The word is out that the Edmonton Oilers are looking to trade a defenceman.

Troy Stecher’s name is at the forefront, as the Oilers reportedly look to find him a soft landing, while there have been rumblings of Ty Emberson being an option to be moved. Either way, a defenceman will be one of the players who will have to come off the roster as the Oilers’ roster crunch looms large.

It always takes two to tango in the trade market, and there could be a few teams willing to swing a deal for one of the two.

The Hurricanes have been devastated by injury on the blueline early this season, with the likes of Jaccob Slavin, K’Andre Miller and Shayne Gostisbehere all out with various injuries.

Slavin has played in just two games this year and has been out of the lineup since October 11th. There’s been no firm timeline for how long he’ll remain out, but head coach Rod Brind’Amour said “it feels like everything is heading in the right direction” on Monday. Miller has been out for five games with a lower-body injury, and while he’s nearing a return, potentially as soon as Thursday, his presence has been missed. Gostisbehere has missed the least amount of time so far, but a mid-body injury is keeping him out longer than a day-to-day basis.

Multiple call-ups later and the Hurricanes are reportedly in search of a stopgap type of defenceman, hockey insider Frank Seravalli reported late last week.

Stecher would be the perfect kind of target for the Hurricanes as a stopgap defenceman, as he’s shown an ability to play solid two-way hockey for the Oilers and many teams before. He also would be a solid seventh defenceman for them when they do get healthy. Emberson has higher upside and would be a longer-term play, but would fit in well with the Hurricanes’ style of play.

The Dallas Stars may not have injuries to their blue line, but it’s far from a group that could push them over the top. Held down by the likes of Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley and Esa Lindell, the other defencemen on that blue line are… not great. Ilya Lyubushkin, Lian Bichel and Alex Petrovic were exposed last year by the Oilers in the playoffs, and it’s easy to see the Stars wanting to upgrade on this group.

Emberson would likely be the ideal target for them as somebody they could keep into the future, but Stecher would surely be an upgrade on this group too, even if it were a shorter-term play. Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan would know the blueliners well from his time in Edmonton over recent years, but complicating the matter would be Edmonton’s willingness to trade within their conference, let alone with a team who they’ll be competing for a top seed with.

Another trade partner who may not be the most ideal, but could certainly be an option are the Canucks. Some of Stecher’s best days in the NHL came during his time in Vancouver, the team he started his NHL career with, as well as the place he became a fan favourite.

They’re dealing with injuries to Derek Forbort and Victor Mancini — as well as a plethora to their forward group — and could be a team that could use a stopgap like Stecher. Kiefer Sherwood has been linked to the Oilers, so maybe there’s a deal to be had that would involve swapping Emberson and Sherwood.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, 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.