Should the Oilers trade for D and G upgrades?

[TheGoldenJet]

Their offence is red hot, but the D and goaltending they are getting are atrocious. Despite this, they are somehow still in a playoff position one month into this shortened season. Should they give up some futures to help McDavid and Draisaitl go for it now?

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[Highmarker]

Should definitely try and trade for a goalie

 

[Mrfenn92]

Yes

 

[Estlin]

Why don't you tell us what you think, since you created the thread?

 

[Mickey Marner]

Trade what though?

 

[Bounces R Way]

Only for like the last 15 years

 

[Rubi]

Anything they have that's worth trading they won't want to do it due to their lack of talented depth. Best thing they can do is try to ride it out until all those useless cap hits drop off their roster when their contracts expire.
Things will look better, cap space wise by the summer of 2022... although I wouldn't put it past Oiler mgmt go add some other overpaid useless players to the roster by then..

 

[karnige]

trying to fix chiapets mess takes time

 

[majormajor]

They definitely should, and they've got a lot of futures chips they can trade in.

It gets easier after this year as Chia's mess clears out.

 

[Connor McConnor]

Goaltending and special teams regression (2 factors that most neutrals saw coming) is the difference between the team that ended last season red hot and is currently struggling to stay .500. Special teams (atleast the PP) will likely improve and all we can do is pray that with Smith back, Koskinen can go back to being an NHL-average goaltender like he was last year, which in today's NHL is all you really need to win (league average is around .900 SV% right now).

Only way we can trade for a goaltender is by getting rid of Smith - who is taking him other than someone completely out of a playoff spot, and even then we have a mandatory 14 day quarantine which means Koskinen getting played for 8-9 games in a row again.

 

[Canovin]

Yes are Gibson, Rakell and Lindholm available?

 

[rubikscube]

100%.

They need to start sacrificing the future to win. It's a tough decision to make, but I guarantee it's not nearly as painful as McDavid requesting a trade.

 

[madmike77]

Goaltending is a big issue. But everyone knew it would be. It really should have been addressed in the offseason.

 

[DropTheGloves]

100%.

They need to start sacrificing the future to win. It's a tough decision to make, but I guarantee it's not nearly as painful as McDavid requesting a trade.

I keep saying this, but there’s a (very loud) subset of Oilers fans who think McDavid is a robot and nothing could ever convince him to do so. That same group also overvalues draft picks and prospects to the extreme, along with believing the roster is more or less perfect. It’s an extremely toxic mix.

In reality, we need at least one goalie upgrade, a top four left handed d-man and a checking center. A solid stay at home RHD would also help too. All of those things won’t come cheap of course, but the time is and has to be now to trade futures for impactful assets.

 

[thefutures]

Raanta would be a nice upgrade if that rumor had any merit.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Yes absolutely

 

[The Moose is Loose]

Yes but it needs to be a shrewd move rather than a blockbuster

Who they won't deal EVER:
McDavid
Draisaitl

Very unlikely to be traded:
Yamamoto
Puljujarvi
Nurse

Pending UFAs: (But I can't see either of these guys being moved)
RNH
Barrie

So who would they trade?

• Bouchard looks damn good over his first 4 games and brings exactly what the Oilers need which is a high IQ offensive defenseman with shooting and passing from the backend. I would be really surprised if he was traded, especially after his hot start.

• Holloway is currently the hottest scorer in the NCAA as a freshman, he is ripping it up so unless a team wants to pay a premium for a mid 1st round pick from last year I can't see him being moved.

That leaves Broberg as the most valuable asset that can be expended, since the Oilers' LHD looks good for the foreseeable future (assuming Klefbom comes back). He was a top 10 pick and projects to be top pairing guy so he should definitely be able to land a quality starting goaltender (Ala Gibson) but I doubt any team moves a difference maker on D

The rest of their roster and farm system isn't good enough to go big game hunting with thus why I'd be surprised to see the Oilers involved in a blockbuster.

 

[DJJones]

Trade what?

 

[Zenos]

Trade what?

Pretty much this.

As the poster above suggests, Broberg and / or Holloway could be possibilities, if a team has interest in futures.

Maybe Ryan Nugent Hopkins (UFA)? But that would obviously open another hole (1st line LW, 1PP, penalty-killing centre) for the Oilers.

Beyond that, I can't see anyone worth moving who could bring back anything valuable.

 

[DJJones]

Pretty much this.

As the poster above suggests, Broberg and / or Holloway could be possibilities, if a team has interest in futures.

Maybe Ryan Nugent Hopkins (UFA)? But that would obviously open another hole (1st line LW, 1PP, penalty-killing centre) for the Oilers.

Beyond that, I can't see anyone worth moving who could bring back anything valuable.

Trading RNH would destroy their forward depth, which isn't great to begin with.

So unless they are giving up firsts, and top prospects, while somehow getting cap space this is a pointless thread.

 

[The Macho King]

Going to be hard to make trades across the border this season the further it goes on if you're not a clear cut contender or a clear cut basement dweller. Seven to fourteen days of no person in the lineup but hitting your cap means you're probably also going to have to move a roster player the other way - which those tend not to be rentals.

This is going to be a weird deadline. I imagine someone like Greiss could be available (and desirable - btw why the hell did no one but Detroit sign him?), and maybe one of the Preds dmen if they keep on this path, but I am expecting a rather stale deadline this year, especially for cross-border trades.

 

[Avsboy]

Oilers should have traded for D and G help a decade ago

 

[Jumptheshark]

Trading RNH would destroy their forward depth, which isn't great to begin with.

So unless they are giving up firsts, and top prospects, while somehow getting cap space this is a pointless thread.

and letting him walk for nothing doesnt?

Oilers need his contract money to address the goalie situation. We do not have the assets to trade for one. No 2nd, 3rd or 5th this year

If we trade Nuge and Larsson, we may be able to get the assets a team like the Ducks would want for Gibson. Ducks are rebuilding. At the deadline we may be able to get a 1st and a good prospect for Nuge and then flip that for Gibson.

But I already know the party line here--we will have lots of money in the off season to resign Nuge, address both our goalie and D problems and our 6 depth--without sacrificing anything of value

 

[Jumptheshark]

Should definitely try and trade for a goalie

easier said than done

 

[Washed Up 29YearOld]

Trading 1sts from future drafts really only way to build the team to win now imo, they are the only real valuable assets with any substantive value. Too many holes and too few real valuable assets to do any other way. Trading McDavid or Drai is not an option and is a laughable premise unless a literal king's ransom that no one would pay.