If there’s one thing that everybody in the NHL knows about the Edmonton Oilers, it’s that they need a good right-shot defenceman as soon as possible. The 2016 Draft was an obvious place to make a trade for help, but according to TSN’s Darren Dreger the prospects aren’t looking so bright this morning.

It isn’t a big shock that the ask for quality defencemen is high, especially for right-shot defencemen. Good players at this position are relatively rare in the NHL to begin with, and Edmonton is far from the only team looking for help this season. 

It’s also not like other teams are swooping in and grabbing all the available talent. The only NHL-level defence trade so far at the draft was a swap of defenceman – a move Edmonton isn’t in a great position to make – on Saturday morning which saw Florida’s Dmitry Kulikov dealt for Mark Pysyk:

This also fits in with the Oilers’ decision to draft Tyler Benson with the No. 32 pick. A lot of deals at the draft involve picks for obvious reasons, and the No. 32 selection was a good bargaining chip, coming as it did so early in the second round. Edmonton didn’t flip the draft choice, and that reduces the incentive to make an immediate deal since any even-up picks are likely to come from future drafts and those discussions can thus take place in the days to come.  

The trouble is that none of this changes the Oilers need for help on the blue line. Waiting until July 1 and hoping to address those needs through free agency carries massive risk. Jason Demers is the only significant right-shot defenceman currently slated for free agency, meaning that a) he’s going to cost a lot and b) if Edmonton misses out on him, that’s all she wrote in terms of free agent hopes.

One way or the other, Chiarelli needs to upgrade the blue line in the next couple of weeks. The Oilers simply can’t afford to go into next season with the status quo on the back end.