With the Chris Tanev deal finished and with him securely with the Dallas Stars, the trades and rumours are officially underway in a hardcore sense and a lot of that surround the Edmonton Oilers. David Pagnotta officially announced on Twitter today that the Oilers have put their 2024 first-round pick in play along with a roster player. This was to be expected but who could this roster player be? Rumours have been swirling around that it is Cody Ceci. Ceci had an awful month of February. His pairing with Darnell Nurse has not worked to its full effectiveness ever since the All-Star Weekend, but more is swirling around.
The Pavel Buchnevich sweepstakes
According to Pagnotta, Pierre Lebrun, Frank Seravalli, and an assortment of other insiders, the Oilers are doing their due diligence on star forward Pavel Buchnevich. They have had their eyes on him for a while, which is why they were scouting the St. Louis Blues so heavily, and they have now started to negotiate with the Blues on acquiring the forward. The only question is if St. Louis is ready to sell and who they will trade him to because, here we go again, the Vegas Golden Knights have jumped in to have another showdown with Edmonton. It sounds like Edmonton and Vegas are the two teams contending for Pavel. But it also sounds like the Oilers have the better assets so we will see where this goes.
Buchnevich has also made it known that he’d be willing to wave his No Trade Clause to a contending team. Lebrun also said on The Athletic today that the Oilers will not be leaving the trade deadline without a top-six winger. However, forwards are not the only target the Oilers have. They are also looking at their defence.
Walker on defence? Or is there more to this?
Pagnotta stated today that the Oilers are indeed in on Sean Walker but that they are also looking into other teams for help on defence. Edmonton was one of the last teams out on Chris Tanev as it’s rumoured that their offer for the player was a first-round pick and Cody Ceci. However, Craig Conroy decided not to deal with a rival and he made the play with Dallas. It tells Oiler fans that Ken Holland is certainly looking for help in the top four.
Walker would certainly be an enticing add as he would add the puck moving ability to the pairing with Darnell Nurse along with his speed. Ceci is a good defender but he does not have the offensive flair or puck moving ability that Walker has. This pairing with Nurse would have the potential to be a Nurse-Tyson Barrie pair from two seasons ago. There are some hiccups to this, however.
The asking price for Walker is a first-round pick. Holland has made it aware that he won’t trade the first unless its for a player with term (Buchnevich most likely). Now, perhaps this deal has not been done because the Oilers want Walker signed on a contract before they make their move. Regardless, we will see what materializes. There may be more defencemen out there for Edmonton
Possibility of Henrique or Dowd with Mantha
Last week I reported that the Oilers were in on Adam Henrique and it does sound like they still are. But the ask for Henrique is a second, third, and maybe a first-round pick if Anaheim has to retain more salary. That would not be the best way forward for Edmonton.
One way that Edmonton might go towards now is Washington. It’s heavily rumoured that Edmonton has lots of interest in third line centre Nic Dowd and top-six winger Anthony Mantha. Oilers have been scouting them quite a bit and they have had their eyes on both players for a while. Holland drafted Mantha and saw him play very well in Detroit. He is also having a great season this year with Washington. However, his value will still not be as high as someone like Vladimir Tarasenko. This may be the way to go for Edmonton if they aren’t able to get Henrique or Buchnevich.
In my opinion, Dowd and Mantha is the way to go if its between them and Adam Henrique.
Tarasenko scoutings
I’ve written about this recently and the Oilers are certainly keeping their eyes open for Tarasenko. They have scouted Ottawa for two straight games and he is the winger they will go towards if Buchnevich or Mantha do not work out.
Where is Edmonton headed?
Based on what Seravalli said on Oilers Now today, it sounds like we will be hearing the Oilers name in almost every player that’s out there in the market as they are not quite sure on which players they should target with authority. Defensively, the market does not have the player they need fully so we will hear their name around every defenceman available. Offensively, we know what they want: a third line centre and a top six winger. Let’s see where this goes as the coming week will be very hectic.
Tidbits around the league
- As a side note, it sounds like New Jersey and Calgary have opened the doors back up with a Jacob Markstrom trade and they may not get full value on a Noah Hanifin deal as he has two destinations he wants to go to and they both are in Florida.
- Frank Vatrano is of lots of interest to the New York Rangers along with Adam Henrique.
- Jake Guentzel is the #1 target for the Vegas Golden Knights unless they decide to go for Pavel Buchnevich first.
- The Vancouver Canucks also have interest in Sean Walker.
- The Nashville Predators have shut the door on any trades and selling. They are in a playoff spot and they are going to compete.
- In terms of goaltending, no one is really sure where Edmonton will go. They may not make any moves at all for a 1B goaltender.
Why would we want a Barrie like player to play with Nurse. I hated Barrie other than his power play prowess, and we don’t need that since we have Bouchard. Barrie is also available and if they offered us Barrie and a 1st with 50% retained for a 4th, I still would not take him.