<p>The March 7th, 2025 NHL trade deadline is fast approaching. Let&#8217;s examine how Frank Seravalli&#8217;s trade targets and objectives have worked for the Edmonton Oilers over the last few years. It&#8217;s always fun to speculate which players the team might acquire whenever Daily Faceoff releases these articles.</p>
<p>Before we begin, here are the most recent <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/vancouver-canucks-j-t-miller-will-remain-no-1-on-trade-targets-board-until-hes-traded">Trade Targets board</a> and <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-western-conference-team-by-team-trade-deadline-objectives">Team Objectives</a> heading into the 2024-25 trade deadline.</p>
<p></p>
<h2>The 2021-22 Trade Deadline</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/seravalli-20-trade-targets-in-play-as-market-heats-up">In 2022, the Edmonton Oilers didn&#8217;t trade for anyone on Frank&#8217;s board.</a> Instead, they signed forward Evander Kane, who was at the bottom of the list.</p>
<p>At the time, Kane was playing for the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL before signing a one-year contract with the Oilers with a base salary of $750,000 and a signing bonus of  $625,000, per PuckPedia. The contract included an entire no-movement clause and a cap hit of $ 2.094 million, according to PuckPedia.</p>
<p>Kane quickly became a favourite among Oilers fans for his physical presence and elite scoring. In his first season with the team, he scored 39 points in 43 games, including 22 goals. His offence didn&#8217;t stop in the playoffs as the Oilers reached the Western Conference Final, with Kane playing a huge role, scoring 13 goals and 17 points in 15 games.</p>
<p>However, the Oilers acquired two players who weren&#8217;t on Frank&#8217;s Trade Targets Board: Brett Kulak from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for William Lagesson, a conditional second-round pick in 2022, and a seventh-round pick in 2024.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hearing <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oilers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Oilers</a> are acquiring Brett Kulak from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Habs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Habs</a>.</p>
<p>Live now on <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyFaceoff?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DailyFaceoff</a>.</p>
<p>&mdash; Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) <a href="https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli/status/1505944822279983106?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The second player was Derick Brassard from the Philadelphia Flyers, who went to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2023 4th Round Pick.</p>
<p>Frank Seravalli did not release an objectives article in 2022.</p>
<h2>The 2022-23 Trade Deadline</h2>
<p>As the Oilers approached the 2023 Trade Deadline, they made a trade no one saw coming, adding top-pairing defender Mattias Ekholm from the Nashville Predators. <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/nashvilles-mattias-ekholm-is-available-on-first-2023-trade-targets-board">Though Ekholm to Edmonton came out of the blue, the big Swede was listed seventh on Seravalli&#8217;s Trade Target Board. </a></p>
<p>On February 28th, 2023, the Oilers traded Tyson Barrie, Reid Schaefer, a 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick. Since then, Ekholm has been a staple on the Oilers&#8217; blue line with Evan Bouchard as the top pair. <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2023-trade-deadline-countdown-western-conference-objectives">Interestingly, Seravalli listed Ekholm&#8217;s position as an objective before the trade deadline.  </a></p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Top Objective: Left-Shooting Defenseman&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;The question being asked internally right now is whether that defenseman should stylistically be a puck-moving type or a defensive-minded defender. Edmonton feels like an ideal landing spot for someone like Vladislav Gavrikov, but maybe <strong>Mattias Ekholm</strong> is a nice blend of the two styles. Either way, this is a burn-the-boats season for Edmonton, after watching what Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl did to the postseason scoring list last spring. No excuses, no holds barred.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Frank was on the money with this one. At the time, the Oilers were in talks to acquire Jakob Chychurn, who was second on Frank&#8217;s board in 2023. Of course, that never materialized, and the Oilers switched gears to bring in Ekholm.</p>
<p>Seravalli posted the trade targets article on January 3rd and the objectives on January 5th, two months before the deadline.</p>
<p>Many in the Edmonton market didn&#8217;t even consider Ekholm a possibility. Still, they have since viewed it as one of the best trades the organization has orchestrated over the past 15 years.</p>
<h2>The 2023-24 Trade Deadline</h2>
<p>After the home-run trade that was Mattias Ekholm, Oilers fans were hoping general manager Ken Holland would pull off another trade of that magnitude in 2024 to bolster the team&#8217;s chance at winning the Stanley Cup. <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2024-western-conference-team-by-team-trade-deadline-objectives">This time, Seravalli&#8217;s objective for the Oilers was to trade for a third-line center or a right-shooting forward on the second line.</a></p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Scoop: There is more than one way to skin a cat, which is to the Oilers’ advantage here. They can go out and acquire a third line center, which would allow them to keep Ryan McLeod on the wing – where he has really blossomed. Or they can keep McLeod at center, where he can utilize his speed, and add a right-shooting forward who can help feed Leon Draisaitl pucks.&#8221; &#8211; Frank Seravalli</p></blockquote>
