The Edmonton Oilers have had a great start to the season. With a current record of 25–13–3, they’re on pace for 106 points to start the season. An excellent campaign despite all the depth, age, and defence concerns. Leon Draisaitl looks to be a near-lock for MVP and the Rocket Richard; Mattias Ekholm still kicks butt; Connor McDavid is doing McDavid things; Hyman is back to his old self; and Viktor Arvidsson and Vasili Podkolzin have gelled quite nicely.
While they are still trying to battle the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings for first in the division—a feat they haven’t accomplished since 1987—there are still a lot of needs to be addressed by deadline/playoffs time: a middle-six player—ideally a centre—and a second pair defenceman to play the right side. Both have been major needs since the McDavid era began. I’d add a goaltender—I really, really wanted Blackwood—but the organization is somehow content with what we have.
Unsurprisingly, these issues have been constant throughout the last decade in Edmonton, and it’s up to Jeff Jackson and Bowman to improve. In years 10 and 11 of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl’s careers—who, remember, are closing in on their 30s—the team desperately needs to fill the holes plaguing them. Otherwise, one will begin to question if the Stanley Cup window is closing. Everything should be considered to be moved out this deadline. They need to go all in.
Once more, the two main targets the Oilers need are a second pair RHD and a forward in the middle six, along with some depth as well. I believe I have found the best 10 options for the Oilers to target. I’ll go over what I think the Oilers should give up, and at the end, I’ll put together my potential post-trade deadline lineup.
Data is from JFreshHockey and NaturalStatTrick.
Forwards
Alex Tuch – Buffalo Sabres
My dream candidate for the forward core is Alex Tuch. The 6’4″ power forward is having an excellent season on pace for 62 points. Tuch is an annual 20-goal scorer who’s hit 30 in the past. He’s in on the forecheck constantly, has shown he can play defensively sound when called upon, finishes his chances, is a good skater, and has all the intangibles you want in a player, including being a great leader.
Tuch has Cup Final experience—going in 2018 with Vegas—and has shown up clutch when called upon. I’d give up any pick and prospect to grab him. The Buffalo Sabres are in a state of selling again and gaining more future assets for Tuch, who will be passed by other players like Kulich, Helenius, etc. They can also flip said assets for more NHL-proven players.
Rickard Rakell – Pittsburgh Penguins
Rickard Rakell is quietly having an amazing season. On pace for 40 goals and locked up until he’s 35, he’d be an excellent fit next to Connor and would fulfill the role Skinner was brought in to do: be an electrifying goal scorer.
He isn’t slow, which is a plus, and he finishes his chances at a solid rate. He shoots the puck a lot and can create his own scoring chances. I doubt the Pittsburgh Penguins sell him now, though, and he may be more of an offseason move. The price, I’d imagine, is picks and prospects.
Brandon Saad – St. Louis Blues
The only reason why I have Brandon Saad listed is his extensive history with Stan Bowman. The Pittsburgh-born winger won two Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks and Bowman in 2013 and 2015 before being shipped off to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the trade that saw Artem Anisimov go back to the Hawks.
After a 30-goal season and back-to-back 53-point campaigns, Bowman made the decision to trade Panarin to Columbus to bring him back. After Bowman again traded him, this time to Colorado for Nikita Zadorov, Saad signed with the St. Louis Blues following a 15-goal season. He inked a five-year deal worth $4.5M per season that ends next summer.
Saad has scored 24, 19, 26, and seven goals throughout his four seasons. He is a 20-goal scorer and appears to be a strong finisher. However, he doesn’t really fit Knoblauch’s style. Knoblauch likes his fast, forechecking two-way wingers. While Saad is pretty quick, the lack of involvement on the forecheck, hits, and defensive ability wouldn’t make him a good fit—look at Jeff Skinner, sadly.
It’s also worth mentioning that during his time in St. Louis, he’s been way below 50% in expected goals for at 5v5, which is a red flag. I do expect Edmonton to poke around him, though, because of that connection with Bowman. As for a trade price, I bet St. Louis asks for their second-rounder back…. yeah, I don’t want to deal with the Blues.
Drew O’Connor – Pittsburgh Penguins
One of the guys Bob Stauffer has been pumping up—and someone I’ve been advocating all season—Drew O’Connor (DOC), is a speedy, forechecking demon for the Penguins. He’s like a Dylan Holloway (I miss you so so much) without the offence. Last year, he had 16 goals and 33 points for the Penguins and is on pace for 30 points this season once more.
Making $900K as an upcoming unrestricted free agent, he’s an excellent addition for any contender to add since his contract’s cheap. He won’t cost a lot in a trade—probably a third-round pick—and he’s a playoff-style forward. I’d love this add for Edmonton, as they still need some more speed and youth in the bottom six, and DOC brings that. They should have just matched Holloway, but hey, what do I know!!
Ryan O’Reilly – Nashville Predators
Barry Trotz has shown the ability to shake up his roster when needed. Whether that was the 2023 deadline when Ekholm, Jeannot, and Niederreiter were sent packing, the past two offseasons signing ROR, Gustav Nyquist, Brady Skjei, and Jonathan Marchessault, or even dealing youngsters like Philip Tomasino or putting Dante Fabbro on waivers.
Ryan O’Reilly is interesting because he’s available, according to Darren Dreger. ROR would be an excellent addition for Edmonton. He won the Conn Smythe in 2019 with the Blues and is still a very good two-way forward. ROR had 70 points last season, and while this season has been disappointing for his standards, the same can be said for the entire Nashville Predators squad.
