Trade Targets Part One: The Rebuilders
4 years ago
Now that the Oilers have a General Manager in place, I am ready to go all in on talking about some potential trades. There’s no doubt that Ken Holland needs to bring in some fresh faces and with the Oilers lack of cap space, the trade route appears to be a likely route. I think this summer could be a very busy one with the likes of Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene, Erik Karlsson, and Jeff Skinner all potentially becoming unrestricted free agents. On top of that, there is are a handful of organizations who are no doubt upset with how early their seasons ended.
I think a lot of teams will be looking to make some big changes and with a savvy GM running things, the Oilers could be in a spot to bring in some good players. I have made four groups of teams that I think will be particularly busy this summer, outlined who could be moved and if the Oilers are a fit. Today, I’m starting with a crop of teams that I believe are heading towards a rebuilding phase.
OTTAWA SENATORS
I think Ottawa could be busy this summer, but I’m not sure if there’s a trade target for the Oilers to look at. I think Cody Ceci will be moved out, but if the Oilers are going to get a defenseman, they need someone more established player. The only name that sort of grabs my interest is JG Pageau. He has one more season with a $3.1 million cap hit, which is pricey for a player who only played 39 games last season and only scored four goals. However, he’s scored 19, 12, and 14 goals in the past three seasons. The Senators are in a spot where they likely wouldn’t mind retaining money, so if the Oilers could get them to keep some of Pageau’s cap hit, I think he would be a decent third line centre.
DETROIT RED WINGS
The Red Wings have a bunch of young forwards that I would love for the Oilers to get their hands on (Andrea Athanasiou, Tyler Bertuzzi, Anthony Mantha) but with Steve Yzerman now running things, I doubt they’re going to move on from any of those players. They don’t really have any defenseman that fit the Oilers need either. Mike Green was a maybe, but he has a no-trade clause and he’s fairly pricey with a $5.375m cap hit. The Ken Holland connection is there, but I’m not sure if he’ll be able to pry loose any of the young forwards he drafted and developed.
LA KINGS
I’ll start this by saying that I doubt these two teams would make a significant deal because they’re both in the Pacific Division. I also understand that the labelling the Kings as a rebuilding team is a stretch, but I think they’re looking to get younger. I have always really liked Tyler Toffoli and there have been rumours about him over the last year. He scored at a 20 goal pace in four straight seasons before struggling this past season only scoring 13 goals in 82 games. He’s only 27, so he should still have some good hockey in him. I wonder what the price would be.
They also have Alec Martinez on the back-end, but after dealing off Jake Muzzin last year, I doubt they would deal Martinez. I also like Jack Campbell as a potential backup goalie option. He had a good season, shouldn’t cost very much, and the Kings have Jonathan Quick and Cal Petersen for next season.
ANAHEIM DUCKS
Like LA, I doubt two teams within the same division would make a move. Also, these two teams don’t appear to be a fit. Anaheim needs to unload some expensive contracts and ageing veterans, which is what the Oilers are trying to avoid. Silfverberg and Rakell are very intriguing, but there’s no way the Ducks move them.
On the backend, I don’t think they’ll be moving another defenseman after they dealt Brandon Montour during the season and that’s a player I would have liked the Oilers to get, but it obviously didn’t happen.
NEW YORK RANGERS
They just acquired Adam Fox for a pair of pics, but they still have five picks in the first three rounds. They are in rebuild mode. There have been rumours about Kevin Shattenkirk, who’s under contract for two more seasons at $6.65 million, but the only way that happens is if Lucic is going back the other way.
Up front, I like Pavel Buchnevich. He’s 24-years-old and currently an RFA and despite only playing 64 games, he scored 21 goals. He would look really good in the Oilers top six. I also really like Chris Kreider who has one more year at $4.65 million. Both of those guys will probably have high acquisition costs, but no one is safe on that Rangers roster.
Got a trade proposal to throw out there? Is there another rebuilding team that I missed? Let me know!
Recent articles from Tyler Yaremchuk
