The Edmonton Oilers didn’t have the flashiest trade deadline. They didn’t get Tomas Hertl or Noah Hanifin, but instead chose to bolster their third line with centre Adam Henrique, and add solid depth in forward Sam Carrick and defenceman Troy Stecher.
General Manager Ken Holland clearly trusts the core, feeling no need to spend too many future assets on help for now. The Oilers will be without their first-round pick this year—it was used to acquire Henrique and Carrick—but other than that, Holland stayed away from dealing high-end assets.
None of the new Oilers have played 10 games with their new team, but we can still take a look at how they’ve fared in Edmonton so far.
The new third-line centre
Easily the biggest acquisition, Henrique has been used primarily as the Oilers third line centre. After Saturday’s brutal loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, he was moved to second-line wing, but chances are he’ll return to his role as the 3C for the playoffs.
Before landing in Edmonton, Henrique had been on for 29 goals for and 29 against at 5v5 on a horrible Anaheim Ducks team with an XGF% of 47 according to Natural Statrick. He put up 18 goals and 24 assists for the Ducks in 60 games.
His production hasn’t kept up with the Oilers, as he’s scored just two goals with one assist in his first nine games. It can be hard adjusting to new linemates and systems, so it’s way too early to write off his point production. Especially if he stays on Draisaitl’s wing, the number could jump very quickly.
While he’s been on the ice, the Oilers have outscored their opponents 5–2 at 5v5, again according to Natural Statrick. But under the hood, things don’t look as good.
His expected goals percentage sits at just 39 in 112 minutes at 5v5 as an Oiler, and Edmonton has given up 10 more high-danger chances than they’ve gotten in those same 112 minutes. Maybe he hasn’t found his ideal linemates yet, maybe it’s just a small sample size, but so far he hasn’t been great.
Improvements around the edges
The other player in the Henrique deal, Sam Carrick has slid nicely into the fourth-line centre role for the Oilers.
He’s seen his offensive zone faceoff deployment drop by almost 20% at 5v5 in Edmonton, according to Natural Statrick, but his expected goals percentage has climbed along with his high-danger chance percentage.
In Anaheim, Carrick was seeing 41% of his faceoffs in the offensive zone. In Edmonton, that number is down to 22.5%. He’s being used as a shutdown centre, and so far it’s working well.
The Oilers have been outscored 4–2 while he’s on the ice at 5v5, but he is starting shifts in the defensive zone three times as much as in the offensive zone. During his 65 minutes at 5v5 since the trade, Edmonton actually has six more high-danger chances than their opponents.
If Carrick can keep playing this well, he’ll be a great asset going against other team’s top lines in the playoffs.
The last add was Troy Stecher, a depth defenceman who’s played just three games so far for Edmonton.
Playing in Arizona this year, Stecher played his role well, owning a 50.6 XGF% at 5v5 according to Natural Statrick.
He’s only played 42 minutes at 5v5 for the Oilers, so all his numbers should be taken with a giant grain of salt, but he owns just a 41 XGF%. He’s not playing consistently, and at this point, it looks like he’s just depth.
All the Oilers paid for him was a fourth-round pick, so that makes sense.
Heading into the playoffs
So far, I’d say the new guys have been pretty close to as advertised. The Oilers wanted a third-line centre, a fourth-line shutdown centre, and defensive depth, and that’s what they’ve got.
If anything, Henrique has been a bit disappointing. His production is down, and so are his numbers under the surface, but he’s got such a track record he should figure things out. If he does, and the Oilers can run McDavid, Draisaitl, Henrique, and Carrick as their four centres for the playoffs, they’ll be in a great spot.
As for Stecher, he’s solid depth and someone you can throw into a playoff series if someone is playing badly or you need a bit of a spark. For a fourth-round pick, there’s nothing really to complain about there.
While the Oilers didn’t get the biggest names available at the trade deadline, they are still in a great spot to compete for the cup with their new additions.
