For the past four seasons, they’ve flipped between looking like a good team and being a mediocre team. In 2022-23, they finished with a 52-22-8 record, knocking off the New York Rangers in the first round. Due to goaltending struggles, they missed the 2024 playoffs, but returned to the playoffs in 2025, where they were soundly beaten in five games by the Carolina Hurricanes, the same result (one round earlier) as two years prior.

It’s an even-numbered season, meaning that the Devils are unlikely to make the playoffs once again. Just before the NHL restart post-Olympics, they have a 28-27-2 record, which sounds good, but their 58 points has them 11 points out of a playoff spot and the second fewest points in the Eastern Conference.

In Daily Faceoff’s most recent trade board, only two Devils made an appearance, but with their playoff hopes quickly drifting away like Wilson, let’s take a look at who could be available ahead of March 6th’s trade deadline, as well as what the Edmonton Oilers’ needs are.

Identifying the Oilers’ needs

The skinny of the Oilers situation is that while they’re in a playoff spot, they don’t look like the team that went to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals. Earlier this season, they addressed their goaltending needs, a trade that hasn’t quite worked out for them.

Their defensive structure has been an absolute mess all season long, leaking far too many high-danger scoring chances, while they’ve barely seen any production for their bottom six. Heading into the March 6th trade deadline, the Oilers have three primary needs: A winger that can move up and down the lineup and play in their top nine, a right-shot centre for the third line, and a right-shot defenceman.

All that being said, what do the Devils have to offer?

Dougie Hamilton

The Devils’ best trade piece is Dougie Hamilton, who has sort of found himself as the odd man out of their defence core. In January, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Hamitlon would explore options beyond the teams on his 10-team no-trade list.

It’s unclear if the Oilers are one of those teams, but adding a right-shot defenceman for their second-pair is a need. What makes any potential deal incredibly difficult is Hamilton’s cap hit, as it comes in at $9 million. As you can guess, the Oilers don’t have anywhere near that type of cap space to make that work.

Realistically, any hypothetical Hamilton to the Oilers trade would require Darnell Nurse to waive no-move clause so they can ship off his $9.25 million cap hit. With the Devils looking to move Hamitlon to create cap space, it seems nearly impossible for this type of move to occur, especially considering the Devils are well out of the playoff race and Nurse has no incentive to waive.

Still, it’s a nice addition to think about, as Daily Faceoff considers Hamtilon an obvious trade candidate.

Evgenii Dadonov

The other Devil listed by Daily Faceoff is Evgenii Dadonov, who is in their fourth tier, also known as “theoretical trade chips if their teams fall out of contention”. It’s safe to say that the Devils have fallen out of contention, so one of their only soon-to-be unrestricted free agents could be on the move ahead of March 6th’s trade deadline.

Is he a fit for the Oilers? Probably not. The veteran winger has spent the majority of the season injured, and when healthy, he has been held pointless in 17 games. At 36 years old, it’s clear the Russian is on decline, as his production has significantly waned from his 20 goals and 40 points with the Dallas Stars in 2024-25.

Add in a cap hit of $1 million with heavy bonuses that could add a significant cap hit to next season’s salary cap, and a trade for the Oilers just doesn’t make sense.

Stefan Noesen

There are three other players of note who aren’t on Daily Faceoff’s latest trade board, but could realistically be moved. The first of which is Stefan Noesen, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2026-27 season.

Noesen falls into the same boat as Dadonov, as he’s a veteran winger who is coming off a 20+ goal season with limited production in 2025-26 due to injury. In 38 games this season, the Plano, Texas native has just three goals and seven points in 38 games. Last season with the Devils, the first season of his second stint with the team, Noesen had a career-best 22 goals and 41 points in 78 games.

A big problem with a hypothetical trade is that Noesen is currently injured with no timetable for a return. Due to being on the long-term injured reserve, the Oilers would need to have the cap hit to accommodate the 33-year-old and his $2.75 million cap hit, meaning they need to trade Andrew Mangiapane. He also has a 10-team no-trade list.

Cody Glass

If the Oilers were to make a 2025 Jake Walman-esque move, they should target Cody Glass. Like Noesen, he isn’t on Daily Faceoff’s latest trade board, but will become an unrestricted free agent following the 2026-27 season.

When the Devils missed the playoffs two seasons ago, goaltending was an obvious concern that needed addressing, but this year’s problems aren’t as clear. If they wish to retool on the fly, Glass is their best forward asset, as the right-shot centre has 13 goals and 19 points in 45 games. The only other season where his production has been better was in 2022-23 with the Predators, where he scored 14 goals and 35 points.

Glass is a 26-year-old right-shot centre who is over 50 percent in the faceoff dot for the second consecutive season. He’s a speedy, defensively right-shot centre who could be the staple of a third-line on a contender for years to come. Glass also has an affordable cap hit, coming in at just $2.5 million with no trade protection and term on his contract.

He’s the perfect trade target.

Nick Bjugstad

Three seasons ago, the Oilers sent a third round pick and then-prospect Michael Kesselring to the Arizona Coyotes for Nick Bjugstad. What they got is a big right-shot centre for their third line, which isn’t bad given that he provided four goals and six points in 19 regular season games, then three goals in 12 playoff games.

In hindsight, the trade hasn’t worked out well for the Oilers, as not only did Bjugstad re-sign with the Coyotes and score a career-best 22 goals and 45 points, but Kesselring has developed into a solid top-four right-shot defenceman who plays with an edge (when healthy).

After his two-year contract with the Coyotes/Utah Mammoth expired, he signed with the St. Louis Blues in the off-season, going on to score six goals and seven points in 35 games. On February 5th, the Blues traded him to the Devils, where he played one game before the Olympic break.

Bjugstad’s offence has declined the past two seasons, but he’s still a defensively reliable third-line, right-shot centre who kills penalties and wins faceoffs. It could be worth exploring, as Bjugstad has a cap hit of $1.75 million until the end of the 2026-27 season.

Trade deadline preview series

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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The 2026 Trade Deadline Special is going LIVE March 6th. Join the Daily Faceoff crew on Friday, March 6th from 9 AM-1:30 PM MT for wall-to-wall coverage of every single move as it happens. Get instant reaction, expert analysis, and exclusive insights from special guests throughout the day. Tune in LIVE on the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel and don’t miss a second of deadline day chaos.