Edmonton and the Jackets are not potential trade partners. But people in Edmonton keep making ridiculous offers.
Here we go again:
Josh Anderson is 25 years old and he scored 47 points last season. He is big and fast and even willing to fight Zdano Chara. Not many people meet that description.
He hurt his shoulder in the playoffs last year and people suspect he has not fully recovered, hence his slow start.
He is an RFA after the season. The Jackets consider him a core piece and aren't looking to trade him. If we do trade him, we are looking for an upgrade at forward.
Our D is good. We have a pretty good RHD just out of Notre Dame in the AHL (Andrew Peeke) and way more LHD than we know what to do with.
We have several good goalie prospects and we are going with two young goalies in the NHL season. You might disagree with the strategy, but we are not looking for a goalie.
We have a ton of middle six forwards.
We need a Panarin replacement or a 1B/2 C which is why we traded for Duchene last year.
So to get Josh Anderson, you are going to need to offer us a forward better than Josh Anderson.
We are willing to trade other guys to make a deal. We have lots of D, like 2nd pair RHD David Savard or LHD Markus Nutivaara who has a pretty good contract that could be added to the deal. We could throw in someone like Sonny Milano, a skilled former first round pick who doesn't play much defense.
So let's look at forwards and prospects from the Oilers and see if we can make a deal:
| NAME | G | A | PTS | +/- | For Anderson? | Why or why not? |
| Leon Draisaitl C | 16 | 32 | 48 | 6 | Y | One of the best players in the NHL |
| Connor McDavid C | 18 | 29 | 47 | 5 | Y | Best player in NHL |
| Zack Kassian RW | 8 | 10 | 18 | 9 | N | 28 and never had a 30 point season |
| James Neal LW | 14 | 3 | 17 | -12 | N | 32 and bad contract |
| Ryan Nugent-Hopkins C | 5 | 11 | 16 | -4 | N | UFA next year |
| Alex Chiasson RW | 2 | 4 | 6 | -1 | N | 29 and never had a 40 point season |
| Gaetan Haas C | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | N | 27 year old rookie |
| Patrick Russell RW | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | N | Are you kidding? |
| Jujhar Khaira LW | 4 | 0 | 4 | -4 | N | He has awesome eyebrows, but no thanks |
| Markus Granlund C | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | N | 26 and once had a 30 point season |
| Sam Gagner C | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | N | Been there, done that |
| Tomas Jurco RW | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | N | 26 and in the AHL -- we have those guys |
| Joakim Nygard LW | 1 | 1 | 2 | -3 | N | 26 year old rookie |
| Colby Cave C | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | N | Is he bettter than Marko Dano? |
| Riley Sheahan C | 0 | 1 | 1 | -8 | N | 27 and never had a 40 point season |
| Josh Archibald RW | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6 | N | Are you kidding? |
| Evan Bouchard | | | | | M | D, if we could then flip him for similar forward prospect |
| Philip Broberg | | | | | M | D, if we could then flip him for similar forward prospect |
| Kailer Yamamoto | | | | | N | We have plenty of small skilled forwards |
| Tyler Benson | | | | | M | Maybe if part of a package with a better player |
| Ryan McLeod | | | | | M | Maybe if part of a package with a better player |
| Cooper Marody | | | | | N | Is he friends with Werenski? |
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The Oilers have 2 forwards who leap off the page. We would certainly make a deal with Anderson for either.
After McJesus and Drai, it is pretty slim pickings. RNH is a UFA after next year, so he is probably out unless we make a deal next year that also involves an extension. The rest of the Oilers forwards? I think we'll pass on any of them in a deal centered around Josh Anderson.
As for prospects, the Oilers top two play defense. And Yamamoto is on the small side, so I don't know that he is what we are after.
So I don’t think a trade is likely. But if the Oilers really want Josh, it is a trade that involves Drai. Or a third team who wants Bouchard and has a top forward to trade.