<p>A few days before the deadline, the Oilers added some depth down the middle with two players who were mentioned among Seravalli&#8217;s Trade Targets — Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trade call(s) going down now:</p>
<p>To <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oilers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Oilers</a>: Adam Henrique (75% retained), Sam Carrick, 7th Rd Pick<br />To <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NHLDucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NHLDucks</a>: EDM 2024 1st Rd Pick, Cond. 2025 5th Rd Pick<br />To <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoBolts?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoBolts</a>: EDM 4th Rd Pick</p>
<p>Cond: 5th becomes 4th in EDM wins the Cup.<br />Tampa also must send a reserve list player.</p>
<p>&mdash; Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) <a href="https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli/status/1765462623603060862?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>At the time, Henrique had scored 18 goals and 42 points in 60 games with the Anaheim Ducks. During his time in Edmonton, he rotated throughout the lineup, playing some top-six wing and mostly third-line centre. He scored six goals and nine points in 22 games with the Oilers down the stretch and added seven points in 17 playoff games while providing the team with solid two-way play.</p>
<h2>The 2024-25 Trade Deadline</h2>
<p>Heading into this year&#8217;s trade deadline,<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-western-conference-team-by-team-trade-deadline-objectives"> Seravalli believes Edmonton&#8217;s top objective</a> should be to acquire a second-pair, right-shooting defenceman.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/vancouver-canucks-j-t-miller-will-remain-no-1-on-trade-targets-board-until-hes-traded">His updated trade targets board</a> only includes one defenceman who matches that criteria: Rasmus Ristolainen of the Philadelphia Flyers.</p>
<p>The 30-year-old has two years remaining on his contract and is making $5.1 million annually. Ristolainen is listed at 13 on the trade targets board. The list includes three other defencemen in the top 10, however, they all shoot left.</p>
<p>Would the Oilers be open to a player who&#8217;s typically on the left side but can play on the right? It&#8217;s possible, and if that is the case, Seravalli has Marcus Pettersson at fifth, Ryan Lindgren at sixth, and Bowen Byram at ninth.</p>
<p><a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/stauffer-oilers-targeting-defenceman-who-might-not-be-on-anybodys-radar">Bob Stauffer previously mentioned</a> on Oilers Now that he believes the Oilers will ultimately acquire a player not previously linked to them, perhaps similar to Mattias Ekholm a couple of years ago.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, Seravalli highlighted Michael Matheson from the Montreal Canadiens as an excellent player who could be an option for the Oilers. He didn&#8217;t say that the Oilers have been looking at him; he believes they should. However, it is important to note that Matheson is not on Seravalli&#8217;s trade target board.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">One defenseman I wouldn’t mind on the Oilers from Montreal is Mike Matheson.</p>
<p>.<a href="https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@frank_seravalli</a> highlighted him on Oilers Now, he didn’t say EDM had interest but how he can play both sides and play good defensive hockey. </p>
<p>Will be a name to watch out for come deadline imo.</p>
<p>&mdash; Woz (@itsWozzz) <a href="https://twitter.com/itsWozzz/status/1858671325356650668?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<h2>What we&#8217;ve learned</h2>
<p>Over the past few years, fans have been eager for the Oilers to fully commit, aiming to execute a trade like the one for Mattias Ekholm. According to Seravalli&#8217;s trade target board, the team has successfully landed a major player from the market.</p>
<p>In 2022, although Edmonton did not acquire a player from his list, they signed Evander Kane, who was ranked at the bottom. Kane quickly became a key player for the team and a fan favourite.</p>
<p>Fast-forward to 2023 and 2024. The Oilers traded for players ranked in the Top 10 of the trade targets board on DailyFaceoff, which matched Seravalli&#8217;s objectives for the team.</p>
<p>Mattias Ekholm has been viewed as one of the best trades the Oilers have made in the organization&#8217;s history and they set themselves a high bar for what they need to do each deadline if they want to improve the roster. The trade for Adam Henrique was underwhelming in the eyes of fans. While the team did give up a first-round pick for him and Sam Carrick, the acquisitions didn&#8217;t scream &#8216;All-in&#8217; compared to when they acquired Ekholm.</p>
<p>Anything can happen. The Oilers are expected to have another big deadline and it shouldn&#8217;t be a surprise if they land a major player listed towards the top of Frank Seravalli&#8217;s trade target board this year.</p>

