In a season of extreme ups and downs, the Edmonton Oilers find themselves amidst a relatively neutral stretch since their near record breaking winning streak. As such, this might be a time of clarity from which to view the team, somewhat shielded from the best and worst moments. With that in mind we polled our readers: what should the Oilers approach to the trade deadline be?
Want to take part in Sunday Census polls? We send them out every week on our Twitter at @oilrigEDM. Follow along or send in ideas for the next poll!
Edmonton should go all in on a big fish
Clearly in first place, with over half the popular vote, Oiler fans are clearly of the mind that the team should spare no expense in adding to the team for this season. The players themselves have expressed a similar interest going back to the start of the season, even saying that the mentality is “Cup or Bust.” This might be a bit overstated, as it is quite unlikely that the Oilers core is blown up should they fall short of their ultimate goal this season.
There is a clear disregard for the future with this mentality, although a disregard that might be warranted. With only one more season beyond this one with both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl under contract, there is added pressure that this championship window might evaporate should one or both decide not to re-sign with the club. To some extent, an all out approach to the deadline might help to further convince the pair of MVPs that it is worth re-signing in Edmonton.
On the other hand, trading away every future asset in the organisation will weaken the Oilers through the 10+ year window that president Jeff Jackson referenced this summer when he took over the job. It might be impossible for the Oilers to acquire a defensive prospect like Philip Broberg over the course of this projected 10-year championship window, and moving off of him for a pure rental, however impactful, would be extremely aggressive.
To reference an oft rumoured example, Jake Guentzel is a great player, a clear top-six forward who would upgrade the Oilers, though is almost certainly not a player the Oilers can afford to keep beyond this season.
Is a reasonable rent worth it?
Only about 15% of the vote thought the Oilers should exercise any discretion in their deadline renting. Though it is not the most appealing thought, it is completely possible that these additions could be just as good as high priced, big fish rentals like Guentzel in the small sample size and the Oilers current roster needs.
An example of this reasonable renting might be Ducks forward Adam Henrique, a player who can play both sides of the puck, both special teams, all forward positions, and has had success in the playoffs before. Given the Oilers strong offence and volume of quality power play options, a more well rounded player might be a more impactful add than a high quality scorer would, even if the opposite is true in a vacuum.
Longer term adds would be ideal
With about a third of the vote in our poll, it is clear that a good portion of fans feel that the best course of action for the Oilers is to add players that will be able to contribute to the program beyond this season. To be fair some of our categories here might blend into each other, but it should be noted that the best and most expensive trades in recent seasons have been on longer term additions.
While at times this comes in the form of younger players who might be pending RFAs, this group is also populated by veterans with term remaining, and has even come with some of their salary retained. Oiler fans need look no further than Mattias Ekholm to see just how effective this style of addition can be. Other contending teams have made similar additions in recent years, for example the Tampa Bay Lightning with Brandon Hagel and Tanner Jeannot, as well as the Colorado Avalanche with Artturi Lehkonen.
Undoubtedly these players are more expensive, but if the Oilers can add to their team or years to come without compromising their salary cap structure going forward it is well worth it. To continue with forwards rumoured to be on the market, Frank Vatrano would seem to be a capable upgrade to the forward group who would come at a reasonable cap cost.
Not worth investing in young players
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the idea of swinging on youth is not one that our voters felt was the appropriate strategy. With the Oilers firmly focused on the present, adding players who have yet to fully prove themselves does seem counterintuitive. It is reflective of a somewhat old school mentality from our voters, trusting established players who have higher reputations and more experience than those who might come into their own in a new situation.
To some extent this group might be covered by the longer term additions option in this poll, yet there could be an opportunity to hit a home run by targeting pedigree and upside. Naturally these types of players would come at less of a cap hit, but might cost more assets to trade for. Though these types of options might be difficult to project, one example might be Kaapo Kakko of the New York Rangers. Although Kakko hasn’t hit his stride as a scorer yet, he has started to emerge as a strong possession winger, and has often not received ideal deployment. Kakko might be an ideal fit alongside Draisaitl and Evander Kane, for example.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
