The Edmonton Oilers may be in the midst of a small slump in their season, but things are absolutely going to start heating up more off the ice as a result of the trade deadline.
After losing an emotional Battle of Alberta on Saturday night, pushing their losing streak to three, many started looking at what moves the team could make to ensure that type of loss doesn’t happen again.
Could Chris Tanev be the answer? Could there be a depth forward on the market? Does the goaltending finally get some change?
Elliotte Friedman got into that and more on the most recent episode of 32 Thoughts the Podcast with some new interesting trade target names and why it may be hard for the Oilers to do a lot.
Anthony Mantha to Edmonton?
The first tidbit about the Oilers was for the linkage between Washington Capitals forward Anthony Mantha. A pending unrestricted free agent, Mantha has been a very popular name in trade chatter over the last few weeks. With 18 goals and 11 assists on the season, Mantha could be an excellent addition to any playoff-bound team with a mix of offence and grit.
The reason that Friedman suggested the Oilers as a fit was due to the long relationship between Mantha and Ken Holland. Holland was the GM with the Detroit Red Wings when Mantha was drafted and actually traded him to Washington as well. If there is a GM in the league who knows his value more, Holland is up there. That being said, his $5.7M salary cap hit would be hard for the Oilers to deal with.
Do the Oilers need a goaltending change?
After discussing Mantha, Friedman quickly changed his tune to talking about the Oilers’ goaltending. His argument is that the Oilers should not be making any moves in the net around the trade deadline.
The reason for this is mainly that if they decide to make a move for a goaltender and say it’s Juuse Saros, then that would be the only move the team can make. There haven’t been a lot of successful deadline goalie acquisitions in recent history and that plays into the decision. He also argued that going into a playoff series, you know Skinner and you know how he plays compared to a new goaltender where you’d be wondering how he would perform.
Additionally, the Oilers are cap-strapped and would have to subtract from their roster to accommodate. The team will have some cap space, but that is not with a full roster. Friedman thinks although Skinner has struggled during this streak, that they still will go with him moving forward and look to upgrade elsewhere.
Luke Kunin as a trade target
The new more interesting name that Friedman noted the Oilers could be after is Luke Kunin from the San Jose Sharks. The 26-year-old right-shot forward currently has eight goals and two assists this season but fits the depth grit forward mould that the team could be looking for. He’s less flashy than Adam Henrique, but looks to be a lower-cost add the team could look into.
He holds a $2.75M cap hit currently, so would again need some retention, but it shouldn’t be an expensive add for the Oilers if they wish to pursue it.
Personally I don’t believe the Oilers are good enough to win the cup ! Bad when one of the top players in the League acts like an immature child taking selfish penalties that kills the momentum the team had built up! so many passengers on this team I think Draisaitl needs to be traded for a goalie and the bottom 6 needs an upgrade with some grit !