The March 7th, 2025 NHL trade deadline is fast approaching. Let's examine how Frank Seravalli's trade targets and objectives have worked for the Edmonton Oilers over the last few years. It's always fun to speculate which players the team might acquire whenever Daily Faceoff releases these articles.

Before we begin, here are the most recent <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/vancouver-canucks-j-t-miller-will-remain-no-1-on-trade-targets-board-until-hes-traded">Trade Targets board</a> and <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-western-conference-team-by-team-trade-deadline-objectives">Team Objectives</a> heading into the 2024-25 trade deadline.


<h2>The 2021-22 Trade Deadline</h2>
<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/seravalli-20-trade-targets-in-play-as-market-heats-up">In 2022, the Edmonton Oilers didn't trade for anyone on Frank's board.</a> Instead, they signed forward Evander Kane, who was at the bottom of the list.

At the time, Kane was playing for the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL before signing a one-year contract with the Oilers with a base salary of $750,000 and a signing bonus of  $625,000, per PuckPedia. The contract included an entire no-movement clause and a cap hit of $ 2.094 million, according to PuckPedia.

Kane quickly became a favourite among Oilers fans for his physical presence and elite scoring. In his first season with the team, he scored 39 points in 43 games, including 22 goals. His offence didn't stop in the playoffs as the Oilers reached the Western Conference Final, with Kane playing a huge role, scoring 13 goals and 17 points in 15 games.

However, the Oilers acquired two players who weren't on Frank's Trade Targets Board: Brett Kulak from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for William Lagesson, a conditional second-round pick in 2022, and a seventh-round pick in 2024.

https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli/status/1505944822279983106

The second player was Derick Brassard from the Philadelphia Flyers, who went to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2023 4th Round Pick.

Frank Seravalli did not release an objectives article in 2022.
<h2>The 2022-23 Trade Deadline</h2>
As the Oilers approached the 2023 Trade Deadline, they made a trade no one saw coming, adding top-pairing defender Mattias Ekholm from the Nashville Predators. <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/nashvilles-mattias-ekholm-is-available-on-first-2023-trade-targets-board">Though Ekholm to Edmonton came out of the blue, the big Swede was listed seventh on Seravalli's Trade Target Board. </a>

On February 28th, 2023, the Oilers traded Tyson Barrie, Reid Schaefer, a 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick. Since then, Ekholm has been a staple on the Oilers' blue line with Evan Bouchard as the top pair. <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2023-trade-deadline-countdown-western-conference-objectives">Interestingly, Seravalli listed Ekholm's position as an objective before the trade deadline.  </a>
<blockquote>"Top Objective: Left-Shooting Defenseman"

"The question being asked internally right now is whether that defenseman should stylistically be a puck-moving type or a defensive-minded defender. Edmonton feels like an ideal landing spot for someone like Vladislav Gavrikov, but maybe <strong>Mattias Ekholm</strong> is a nice blend of the two styles. Either way, this is a burn-the-boats season for Edmonton, after watching what Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl did to the postseason scoring list last spring. No excuses, no holds barred."</blockquote>
Frank was on the money with this one. At the time, the Oilers were in talks to acquire Jakob Chychurn, who was second on Frank's board in 2023. Of course, that never materialized, and the Oilers switched gears to bring in Ekholm.

