Oilers are “keeping an eye on” Chris Tanev, Flames are “hoping for a first-round pick” in return
5 months ago
The Edmonton Oilers’ defensive woes continued on Wednesday night, falling 6-5 in overtime to the Boston Bruins. While Stuart Skinner played a poor role in at least one of the goals, poor defensive awareness in front of the blue-line paint led to another dismal display in their zone.
Since returning from the NHL All-Star break, the Oilers have allowed three or more goals in every game. Beforehand, Edmonton played an incredible defensive system, allowing two or fewer in 14 straight. While the few goals allowed were great to see, it was still clear that an upgrade still needed to happen before the deadline struck. Now, with the situation Edmonton is in, the evidence couldn’t be clearer as to where help needs to come from.
Frank Seravalli from Daily Faceoff released his latest trade targets list earlier this week. Brett Kulak was the lone Oiler on that list for a pure cap dump purpose;, however, the name that remains on the list at No. 2 is Chris Tanev. Tanev is a 34-year-old right-shot defenceman who is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. With cap retention, his cap hit of $4,500,00 million is affordable for the Oilers by this deadline.
“They are looking for the best deal they can get,” said Frank Seravalli on the Calgary Flames moving Chris Tanev. “I think they’re hoping for a first-round pick. They’ve got multiple second round picks on the table from many teams. They’re holding out hope that they can get to that next level. Should somebody step up and hit the asking price, I think you’d see him moved instantly but nobody has got to that level just yet.”
If Edmonton acquired Tanev, he’d become an immediate upgrade over Cody Ceci, who plays next to Darnell Nurse most nights. Tanev won’t blow you away with his offensive abilities but instead brings a warrior type mentality with his physicality and willingness to block shots. He’s a simple player who makes strong defensive reads, passes well and is a good skater.
“The Oilers are keeping an eye on it,” continued Frank Seravalli. “I don’t think he’s there number one priority or target but I think they’re certainly monitoring the situation. If they’re looking at other options, it’ll be for a more depth defenceman.”
Frank also suggested that a trade comparable is how Edmonton acquired Kulak a couple of deadlines ago. The Oilers trade a 2022 2nd-round pick, a 2024 7th-round pick and William Lagesson to Montreal for Kulak. If you add Markus Niemelainen to a package along with those two picks, everybody in Edmonton would be on board. The other two comparables Frank gave were Mark Giordano to Toronto from Seattle in March 2022 and Kris Russell to Dallas from Calgary in 2016.
Cody Ceci is a fine NHL player. However, if there’s an option to upgrade him by this deadline, then Ken Holland must address it. Mistakes happen in the playoffs all the time, but if you can limit them, like Tanev, then how can you not want to add that to your lineup?
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