Mark Letestu’s been the Oilers’ fourth-line centre for the past three seasons. He’s an unrestricted free agent this summer, like Patrick Maroon, he’ll either need to be re-signed or traded before the NHL’s February 26th trade deadline.

Letestu’s been productive for a fourth-line centre. He’s not the greatest possession player or even-strength scorer, but he can be useful on special teams and wins more than fifty-percent of his faceoffs. He’s played on Edmonton’s penalty kill since signing here and scored a career-high 11 goals on the power play last season.

There isn’t much in terms of rental centres available. Most pending UFA centers are on teams headed to the playoffs. Tomas Plekanec and David Desharnais are other centers available, as neither Montreal or New York are buyers, but both are left-handed. The Oilers might have one of the only right-handed centers available.

The Tampa Bay Lightning got a second-round draft pick from Toronto for Brian Boyle. I’m not sure Edmonton will receive the same type of value for Letestu, but the Leafs have a hole at fourth-line center again. The Pittsburgh Penguins have been looking for a centre.

Teams always need depth centres. It’s unlikely the Oilers are making the playoffs, which makes Letestu’s their second-best trade chip behind Maroon. The Oilers need to improve their prospect pool. Acquiring a few early-round picks at the deadline helps.

Trade. Letestu could return real assets with few rental centres on the market. Letestu’s worth is on the power play and penalty kill, and both are currently sinking Edmonton’s season.

The Oilers got value out of his three-year deal and should find another fourth-line option easily. Whether that’s Jujhar Khaira internally or a free agent like Kyle Brodziak or Chris Wagner, the Oilers should trade Letestu and take advantage of a shallow centre market.