect to pry away a player that the Blue Jackets are not necessarily shopping, but at that point the Oilers may be better off using the same assets on a higher end player.
Do you think the Oilers should target Jenner at the deadline? Drop a comment down below!