Seravalli posted the trade targets article on January 3rd and the objectives on January 5th, two months before the deadline.

Many in the Edmonton market didn't even consider Ekholm a possibility. Still, they have since viewed it as one of the best trades the organization has orchestrated over the past 15 years.
<h2>The 2023-24 Trade Deadline</h2>
After the home-run trade that was Mattias Ekholm, Oilers fans were hoping general manager Ken Holland would pull off another trade of that magnitude in 2024 to bolster the team's chance at winning the Stanley Cup. <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2024-western-conference-team-by-team-trade-deadline-objectives">This time, Seravalli's objective for the Oilers was to trade for a third-line center or a right-shooting forward on the second line.</a>
<blockquote>"Scoop: There is more than one way to skin a cat, which is to the Oilers’ advantage here. They can go out and acquire a third line center, which would allow them to keep Ryan McLeod on the wing – where he has really blossomed. Or they can keep McLeod at center, where he can utilize his speed, and add a right-shooting forward who can help feed Leon Draisaitl pucks." - Frank Seravalli</blockquote>
A few days before the deadline, the Oilers added some depth down the middle with two players who were mentioned among Seravalli's Trade Targets — Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick.

https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli/status/1765462623603060862

At the time, Henrique had scored 18 goals and 42 points in 60 games with the Anaheim Ducks. During his time in Edmonton, he rotated throughout the lineup, playing some top-six wing and mostly third-line centre. He scored six goals and nine points in 22 games with the Oilers down the stretch and added seven points in 17 playoff games while providing the team with solid two-way play.
<h2>The 2024-25 Trade Deadline</h2>
Heading into this year's trade deadline,<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-western-conference-team-by-team-trade-deadline-objectives"> Seravalli believes Edmonton's top objective</a> should be to acquire a second-pair, right-shooting defenceman.

<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/vancouver-canucks-j-t-miller-will-remain-no-1-on-trade-targets-board-until-hes-traded">His updated trade targets board</a> only includes one defenceman who matches that criteria: Rasmus Ristolainen of the Philadelphia Flyers.

The 30-year-old has two years remaining on his contract and is making $5.1 million annually. Ristolainen is listed at 13 on the trade targets board. The list includes three other defencemen in the top 10, however, they all shoot left.

Would the Oilers be open to a player who's typically on the left side but can play on the right? It's possible, and if that is the case, Seravalli has Marcus Pettersson at fifth, Ryan Lindgren at sixth, and Bowen Byram at ninth.

<a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/stauffer-oilers-targeting-defenceman-who-might-not-be-on-anybodys-radar">Bob Stauffer previously mentioned</a> on Oilers Now that he believes the Oilers will ultimately acquire a player not previously linked to them, perhaps similar to Mattias Ekholm a couple of years ago.

Earlier this year, Seravalli highlighted Michael Matheson from the Montreal Canadiens as an excellent player who could be an option for the Oilers. He didn't say that the Oilers have been looking at him; he believes they should. However, it is important to note that Matheson is not on Seravalli's trade target board.

https://twitter.com/itsWozzz/status/1858671325356650668
<h2>What we've learned</h2>
Over the past few years, fans have been eager for the Oilers to fully commit, aiming to execute a trade like the one for Mattias Ekholm. According to Seravalli's trade target board, the team has successfully landed a major player from the market.

In 2022, although Edmonton did not acquire a player from his list, they signed Evander Kane, who was ranked at the bottom. Kane quickly became a key player for the team and a fan favourite.

Fast-forward to 2023 and 2024. The Oilers traded for players ranked in the Top 10 of the trade targets board on DailyFaceoff, which matched Seravalli's objectives for the team.

Mattias Ekholm has been viewed as one of the best trades the Oilers have made in the organization's history and they set themselves a high bar for what they need to do each deadline if they want to improve the roster. The trade for Adam Henrique was underwhelming in the eyes of fans. While the team did give up a first-round pick for him and Sam Carrick, the acquisitions didn't scream 'All-in' compared to when they acquired Ekholm.

Anything can happen. The Oilers are expected to have another big deadline and it shouldn't be a surprise if they land a major player listed towards the top of Frank Seravalli's trade target board this year.

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