Trade Deadline Primer: Edmonton Oilers
With the All-Star break in the rear-view, the trade deadline looms large and is now less than a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Edmonton Oilers.
For the second consecutive season, the Oilers started slowly. The team started so poorly this season that it resulted in the firing of head coach Jay Woodcroft after just 13 games. Since their 3-9-1 start to the season, Edmonton has rebounded under Kris Knoblauch with a 27-7 record that includes a near-record 16-game winning streak. The Oilers now once again look like a legitimate Stanley Cup contender and will no doubt be looking to add to their lineup at the trade deadline. The club has already been linked to Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel and will surely be in on some of the other big names in the upcoming weeks. The Oilers don’t have much in the way of cap space and will need to get creative to fill in some of the remaining holes on their roster. But with the uncertainty around the futures of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, they are likely to do everything they can to add to an already formidable lineup.
Record
30-16-1, 3rd in the Pacific
Deadline Status
Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
$2.374MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2024: EDM 1st, EDM 2nd, EDM 5th, EDM 6th, NASH 6th
2025: EDM 1st, EDM 3rd, EDM 4th, EDM 5th, EDM 6th, EDM 7th
Trade Chips
Edmonton probably isn’t looking to move much off of their NHL roster to facilitate a trade, however, they will likely need to shed some salary to acquire any high-priced talent. There have been rumors in recent weeks that they would like to shed Cody Ceci and his $3.25MM cap hit, and they also have Jack Campbell toiling in the AHL with his $5MM cap hit, but if Edmonton wanted to move on from either player it would require a sizeable asset to move the money out.
The Oilers do have some assets if they want to make a big move, as they still possess their first-round pick in the next few drafts and have most of their other draft capital as well. There will also be interest in defenseman Philip Broberg despite his lack of NHL success. The 22-year-old hasn’t exactly had a seamless transition to professional hockey, but he is having a strong season in the AHL.
Edmonton has one of the worst farm systems in the NHL, but it isn’t without a couple of intriguing players. Xavier Bourgault is not having the type of season he or the Oilers were hoping for with just six goals and 10 assists in 39 AHL games. The 2021 first-round pick is ranked by many as the Oilers’ top prospect and has shown that he is a great special teams player, but his scoring just isn’t there at even strength. He along with Broberg could be pieces of a bigger package to acquire a big-name player. But if they are the central pieces, it might require the Oilers to give up multiple first-round picks.
Another Oilers prospect is Raphael Lavoie whose size will certainly be alluring to teams who are looking for a big center with untapped potential. Lavoie is having a decent season in the AHL with 15 goals and 11 assists in 33 games, but at 23 years of age, it is hard to consider him a prospect at this point, especially one that can fetch to top-6 forward such as Guentzel.
If Edmonton does want to make a splash, it may require moving out young forward Dylan Holloway, who hasn’t found his offensive game in the NHL but does have good underlying numbers and will almost certainly be an NHL player. Holloway has posted good offensive numbers in the AHL but hasn’t spent of ton of time playing in Edmonton’s top-9 and could find that side of his game if given a chance.
One other intriguing prospect who could draw some interest is Matvei Petrov. The 20-year-old has had a slow start to his professional career with Bakersfield this season, and had a terrific, albeit brief OHL career with the North Bay Battalion. The former sixth-round pick has just five goals and three assists in 30 AHL games with the Condors but had 67 goals and 116 assists in 128 career OHL games. Petrov has good vision and hockey sense but is on the lighter side at the moment and could become much stronger on the puck if he could fill out his 6’2” frame.
Other Potential Trade Chips: D Beau Akey, F Maxim Berezkin
Team Needs
1) Top-6 Forward: The Oilers shuffled their lines yesterday and moved Corey Perry onto their second line. While Perry still has a role in the NHL, his days of being a top-6 forward are well behind him. The Oilers have a considerable gap between their top five forwards and all the remaining ones. Therein lies the need for another top-six winger. The Oilers would probably love to get a right shot forward, however, the market may force them to look at the left side which is why Guentzel’s name is being thrown around. If Edmonton can’t land a top-six forward, they could opt for a top-9 forward as a fallback option. Something they thought they were getting last summer when they signed Connor Brown.
2) A Reliable Second Goaltender: An argument could be made for an additional defender, but goaltending has been problematic for the Oilers for quite some time, which is why they signed Campbell two summers ago. Stuart Skinner has performed admirably for the Oilers and has earned the starter net. However, Edmonton would do well to find a solid backup who could take the net if Skinner were to falter or be dealt an injury. Alex Nedeljkovic out of Pittsburgh could be a good option should the Penguins falter and opt to sell at the deadline. The Vegas Golden Knights showed last year that a team can never have too much reliable goaltending, and while the Oilers have three goaltenders who can play in the NHL, two of the three have a history of seeing their play fall off considerably. Something the Oilers can’t have as their contention window gets smaller and smaller.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Oilers Notes: Goaltending, Bourgault, Coaching
Edmonton’s goaltending situation certainly hasn’t been good this season with Stuart Skinner and now-demoted Jack Campbell combining for a 4.10 GAA and a .862 SV%, a big reason why the Oilers are now tied with San Jose for last in the NHL. Accordingly, there has been an expectation that a move will be made to shore up their netminders. In a recent 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relayed that there were some in the league who thought Edmonton was nearing a deal to do just that on Wednesday. Clearly, that hasn’t come to fruition (yet, at least) but it would appear as if GM Ken Holland is trying to get something done on that front. But with the team in a money-in, money-out situation to stay cap-compliant, it’ll be easier said than done.
More from Edmonton:
- Speaking today on TSN 690 (audio link), TSN’s Darren Dreger indicated that prospect Xavier Bourgault is “a piece the Canadiens have coveted for a while”. The 21-year-old was the 22nd pick back in 2021 and is in his second season with AHL Bakersfield. A strong scorer in junior, Bourgault had a decent rookie campaign with 34 points in 62 games last season while he has four in seven contests so far this year. Montreal is one of the teams still carrying three goalies although Jake Allen might not work in their salary structure, extension talks have started with Samuel Montembeault, and Cayden Primeau isn’t the proven solution between the pipes that Edmonton should be looking for.
- TSN’s Ryan Rishaug relayed earlier today (Twitter link) that nothing was imminent with regards to possible coaching change. Jay Woodcroft is only in his second full season with the team and even with the ugly start this season, his teams have played to a .640 point percentage. Postmedia’s Robert Tychkowski notes that a change, if one is made, would give them their fifth bench boss in eight years with a good chunk of the core there for all of those moves. As a result, while making a move behind the bench might be the easiest lever to pull, recent history would suggest that it might not change a whole lot.
Oilers Notes: Yamamoto, Bourgeault, Free Agency
While Edmonton settled for a one-year deal with Jesse Puljujarvi, they’re hoping to sign Kailer Yamamoto to a multi-year contract prior to his arbitration hearing, notes Postmedia’s Derek Van Diest. The 23-year-old winger is coming off a nice bounce-back year that saw him put up 20 goals and 21 assists in 81 games last season while chipping in with seven points in 14 playoff contests. