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Oilers trade targets: Injuries to Rangers, Flyers goalies could open door to trade with Edmonton
Edmonton Oilers Philadelphia Flyers Calvin Pickard Bobby Brink
Photo credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
Zach Laing
Jan 15, 2026, 15:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 15, 2026, 15:32 EST
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The Edmonton Oilers have a problem.
They’re pressed up tight to the salary cap, and while they’ve been able to manoeuvre by activating Jake Walman and Tristan Jarry from the Long-Term Injured Reserve by placing an injured Adam Henrique there, they won’t be able to do that forever.
In fact, when the time comes to activate Henrique, who is expected to be out until after the Olympic Break, the Oilers will be over the NHL’s salary cap. It’s going to require even more manoeuvring, and at the very least, it would require some players being sent down to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, but it could be made easier with a trade of Andrew Mangiapane.
It’ll also require the Oilers to decide on their goaltending. Jarry is back and will be the number one moving forward, but a decision needs to be made about whether Connor Ingram or Calvin Pickard will remain with the team. Pickard requires waivers today, while Ingram will require them as of January 17th.
There’s an argument to be made that Ingram has more than earned the spot based on his recent play, and there’s a trade market that could be quickly taking shape for the Oilers to trade Pickard, if they chose to do so.

Goaltending injuries abound…

The Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers are two teams that could make ideal trade partners if the Oilers do look to trade Pickard.
In both cases, the team has suffered an injury to their starting goaltender. Igor Shesterkin has been on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury since leaving a January 5th game against the Utah Mammoth, and the Rangers have struggled since.
Including a 3-2 loss to the Mammoth that night, they’ve gone 0-4-1, allowing 30 goals against over that stretch, while getting outscored by 22 goals. Currently dipped into the LTIR themselves, the Rangers have the cap space to acquire Pickard and his $1 million cap hit. Their backup, Jonathan Quick, isn’t the goaltender he once was, posting a 3-10-2 record, a .887 save percentage and a 3.13 goals against average this season.
There have been several trades involving backup goaltenders in the last calendar year that we can look to for a potential return:
  • October 15, 2025: Kings acquire Phoenix Copley from Lightning for future considerations
  • September 14, 2025: Blue Jackets acquire Ivan Fedotov from Flyers for 2026 sixth round pick
  • July 13, 2025: Penguins acquire Arturs Silovs from Canucks for Chase Stillman and 2027 fourth round pick
  • July 1, 2025: Sharks acquire Alex Nedeljkovic from Penguins for 2028 third round pick
  • June 30, 2025: Hurricanes acquire Cayden Primeau from Canadiens for 2026 seventh round pick
  • June 28, 2025: Red Wings acquire John Gibson from Ducks for Petr Mrazek, 2027 second round pick, 2026 fourth round pick
  • March 7, 2025: Red Wings acquire Petr Mrazek and Craig Smith from Blackhawks for Joe Veleno
  • March 6, 2025: Panthers acquire Kaapo Kahkonen from Jets for Chris Dreidger
  • March 5, 2025: Panthers acquire Vitek Vanecek from Sharks for Patrick Giles
  • February 24, 2025: Ducks acquire Ville Husso from Red Wings for future considerations
The low end on a return would be future considerations, essentially nothing, in return for clearing up cap space. The high end on a return would likely be a late round pick in next years draft, or a more mid-round pick (third or a fourth) a few years down the road.
The Rangers have no fourth round picks this year or next, but have third, fifth, sixth and seventh round picks in each of the next two seasons. There could be something there.

What about the Flyers?

Philadelphia could make a potentially more interesting trade partner, who have just over $15 million in cap space. Their starting goaltender, Dan Vladar, went down during Wednesday’s game, and while The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reported it’s not believed to be serious, but even if that’s the case, it’s not unreasonable to think it could scare them into making a move.
Samuel Ersson has been Vladar’s backup this year, posting a 6-7-4 record, a .855 save percentage and a 3.32 goals against average, and for a team that’s two points out of a Wild Card spot heading into Thursday’s games, them wanting to upgrade between the pipes could make sense. Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco reported such news earlier this week.
One trade referenced above that caught my eye was the Red Wings’ acquisition of Mrazek and Smith for Veleno. It helped free up just under $3 million in cap space for the Blackhawks, who moved out a backup goaltender and an older, rental winger for a young player who just wasn’t fitting in.
The Flyers also have winger Tyson Foerster on the injured reserve, after undergoing surgery in mid-December for an arm injury that’s expected to keep him out of the lineup for the remainder of the regular season. They have size in their bottom-six already, and Mangiapane’s reputation as a player before he arrived in Edmonton fits “Flyers hockey.”
Di Marco also reported in December that the Flyers could look to add in the wake of Foerster’s injury, and that pending restricted free agent Bobby Brink is a player who “could be on the outs long term.”
Brink, drafted in the second round of the 2019 draft, has 11 goals and 20 points in 41 games this season, playing down the lineup. The 24-year-old has appeared in 187 games with the Flyers over the last four seasons, scoring 34 goals and 88 points. His underlying metrics aren’t strong, but Philadelphia has broken even in five-on-five goals this year with him on the ice at 20-20, while being slightly ahead in terms of scoring chances and high-danger chances.
Given Brink is a younger, cost-controlled player who has room to grow — much like Veleno — it brings me back to that trade. Could there be something between the Oilers and Flyers surrounding a swap of Pickard, Mangiapane and likely another asset for Brink?
Even if the Oilers opted to send Ingram to the Condors, and keep Pickard up with the big club, a swap of Brink and Mangiapane could make sense for both sides.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

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