I’d absolutely give up Bouchard in a trade for Saros and Barrie. But if you can do it without giving up Bouchard and then trade Bouchard to fill another hole, you’re laughing.
Ekholm knows Saros well, Barrie is an instant fit as we all know, a move like that could turn this season around and get us in the playoffs.
I wonder what our 2026 or 2027 pick would get us.. if teams think McDrai walks that pick could be 1st overall.
I would too.
Only because the window to win is so small and Nashville has some pieces that would be exactly what the Oilers need. Nashville also seems to be headed towards rebuilding so this has potential.
Apparently Nashivlle has a young goalie named Yarslav Askerov. He's 6' 4" tall and apparently has plenty of elite skill.
I dont think he is a player that the Oilers can target but Nashville has to make a decision about where their team is in terms of their rebuild.
So for them to bring in Campbell for this season and try to bring in Askerov next season is conceivable, They also have over $6M in cap space as well so they can take on some salary.
They might well be willing to eat some salary too.
So, for example, Bouchard and McLeod are 2 players that might fit Nashvilles plans moving forward and that along with Campbell frees up $11M in cap space. They could then take on Saros and Barrie with their combined cap hit of $9.5M. The Oilers will have and additional 1.5M of wiggle room as well.
It also helps Nashville get rid of 2 big contracts and allows them to add if they choose to remain somewhat competitive this season because their market might not have the patience for a full rebuild. They are also shedding over $9M in salary next season with all the pending UFA's they will have.
Some draft picks (and/or prospects) may have to be involved in this deal as well but the fact that its potentially for only 1 year of Barrie helps the Oilers IMO.
Dealing Bouchard is not easy. He has played less than 200 games in the NHL which isnt much and he has tons of offensive skill. That said he still has the same issue that concerned me when he was a rookie player. His sense of urgency just doesnt seem to be there and when he isnt playing with a stud like Ekholm it really shows. He could well improve in his next 200 games but he may not as well. This just could be who he is because it hasnt seemed to have improved much at all when he doesnt have a high quality dman protecting him. Who he is though is likely a close to elite (next teir down) offensive dman. He is up for a huge raise in 2025/26 as well and he may never be a solid top 4 dman with all the warts still in his game. Then again he may really improve over the next couple of seasons especially with Nashville as their organization seems to have the touch when it comes to bringing along Dmen.
Dealing him is a big risk but this team needs to win now and they are in serious jeopardy of missing the playoffs all together.
McLeod has great speed but he started off as a perimeter player and after 150 NHL games there is no indication he will be anything other than that. I have no issue dealing him and his $2.1M cap hit for this season and next.
In any event I dont usually post proposals of any kind but I really think that there is something here to work with for both teams.