Typically, when Oilers Now host Bob Stauffer says something, he’s saying it with inside information that often turns out to be fairly accurate. Because he works for the Oilers Entertainment Group, he tends to have an inside track as to what the team is thinking on certain things. He offered up an interesting nugget on Friday, when talking about how the Edmonton Oilers might approach the 2021-22 NHL Trade Deadline.
A number of insiders have the Oilers competing for the Pacific Division title this year. Battling it out with the Vegas Golden Knights, the thought is that Edmonton might be a 6th-to-9th place team. If so, they’ll be in a position to add at the trade deadline and Stauffer suggests this might be the year they go all in.
The past two seasons, Holland has refused to trade his first-round picks. He traded two seconds for Andreas Athanasiou and that didn’t pan out because of a shortened season, but he’s not moved his first-rounders. This might be the year to do so.
During Friday’s show, Stauffer talked about how the Oilers have three first-round picks percolating in the organization. He mentioned that Xavier Bourgault and Dylan Holloway likely won’t see any time in the NHL this season and defenseman Philip Forsberg might get some action on an emergency call basis, but the team is slowly playing his development. As such, the Oilers are in good shape for the foreseeable future. They can potentially afford to give up a first-round selection, especially if it’s a later-round pick.
Stauffer believes the first-round pick in 2022 could be in play for Ken Holland and he explains:
“If Edmonton were to theoretically move their first-round pick, it would be for a goaltender they believe they could sign to an extension, or conversely has term left, that would be one scenario, or a player that could them in a designated spot that would have term left as well.”
He went on to say that if the team is sitting in the NHL standings at the six spot or better, he could see Edmonton adding this year. He said the team is in a little bit of a different situation than they have been the last two years.
Edmonton Went for It This Year
Adding Duncan Keith, Zach Hyman and others signaled the Oilers decided this is their window. They have a few short years left with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl under contract and in their prime years and if they’re going to challenge for a Stanley Cup, this is the time to do so.
As such, all bets are off when it comes to finding ways to improve this team. There’s a lot to like about the roster as it sits now. Still, there are some questions on defense and in goal and if the trade deadline is going to offer up a solution, Holland might have to pay to get what he needs.
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