We’re still over three months away from the trade deadline for the 2024-25 NHL season but that doesn’t mean the rumour mill is cold.

The Edmonton Oilers have a disappointing 10-9-2 record and currently occupy the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. That’s not the start that was expected from a team that reached Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in the spring.

Earlier this week, Bob Stauffer of Oilers NOW reported that the Oilers are going to add a defenceman at “some point” and that it might be somebody who isn’t on “anybody’s radar screen right now.”

I really like Mike Matheson from the Montreal Canadiens, but he’s not much of an off-the-radar pick. The other day in the Oilersnation Everyday chat, listener Tyler Mulek mentioned Brandon Carlo of the Boston Bruins and that idea has me really intrigued. Of course, the Bruins would need to fall totally out of the race for this to happen but they’ve already fired their coach so they’re clearly open to changes. Carlo is only 27 and has two more years on a deal that only pays him $4.1m so the price to get him would be very high, but if the Bruins decide to shake up their roster, the Oilers should be calling on Carlo. He would be a perfect fit on the right side of their blueline. – Tyler Yaremchuk

Bob Stauffer keeps teasing that the Oilers could be chasing a defenceman that no one is really talking about and one that could have term left on their deal. Those clues don’t help a whole lot outside of the detail that he thinks it may be a left-shot defender who can plan on the right side. But since we’re talking about defenders to target, I’d like to see another trade with the squad down the highway that sees the Oilers ship some pieces out in exchange for Rasmus Andersson. I know he’s a right-shot guy and it would be strange for Calgary to trade him given how well he’s playing this year, but that’s the exact kind of player I would love to see Stan Bowman target. – Baggedmilk

The Oilers have an opportunity to shake up their roster in a big way with one trade partner: the Philadelphia Flyers. The obvious name on their blue line as a trade option is Rasmus Ristolainen, whose game has turned around from years earlier in his career, now playing some of his best hockey in the City of Brotherly Love. But would the Flyers be open to trading Cameron York? He’s a left-shot, 23-year-old who was drafted 14th overall by them in 2019, but his time in Philly has been up and down. While he stuck around for all 82 games in the 2023-24 season, he had struggled to maintain a regular spot in the lineup in the two years prior. He’s a two-way defender, driving offence at a one percent rate above league average and defence at a three percent rate above league average, according to Hockey Viz. He’s an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent this offseason, and maybe there’s a deal to be made that also brings Morgan Frost or Joel Farabee — the latter of whom landed on Daily Faceoff’s first trade targets list. – Zach Laing

There are a couple of middling teams that both have some very interesting trade targets if they decide to move into seller or retooling mode. The Seattle Kraken missed the playoffs last season and are on the outside looking in right now while the New York Islanders have snuck into the dance in back-to-back years but weren’t competitive in either first-round loss. From the Kraken, Jamie Oleksiak is a player who the Oilers showed interest in when he was a free agent a few years ago and he’s still a fit now. The 6-foot-7 shutdown defender would fill the hole on the team’s penalty kill left by the subtractions of Cody Ceci and Vincent Desharnais. From the Islanders, Ryan Pulock has quietly been a very effective defender for years and would give Edmonton a long-term solution for their top-four. He’s signed for three more seasons after this one at $6.15 million annually but has a full no-trade clause. – Cam Lewis