Silly season got into full swing as soon as the Oilers were eliminated from the playoffs. It’s been a mixture of other fanbases springing up rumours to insiders dropping the Oilers’ name whenever possible.

It was anticipated that Edmonton would have a quiet off-season, with no big splashes. The rumour had made it seem the opposite with all the names already connected to the Oilers. Let’s take a look at a couple of those players and the chances of acquiring them becoming a reality.

Let’s start off with the obvious. Connor Brown’s name has been connected with Edmonton since last summer when Bob McKenzie tweeted out: “The on-again, off-again Connor Brown to EDM from OTT trade talks would appear to be back on. Not a done deal but if there are no hiccups, Brown is soon likely to become an Oiler.”

And just earlier this week Luke Gazdic asked Connor Brown on his podcast “Mitts Off” how cool it would be to play with Connor McDavid again at some point.

Frank Seravalli on Oilersnation Everyday, however, mentioned “If he’s gonna go be going to the Edmonton Oilers my guess is that he probably going to have to be giving up some term and dollars, elsewhere and I think the offers might actually be juicy somewhere”

I’ll give Connor Brown to the Edmonton Oilers a 90 percent chance of happening. Edmonton has kept tabs on him for a while now and I’m sure they view him as an ideal Kailer Yamamoto replacement. There’s just been so much talk of him becoming an Oiler, his relationship with Connor McDavid being a factor and the fact he believes Connor McDavid will win a Cup eventually. There’s no doubt he’d want to be a part of that journey.

Now of course anything can happen and as Frank Seravalli said, it wouldn’t be surprising if he went elsewhere if there’s more money and term on the table. Nothing is guaranteed but it just feels like Connor Brown will be an Edmonton Oiler.

As reported last week by Darren Dreger, the Oilers have an interest in Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce. In a perfect world, the Oilers should be all over Pesce as he’d fit like a glove on the Edmonton’s right-hand side. It would be another Ekholm-esque deal.

Except the Oilers would need to give up a lot more than people think. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Canes’ would want at least a Top 6 forward or a player of Pesce’s value in return. I can’t see them wanting draft picks and someone like Cody Ceci.

Then you also need to consider if the Oilers can even re-sign him next summer as he’ll be looking for an extension anywhere he gets traded. I believe the Oilers don’t have the assets that the Hurricanes will be wanting, and Pierre LeBrun also reported alongside Dreger that the Buffalo Sabres have an interest in the defenseman.

I’ll give this a one percent chance as the Oilers do have an interest in Brett Pesce but will cost them way too much. Then again the Ekholm deal surprised everyone and look how that turned out.

Konecny has been linked by both The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun and The Fourth Period’s Anthony Di Marco. Di Marco also noted earlier in June that the Flyers are working on moving Carter Hart.

This is an interesting one as Edmonton would need clear cap space as Konecny has a $5.5-million cap hit. Philadelphia could retain a little bit but then you question what else they ask in return if it involves Philip Broberg. I could see why the Oilers have an interest due to how weak the RW position is for the Oilers.

Currently, they have Zach Hyman as the first-line RW but after that, it’s Kailer Yamamoto, Derek Ryan, and Mattias Janmark.

That’s not pretty and the Oilers may need to ship both Yamamoto and Warren Foegele to make the money possibly work for a Travis Konecny.

I’ll say there’s a ten percent chance Konecny becomes an Oiler. He fills a need and a void in Edmonton’s top six. There’s reported interest and we have a small idea of what they’d need to give up. However, what ultimately holds back the Oilers from making this trade happen is making the money work I believe.

Jonathan Toews becoming an Edmonton Oiler does make sense. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic did put out there that the Oilers plan to make him a target this summer and they wanted to trade for Toews before the 2023 trade deadline until the Blackhawks captain pulled the plug on his season due to Chronic Immune Response Syndrome and long COVID.

I can see it happening it’s just co-dependent if Toews feels he can still play in the NHL and if his health has improved. It’s possible he can decide to retire from professional hockey as well. I want to say there’s a 50 percent this happens.

The Oilers will definitely put in an offer if both parties feel comfortable and feel that Toews can play hockey again.

Last but not least the Carter Hart rumour that came out of left field when Jamie Baskow of Flyersnittygritty tweeted “Watch Edmonton here” when referring to Hart being traded.

He also mentioned Edmonton is in need of goaltending, but are they? Stuart Skinner just put up one of the best seasons by an Oilers goaltender in a long time and he’s a rookie. Yes, Jack Campbell had an awful first season into his 5-year deal however he’s proven in the past he can have solid numbers.

I can’t envision the Oilers trading Campbell, they’re banking on him having a bounce-back year and Skinner should improve as he’s done so throughout his young career. Experience and failure shaped the goaltender we saw in the regular season and hopefully, that’s the case when Stu faces playoff hockey again.

Zero percent chance Carter Hart becomes an Edmonton Oiler. I doubt they even checked in on him.

The Oilers likely do have an interest in top players like Konecny and Pesce. However, in the end, it’s just interest and I’m sure plenty of organizations are in the same boat with other trade targets or free agency. It’s normal. In the end, I can’t see Edmonton big game hunting and settling with cheaper pieces like Toews and Connor Brown.