DID SOMEONE SAY BOLD?

The Peter Chiarelli Fix-It Shop has been making slow and measured additions through the season, with Zack Kassian being a recent (and effective) example. Based on what we heard this afternoon, perhaps there is a (massive) shoe to drop in the coming days.

When it comes to the Oilers roster, you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. Edmonton needs defensemen, has some areas of strength (left-handed defense, forward) and have already made a roster move during the All-Star layoff (claiming defender Adam Clendening via waivers). In conversation with Bob Stauffer earlier today, Elliotte Friedman riffed some pretty impressive thoughts that have Oilersnation chattering non-stop on the interwebs.

The first item, which led off this article, has to do with Edmonton shopping/trading one of two big names, Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Both men have had impressive early careers in Edmonton, and were generally regarded as part of the solution before Peter Chiarelli arrived. No doubt in anyone’s mind you have to give in order to get, and that may be what we see in the coming hours and days.

Travis Hamonic has been discussed at length here and elsewhere as a possible trade option, he is RH and plays the tough minutes in New York successfully. The Islanders are contending for the playoffs and are no doubt hoping for a deep run, so one wonders why they would deal this player before summer. The fact Friedman mentions Nugent-Hopkins as a possible trade option further leads me to think this is an off-season move.

The addition of Clendening may indicate the Oilers have a new home for Justin Schultz. What began as a very promising (and surprising) free-agent addition appears destined to end in a secondary transaction. I think the deal, when it comes, should be viewed as a reflection of the Oilers inability to develop young players AND Schultz’ difficulty in moving forward at the NHL level. One hopes both sides flourish in the years ahead.

Elliotte Friedman is whatever comes after ‘bona fide’ in the dictionary, so there is something here. We can talk about a $6M Eberle or Nuge for Hamonic and other items that might be included in the deal, I would hope the Oilers have a veteran center coming back in the transaction.

This is the real stuff, the breakup of the brilliant team that never was appears imminent. This may be something we need to file away until draft day, but the Oilers and Islanders appear to be locked on each other and there are certainly assets on both sides that fill needs on the other.

We wait.