We are less than a month away from the start of the NHL preseason. The Oilers host Winnipeg on September 22nd before playing two games vs. Calgary on the 23rd. Training camp is only three weeks away and you can feel the excitement and anticipation building in Oilersnation. That is great, but there is also a bit of zaniness for some.
Yesterday a trade rumour of Dante Fabbro for Max Wanner emerged. Fabbro is in the final year of his $2.5 AAV deal with Nashville. He will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of his deal. Wanner is five years younger and in the second year of his ELC. He is the only young defence prospect in Bakersfield this season.
This rumour makes zero sense for Edmonton. Fabbro is six feet tall. He isn’t elite offensively and not a tower defensively. From a pure player-for-player trade, I see little reason why Edmonton would entertain this move. Wanner is still very raw, but he’s a great skater, stands 6’3″, and plays physical. He needs to improve his puck skills to be a regular in the NHL, but he has time to work on that.
Then add in the salary cap implications, and the trade makes less sense. The Oilers moved Cody Ceci so they wouldn’t have to start the season on LTIR. Evander Kane won’t be ready to start the season, but the current roster can have him on IR and still be cap-compliant. Adding Fabbro’s salary eliminates that option.
I would be floored if the Oilers made this deal. In fact, I don’t think it has ever been discussed at a serious level within the organization. If it was brought up, it should have been a very short conversation that ended with a “not interested.”

OTHER THOUGHTS…

Former Edmonton Oiler Philip Broberg
Apr 17, 2024; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Edmonton Oilers defenseman Philip Broberg (86) against the Arizona Coyotes at Mullett Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
  • I received many texts to the show on Monday after returning from holidays asking about the 80-game threshold for Philip Broberg and how that impacted him receiving an offer sheet. First off, Broberg played his 80th NHL game in the opening game of the season. Remember: playoff games are included in the 80-game threshold. Prior to this season he’d played 69 regular season games and 10 playoff games. At the start of the season the Oilers were hoping Broberg would be a regular in the lineup and he played 16:03 on opening night. However, there is no 80-game threshold required to receive an offer sheet. I’ve seen that listed on some websites, but if you look in the CBA (link here), there is nothing written that states a player must play 80 games to be eligible for an offer sheet. They only need three years of pro hockey (NHL or AHL). And if you look at the MOU that was signed in 2020, nothing regarding offer sheets was changed.
  • I think the Oilers’ blue line is good enough to compete in the regular season. But the team would need an upgrade leading up to the trade deadline to give them a better chance to compete in the playoffs. Troy Stecher has played 494 regular season games. Here is a breakdown, courtesy of PuckIQ, of how many minutes he’s played v. Elite, middle and Grit lines as well as his GF-GA.Elite – 2,175 min and 68GF-65GA
    Middle – 2,940 min and 108GF-113GA
    Gritensity – 2,542 min and 106GF-120GAHe is -16 overall in his career at 5×5. He was -12 with 27th-placee Detroit in 2021 and he was -10 with the 27th-placed Coyotes in 2023. When he has played on decent or competitive teams his numbers have been fine. Would I want the Oilers to upgrade on him for the playoffs? Yes, but Stecher would be fine, even in a top-four role, for the first few months of the season.In 5,115 minutes versus Elite or Middle opponents his GF-GA was 176-178. And none of the teams he played on had Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as their top two centres. Last year in 109 minutes with the Oilers, Stecher outscored opponents 6-2 and posted a DFF% of 54%. DFF stands for Dangerous Fenwick and is a “Weighted shot metric using shot distance, location and type of shot to give each shot a ‘danger’ value.”
  • Random trivia: The Oilers have had 21 different players have at least a five-game goal scoring streak. Wayne Gretzky had 16 different goal-scoring streaks of at least five games, while Jari Kurri and Leon Draisaitl each had nine.Can you name the player who had a five-game goal scoring streak with the Oilers but scored fewer than 20 goals with the Oilers?**Answer will be posted in comments after 3 p.m.**

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