Report: Edmonton Oilers looking for another top-six forward

Does this rumour make sense?

David Pagnotta is not the most reliable name in the insider scene, but he has been right numerous times in the past. Despite this, the report seems to make a lot of sense. The Oilers have two young rookies in Matthew Savoie and Issac Howard, who are expected to step into the Oilers’ lineup and play pivotal roles this season. However, many have pointed out that the Oilers are taking a major risk injecting one, if not both, into the top-six. Combined, they have played in four NHL games, all of which were played by Savoie, and while the ceiling is high, odds are neither will be ready for those minutes on opening night.

The team likely doesn’t want to give them too rough a start to their NHL careers, and instead ease them into the lineup in depth roles off the start. The challenge is that the team’s depth starts to look suspect without them. Assuming Draisaitl, McDavid, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins centre their lines, you have Vasily Podkolzin, Zach Hyman, and Andrew Mangiapane likely slotting in as three of the four wingers. But you start to have to dig deep to find a fourth winger.

This is an issue looking to finally win the Cup, and if you’re struggling for a top-six winger, the bottom-six looks even more suspect. This team needs one more piece for sure.

The Oilers have a salary cap issue right now, with less than $250K remaining in space. Without shedding salary, the team will be unable to add anything before the start of the year. This poses a major impediment. We identified several available free agents that they could target, but with this issue, they may need to look for a trading partner.

Stan Bowman has been up against the cap before and performed admirably. Don’t put it past him to do it again. The Oilers are probably not done tinkering for the summer. Expect more from them before puck drop in October.