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A Deal with the Devil?

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Photo credit:Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Dustin Nielson
4 years ago
The @Edmonton Oilers are in the market for a top-six winger or a third line centre, possibly both, but Penguins Jim Rutherford didn’t do Ken Holland any favours on Monday night.
The Pens picked up @Jason Zucker for @Alex Galchenyuk, Calen Addison and a first-round pick in 2020 that gets bumped to 2021 if Pittsburgh misses the playoffs this year. In my opinion, first year Wild GM Bill Guerin hit a home run with this return. Addison is one of the best offensive defensemen in the Western Hockey League and was regarded by many as the organizations top prospect. The addition of Addison, who is a right shot, may make it easier to also move @Matthew Dumba prior to the deadline and with the number of teams looking for help on the blueline Guerin could hit another home run.
The bad news for the Oilers is that if they are looking for a top-six winger with term, the market has just been set and I’m pretty sure Ken Holland isn’t going to move a 1st round pick and Philip Broberg to get that done.
There is one team kind of stuck in limbo that may be willing to really mix things up.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

It’s been an interesting ten months for the Devils. They attempted to load up in the off-season by signing @Wayne Simmonds and trading for both P.K. Subban and @Nikita Gusev. To put it politely the entire strategy backfired. General Manager Ray Shero was allowed to can Head Coach John Hynes and trade @Taylor Hall before being fired himself, so anything is possible in New Jersey.
By all accounts, interim GM Tom Fitzgerald is willing to commit to a youth movement and build around the likes of @Jack Hughes, @Nico Hischier, @Jesper Bratt and the 27-year old Gusev.
There are few other Devils the Oilers should be interested in.

KYLE PALMIERI RW/LW – $4,650,000 – UFA (2021)

Palmieri would be an excellent fit on the wing with @Connor McDavid but he does have an eight team modified no-trade clause so even dreaming about it may be a waste of time.
Palmieri would likely come at a similar cost to that of Zucker. The Oilers would have to move some salary back the other way and be willing to part with a top end prospect and a 1st round pick. Zucker does have one extra year on his deal so maybe the Oil could possibly get away with a lesser prospect than Addison but it certainly wouldn’t be cheap. Palmieri has scored at least 24 goals in each of the past four seasons and already has 17 this year.
I’d be surprised if he is actually available but with what has gone on in Jersey this year you can never say never.

BLAKE COLEMAN C/LW/RW – $1,800,000 – UFA (2021)

As I tweeted last week @Blake Coleman would be an ideal acquisition for the Oilers.
At $1,800,000 for this year and next Coleman would be a perfect fit for the Oilers top six from both a style of play and financial perspective.
Would the Oilers be willing to part with @Jujhar Khaira, Jesse Puljujarvi and a conditional 2nd round pick (that becomes a 1st if the Oilers make the Stanley Cup Final) to get their hands on a guy who scored 22 goals last season and already has 21 this year?
Is that too much? Your answer to that question likely depends entirely on how you value Puljujarvi. If the Devils are committed to a youth movement getting a nice return for Coleman who could walk at the end of next year wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world.

MILES WOOD LW – $2,750,000 (RFA 2022)

Wood isn’t having a great season with the Devils but he would be under team control for an extended period of time. He doesn’t come with elite offensive upside but he has good size, moves well and isn’t afraid to mix it up a bit. I’m somewhat intrigued by Wood but I have no idea with the price tag would be.
Here’s some of his work from the 19-goal season he put together a couple of years ago.

PAVEL ZACHA C – $2,250,000 (RFA 2022)

@Pavel Zacha’s development with the Devils hasn’t exactly gone according to plan. The former 6th overall pick was sent to the American League for a stretch last season and was linked to Avangard Omsk of the KHL prior to signing a three-year deal with the Devils in September. His goal scoring production is down compared to last season but he is on pace to finish with more than the 25 points he put up each of the last two seasons.
Could Zacha generate some offence playing soft minutes behind McDavid and Draisaitl? It may be worth finding out if the price is right.

WHO DO YOU WANT?

There is no shortage of options in New Jersey and considering the current state of the franchise the Oilers may be able to take advantage of them. Who would you like to see them go after and at what price?

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Previously by Dustin Nielson:

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