As it is Valentine’s Day, the Edmonton Oilers must find the perfect match. Luckily, Frank Seravalli is on the case, taking on the role of hockey’s “Doctor Love” on Daily Faceoff. He is matching players with teams in anticipation of the upcoming trade deadline.
For the Oilers, he thinks the ideal player to target is Michael McCarron from the Nashville Predators. The 29-year-old forward, who plays on the right side, has struggled to score this season, netting just two goals in 46 games with the Predators. However, he offers significant size, standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing 232 pounds. In return, Edmonton would trade a 2026 2nd Round Pick, says Seravalli.
“One of the unwritten stories of this Oilers lead-up to the trade deadline: What happens if Evander Kane isn’t going to remain on LTIR for the remainder of the regular season? That means Edmonton will have very limited cap space to deal from, likely creating a dollar-in, dollar-out scenario that used to be GM Ken Holland’s tag line. Short of moving a more established (expensive) roster player, such as Jeff Skinner or Viktor Arvidsson, both of whom have full ‘no-trade’ blocking capability, it will be difficult to add a true game-changer in that case.
The Oilers have been looking for a fourth-line center all season long, preferably one that would provide a little speed. But McCarron would bring an entirely different element. He’s 6-foot-6, he skates well for a big man, and he would add a dash of truculence to the Oilers’ lineup not seen since Zack Kassian. In this deal, I chose to move Edmonton’s own second-round pick in 2026 as opposed to the second-rounder from the Blues this season that came from the offer sheets. McCarron’s production isn’t eye-popping by any stretch, but he’s the rare bottom of the lineup player who actually becomes a little more valuable in the postseason.”
It’s hard to say if this would be a move the fanbase would love and welcome with open arms, as they want an addition who can have the same impact as Mattias Ekholm, who was acquired by the Oilers in 2023. For others, if the Oilers don’t improve the goaltending, it’s a failed deadline.
However, earlier this week, Frank Seravalli said on Oilersnation Everyday that it shouldn’t come as a surprise if the Oilers don’t make a big splash and acquire a bottom-six forward like McCarron.
“You’ve got Evander Kane, and I think we’re all thinking, hey, it’s like a foregone conclusion that this guy is just going to be on LTIR until the playoffs. The more I talk to people around the league, that is not a certainty. The Oilers truly do not have an idea or an answer yet and may not get one until the week before the deadline as to whether or not they can spend that money.
If they can’t spend that money, we’re talking about dollar in, dollar out. You could take John Gibson and, frankly, any goaltending additions or acquisitions and just chuck it right out the window because they’re not going to have the money to do it. So we know that they have limited assets, and we now know that their cap space could be very limited.
We’re living in a world in which we might be seeing the Oilers make a fourth-line centre acquisition, and that’s it. And I just want to prepare everyone right now for that eventuality that if you’re thinking this is going to be some massive, big go out and get yourself a Mattias Ekholm addition, it’s first off, look at my trade board. I don’t know that that exists. And second, there’s a real chance of financial reality here with the cap that the Oilers have to get comfortable with.”
Statements like these are likely to discourage those who hope the Oilers will make a significant move at the trade deadline.
Seravalli refers to his trade board, which included Mattias Ekholm in 2023. However, it’s important to note that the team has successfully acquired only one player from his boards over the past three seasons.
By the sounds of it, Oilers fans may need to accept that this trade deadline will be quieter for the organization than in previous seasons.