Expansion Draft, Russell Decision Could Lead to Davidson Trade

For a while now, Brandon Davidson has looked like the most
likely expansion draft loss for the Edmonton Oilers. For an even longer time, a
surplus of left-shot defenceman has made figuring out where all the moving
parts slot in a bit of a challenge for the team, particularly with pending free
agent Kris Russell’s fate yet to be determined.

Both of those factors have made a Davidson trade an obvious
possibility for the Oilers, and on Hockey
Night in Canada Saturday Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman stated his belief
that there was interest in Davidson around the league.

The full edition of Saturday Headlines can
be seen here. The following are Friedman’s comments on Davidson from the
end of that segment:

The difficulty in moving Davidson because of expansion draft
problems is that most teams are going to have their own issues. The rules for
the draft allow teams to choose between protecting seven forwards and three
defencemen or either skaters regardless of position, which leaves a lot of
teams looking at good No. 4 defenders who might be lost for nothing.

Not everyone is in that situation. A few teams are either
weak enough on the back end or have enough exempt players that they could add a
defenceman and still protect him. Arizona and Philadelphia could probably do it,
while Tampa Bay is already likely to be exposing better players.

Looking at team situations, I have to admit that I like
Carolina as a possible fit. They’re a good enough team to add an asset now, especially
a cheap one like Davidson, and there’s an obvious need for a competent
third-pairing guy there. They also have a bunch of draft-exempt defenceman,
which leaves space to protect one, and there are several people in the
Hurricanes organization who will have firsthand knowledge of the kind of game
Davidson plays.

As far as timing goes, sooner is probably better than later.
A lot of clubs will be looking to shed defencemen this summer so as to avoid
losing them for nothing, and there are only so many teams capable of taking on
a player and shielding him. It’s best to find a chair before the music stops.

Davidson’s modest $1.425 million cap hit means that such a
move won’t clear a lot of money off Edmonton’s books, but it will open a roster
spot. With Oscar Klefbom, Andrej Sekera and Darnell Nurse all likely around for
the long haul on the left side, it wasn’t really clear where Davidson was going
to fit in once everyone was healthy anyway. Left-shot prospects Griffin Reinhart and Jordan
Oesterle will need to clear waivers to be sent to the minors next season, so
the Oilers are going to have some difficult decisions already.

Where Russell fits into that mix is uncertain. Without further
moves, re-signing Russell would almost certainly mean plugging him into his current slot
as a top-four right-side defender. That would cement Larsson/Russell as No. 1
and 2 on the right side. The upside of that is that it means Edmonton won’t
have to go looking for a right-side defender in the summer; the downside is
that it will leave the team with virtually no room to improve its current
defence corps.

Between expansion, young players knocking on the door and
the desire to build the Oilers back end into one capable of winning a
championship, this promises to be a very interesting few months managing the blue line for general
manager Peter Chiarelli.