The trade deadline has now come and past as teams around the league with hopes and dreams of lifting the Stanley Cup in June laid into place the final tweaks to their rosters for the impending playoff run next month.
For this year’s deadline, Ken Holland brought in Adam Henrique, Sam Carrick, a seventh-round draft pick, and the rights to goaltender Ty Taylor in one trade with the Anaheim Ducks, giving up a first, a conditional fourth, and a conditional fifth in the process. In the other trade, Troy Stecher and a seventh round pick was acquired in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick.
With a couple days to sit with and evaluate these moves and look at what the main competition did with their rosters, we thought it was time to leave it up to the fans to grade how the Edmonton Oilers performed at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline in this week’s Sunday Census poll.
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!
Has Ken Holland addressed the right needs?
Finishing a close second in this week’s poll is fans feeling overall satisfied with the Oilers’ trade deadline. With 19.2% of the fan vote, just under one fifth of the fans felt that the team did just fine and the players brought in are enough to move the needle and help guide the team to a Stanley Cup.
There is plenty of merit to this argument, as well. Henrique is a fantastic fit within the Oilers’ lineup. He plays well with and without the puck, a definite plus with what his role should develop into within the middle-six forwards. He is a regular 40-point scorer, adding important scoring depth to the lineup. And his versatility lets the team play him in nearly any situation, even strength, powerplay, shorthanded, tough matchups, late in games, you name it.
One other need was toughness lower in the lineup, a need that Carrick fills quite well. As shown by his fight in his first game in an Oilers uniform. This trait will help the team when it comes time to transition to playoff hockey.
Lastly, defensive depth, especially on the right side, has been a concern as that was a need identified by Holland in the leadup to deadline day. Stecher gives them another option to play with Brett Kulak. And he comes with some positive reviews from fans of his past teams.
It was not enough, the team fell behind here
Winning this week’s poll with 61.7% of the vote is the belief that the Oilers did not do nearly enough to move the needle with these moves. Also an easy argument to make. Whereas the main competitors made bigger splashes with more higher quality additions, the Oilers added depth, mostly players who are not likely to make a major impact in the lineup.
Considering Edmonton was in on nearly every available player, including actual defence improvements like Chris Tanev and Sean Walker, and they left the deadline with Stecher and have left the defensive corps mostly unchanged, it is easy to see how the deadline moves would be insufficient.
At forward, there were higher scoring forwards the Oilers were in on, like Jake Guentzel for starters, but settled for a different type of forward in Henrique. He has much less scoring potential than a few of the others that were traded elsewhere, although his fit within the roster composition may be better, is he going to be able to make an impact on the scoresheet in a new and likely limited role compared to what he has played in in the past?
And a final major need was in net. Stuart Skinner has bounced back marvelously through the season but is still quite inconsistent and playing more hockey than he ever has. We saw him get fatigued last playoffs and falter. Is Calvin Pickard going to be good enough in the case he has to step in in the playoffs? He’s going to have to be since the Oilers did not find a way to get a goalie. Unless Jack Campbell is going to come back for the playoffs.
Is it possible to have done too much?
If there’s the option of not doing enough, there must also be the option of doing too much. Just 0.8% of the vote went to this option, but sometimes doing nothing is a valid (and the best) course of action. And, think about it, this is a team that went on an eight-game winning streak followed shortly after by a 16-game winning streak. That’s plenty enough to get through a playoff run.
This is pretty much the best roster the Oilers have iced in decades and another argument about making major moves late is the impact of roster changes on team chemistry. Luckily, no players were traded away in the deadline moves but the additions can throw off the chemistry and create some role confusion for the players.
For the most part, the teams winning the Stanley Cup don’t make major lineup shakeups at the deadline. Some exceptions exist, but lots of the trades are depth pieces or even players who aren’t lineup regulars. There does exist within this the argument to avoid making major lineup changes this late in the season.
Were these even the right moves?
Finishing a close third in this week’s poll with 18.3% of the fan vote is the general feeling of overall disappointment with the moves made at the trade deadline. And let’s be honest here, there are plenty of reasons to be disappointed.
Despite being in on almost every single player on the market, the Oilers did not get any of the best ones. Henrique is good, but he was not one of the top players available. Yet despite this, the Oilers’ package to acquire him (and Carrick) was one of only a handful to include a first-round pick. With Holland’s trade history in his tenure with the Oilers, the packages he gives up for his trades are under close scrutiny and it often seems he gives up a premium in every deal, this one included.
There is also a major feeling of disappointment from the needs that were left unfilled. Stecher is not the defensive upgrade that the team seems to need, though the depth is nice. And the lack of solidifying goaltending and providing some security around the position if Skinner falls off in the playoffs again leaves a major area of concern.
It’s clear the Oilers had a plan for the deadline, centred around shoring up depth. But plenty of fans seem to feel it was not the right plan.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
