Shopping season could be underway<a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/12/09/weekly-nhl-rumours-trade-bait-montreal-canadiens-and-the-olympics/"> soon for the Edmonton Oilers</a>.

As speculated by Sportsnet&#8217;s Elliotte Friedman during the first intermission of the OIlers-Hurricanes game, the Oilers could be target goaltending, the left-side of the defence and a third-line centre in a trade.
Friedman noted that the Oilers and Ken Holland could be looking to send a message to stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl that they are willing to go all-in after what was a red hot start to the season.
The Oilers clearly have some holes to fill, and don&#8217;t have a lot of space to do so. With around $900,000 in cap space, according to PuckPedia, Holland doesn&#8217;t have a lot of room to work with.
The team has money tied up in some underperforming players like Tyson Barrie and Zack Kassian, amongst others, and one has to wonder if they are players that could be dealt to fill some other holes.
In terms of goaltending, Koskinen and his $4.5-million cap hit could theoretically be moved to generate some cap space if a goaltender was coming back the other way.
The reported trade list is virtually the same as it was in the offseason.
Holland brought in <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/07/12/edmonton-oilers-acquire-duncan-keith-from-chicago-blackhaws/">Duncan Keith</a> to fill the void on the left-side of the Oilers defence, but he struggled early in the year and has been out with an upper-body injury.
In net, the Oilers tried to target <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/08/03/report-edmonton-oilers-were-unable-to-land-goaltender-darcy-kuemper-due-to-discrepancy-in-offer/">Darcy Kuemper in a deal</a> but were unable to make a deal work. They settled on re-signing Mike Smith to a two-year deal, but he has missed the majority of the year with a lower-body injury.
<a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/07/28/edmonton-oilers-sign-derek-ryan-to-two-year-contract/">Derek Ryan, meanwhile, was optimistically signed</a> to fill the third line role, but has failed to do so.
It&#8217;s about that time of year where the trade market starts to heat up, so we&#8217;ll see what the next few weeks and months hold.
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Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at<a href="http://www.twitter.com/zjlaing"> @zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.
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Shopping season could be underway<a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/12/09/weekly-nhl-rumours-trade-bait-montreal-canadiens-and-the-olympics/"> soon for the Edmonton Oilers</a>.



As speculated by Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman during the first intermission of the OIlers-Hurricanes game, the Oilers could be target goaltending, the left-side of the defence and a third-line centre in a trade.

Friedman noted that the Oilers and Ken Holland could be looking to send a message to stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl that they are willing to go all-in after what was a red hot start to the season.

The Oilers clearly have some holes to fill, and don't have a lot of space to do so. With around $900,000 in cap space, according to PuckPedia, Holland doesn't have a lot of room to work with.

The team has money tied up in some underperforming players like Tyson Barrie and Zack Kassian, amongst others, and one has to wonder if they are players that could be dealt to fill some other holes.

In terms of goaltending, Koskinen and his $4.5-million cap hit could theoretically be moved to generate some cap space if a goaltender was coming back the other way.

The reported trade list is virtually the same as it was in the offseason.

Holland brought in <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/07/12/edmonton-oilers-acquire-duncan-keith-from-chicago-blackhaws/">Duncan Keith</a> to fill the void on the left-side of the Oilers defence, but he struggled early in the year and has been out with an upper-body injury.

In net, the Oilers tried to target <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/08/03/report-edmonton-oilers-were-unable-to-land-goaltender-darcy-kuemper-due-to-discrepancy-in-offer/">Darcy Kuemper in a deal</a> but were unable to make a deal work. They settled on re-signing Mike Smith to a two-year deal, but he has missed the majority of the year with a lower-body injury.

<a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/07/28/edmonton-oilers-sign-derek-ryan-to-two-year-contract/">Derek Ryan, meanwhile, was optimistically signed</a> to fill the third line role, but has failed to do so.

It's about that time of year where the trade market starts to heat up, so we'll see what the next few weeks and months hold.

<hr />

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at<a href="http://www.twitter.com/zjlaing"> @zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.

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