This year’s NHL trade deadline will fall on March 6th, meaning we are just two months away from the final day for General Managers to make moves.

Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman has already gotten involved in the trade market this season, and he didn’t exactly dip his toes into the waters either. The Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins swung a massive deal last month, and Edmonton acquired goaltender Tristan Jarry in exchange for Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak and a second-round draft pick. They also acquired defenseman Spencer Stastney from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a third-round pick that day.

I’m bringing up those deals again for a number of reasons.

First off, in moving out Skinner and Kulak, the Oilers traded away two of the most expensive contracts that didn’t have any trade protection attached to them. In fact, the only Oiler who makes more money and doesn’t have a no-trade or no-movement clause is Evan Bouchard.

Bowman has already traded what would be considered his two easiest cap dumps.

Secondly, the Oilers aren’t exactly flush with assets. Remember, they traded their 2026 first-round pick last deadline to the San Jose Sharks for Jake Walman, and they also don’t have a fourth or a fifth round pick in this year’s draft.

Here are the picks they have over the next three years:

2026: 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th

2027: 1st, 2nd, 5th, 5th (BOS), 6th, 7th

2028: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd (STL), 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th

That is not exactly a lot of draft capital, and it’s not like their system is flush with valuable prospects that they could dangle in a deal.

Honestly, not having the assets to make a significant deal this season might not even be that much of a problem, considering the Oilers don’t really have much cap space either.

Once both Walman and Jarry are back and healthy, the Oilers would need to send down all four of Riley Stillman, Calvin Pickard, Curtis Lazar, and Isaac Howard just to be cap compliant.

That means they would have to run with a 24-man roster just to be under the cap.

Of course, the Andrew Mangiapane rumours continue to swirl, which means that they could free up $3.6m before everyone needs to be activated off of the injured reserve, but that’s also assuming that they can dump off Mangiapane’s deal without having to take a contract back, which is far from a guarantee.

So, the Oilers would have just north of $3 million in cap space by the deadline, but a trade will have to come first.

It’s also important to remember that some elements of the new CBA have already kicked in so there are some different rules this year compared to last year.

The double-retention loophole that the Oilers have used in the past to acquire players like Trent Frederic and Adam Henrique has been closed off by the league, meaning that a players contract can only be retained once.

Also, there is now a playoff salary cap, meaning the lineup that you ice for each playoff game needs to be cap-compliant. That hasn’t totally taken away the incentive to accrue cap space throughout the season, but it has certainly lessened its impact.

So with their limited cap space and small pool of assets, what will Bowman priority be at this years deadline?

Well, I think it’s safe to say that they’ve made their move between the pipes, so any additional trades will be to either the forward group or the blueline. Here are the possibilities:

This would be the flashiest addition that the Oilers could make.

Bringing in another legit, high-end forward to pair with Leon Draisaitl would allow head coach Kris Knoblauch to play either Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with Connor McDavid or Jack Roslovic on the third line and lengthen their lineup that way.

Alex Tuch was once thought to be the top player available this season but with the Sabres recent surge, that seems unlikely.

My Oilersnation Everyday co-host Liam Horrobin won’t stop talking about the idea of acquiring Jared McCann from Seattle, and while I love the player and agree that he would make the Oilers a lot better, I’m not sure if he’ll be available.

A bounce-back project like Jake DeBrusk, who could certainly benefit from a change of scenery, would be the easiest to acquire, but he isn’t the offensive driver that would change the complexion of this forward group. Cheap to acquire, but potentially limited upside.

One thing that will really complicate the high-end of the trade market is the fact that there might not be many true sellers. Teams might be open to trading secondary pieces, but true top-of-the-lineup impact players might be harder to come by. Also, remember the Oilers don’t have a lot of assets to dangle.

This is the spot where I think the club would benefit the most. Adding a third-line centre and playing them with some combination of Matt Savoie, Kasperi Kapanen, and Howard should give the Oilers a third line that can actually outscore the opposition while keeping Roslovic up with Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins with McDavid, where I think they’re both better suited.

Columbus has been a rumoured landing spot for Mangiapane and they have two centres on expiring deals in Boone Jenner and Charlie Coyle, although there has been much more talk about Jenner being available.

Anaheim has also been connected to the Oilers and they’re apparently looking to move on from Ryan Strome, but I think his $5 million cap hit makes him a non-starter for the Oilers.

Ryan O’Reilly would cost a lot, but he comes with some term and would be a very effective option.

If the Leafs sell, I wonder about the availability of Nicholas Roy, although he certainly wouldn’t be at the top of my list.

There have been some rumblings that the Oilers will look to make an Ekholm-esque splash on the back end, but personally, I don’t see it.

They seem to have a pretty set top-four as long as everyone stays healthy and newcomer Spencer Stastney has looked pretty solid during his first month with the club. I’m not sure if spending assets on another high-end defenseman is what this team needs.

I do think that they need to add some depth, but I think that could be done by sacrificing a late-round pick or by working the waiver wire closer to the deadline. I think adding up front should be the priority, but we won’t know what Bowman’s preference is for a while… potentially two more months.