His micros aren’t pretty, and he isn’t quick, but he’s an impactful player who’s locked up for another year at a decent cap number. It’s worth noting that he’s operating an xGF% of 53.5, but his GF% is in the 30’s, and he has a PDO of .954, which is extremely low. He’ll bounce back. I’d be all over him; I would think the price would be high but not as high as Tuch’s.
Defence
Marcus Pettersson – Pittsburgh Penguins
If you have seen me on Twitter, you know I love Marcus Pettersson. He is Ekholm but younger and would be a massive add to the D-corps. Even though he doesn’t play right-side, you can run three super strong pairings on the left-hand side in Ekky, Petey, and Nurse. That’s the best left-hand side in the league.
He’s also the perfect succession plan for when Ekholm does start to age out over the next few years. He played phenomenally against Edmonton on Thursday night. Without question, he was the best Penguin in that game, where he had two assists, five blocks, and saved a goal. He also had 30 points and was a +28 on a historically bad defensive Pens team. I’d pay extra to make sure he doesn’t go to a conference rival.
This guy has been good at his job since his Anaheim Ducks days. Over the last five years, his xGF% is 54.64, 51.94, 56.20, 54.55, and 51.81. His HDCF% is 56.62, 53.98, 55.98, 56.38, and 47.59. All of this with a league-average PDO. He’s legit. Pay a first and Beau Akey to get it done, it’s worth it.
Rasmus Andersson – Calgary Flames
This will not happen, but it’s fun to dream and think about. Rasmus Andersson will be a UFA in 2026, and the Flames need to make a decision. In the past few years, they’ve sold all of their players who were set to be UFAs—Elias Lindholm, Zadorov, Tyler Toffoli, etc.
Andersson is the backbone of that team and may be the future captain when Mikael Backlund retires. If made available, he’s easily the best defenceman on the market, and there would 100% be a bidding war. The Flames didn’t want to trade a rental Chris Tanev to Edmonton, so there is zero shot Ras lands here. But, like I said, it’s fun to think about.
Ivan Provorov – Columbus Blue Jackets
Another guy Stauffer has been mentioning a lot is Ivan Provorov. Provorov is on pace for his second-best statistical season since his sophomore year with the Philadelphia Flyers. He’s played some games on the right-hand side, but to me, he isn’t strong defensively and has the same issues as Darnell Nurse.
He’s set to be a UFA, and with the amount of young defencemen Columbus has, he’s probably going to get moved. I’d stay away; I assume the cost would be a second-round pick.
Jamie Oleksiak – Seattle Kraken
Jamie Oleksiak would be a fantastic addition to this group. He fits the model of a left-shot who can play the right side, munch up minutes, shut down the opposition, has term left, and is a decent puck mover. The only problem is the fact that he’s in our division, and Seattle may be reluctant to move him to us
Also, Seattle has had major problems with defending, and trading away their best defensive defenceman would make that issue even deeper. If he was to be available, Edmonton should jump right on that. A first-rounder straight-up would be solid.
Mike Matheson – Montreal Canadiens
Again, another guy Stauffer’s been mentioning a lot is Mike Matheson. From the get-go, I hope it’s not him we get. He’s a Tyson Barrie clone as a left-shot defenceman. Good puck mover but bad at everything else.
The Oilers need a puck-moving, shutdown defenceman with Nurse, and Matheson would just be all kinds of trouble. He turns the puck over a lot and collects most of his points on the power play, on which he’ll get zero time here. There are much better options out there. I assume with the extra year on his deal, the Montreal Canadiens may be looking for a first-round pick.
The only season Matheson has had a xGF% over 50 was in the 2021–22 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Every other year, he was in the 40s. He gets destroyed out there at 5v5. The last two seasons in Montreal, he was at a 43% and 44% clip. Awful; stay away.
Oilers final roster after the trade deadline
Going through all the options, I picked out the three players I think the Oilers will most likely target and hopefully acquire: Marcus Pettersson, DOC, and Alex Tuch. Pettersson and DOC would be dealt for prospect Beau Akey and the Oilers’ first-rounder in 2026 (which means Philly gets the 2025 pick). Edmonton would also extend Pettersson in this scenario.
The deal for Tuch would be something like involving young Sam O’Reilly, the Blues’ second and third-rounders in 2025, and another mid-round pick in the future. With Evander Kane on LTIR and the accrued cap space, Edmonton can actually fit under the salary cap.
When all is said and done, here’s your post-deadline 2024–25 Oilers entering the playoffs:
Forwards
Tuch–McDavid–Hyman
Podkolzin–Draisaitl–Arvidsson
Skinner/Kane–RNH–DOC
Janmark–Henrique–Brown
Extras: Perry, Kapanen
Defence
Ekholm–Bouchard
Pettersson–Emberson
Nurse–Kulak
Goalies
Skinner
Pickard
Here, the forward group is balanced out perfectly. There’s no weakness there. The defence pairs are also nicely connected together. Is this too hopeful? Maybe. It’s definitely a best-case-scenario deadline, but if the Oilers are serious about winning, they’d go out and make the necessary moves to bring home the Cup.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
That looks like a cup team. I like the additions. I just hope they stay away from Prvorov and Matheson. I have heard Savard a lot and I think he is too far past his prime to add value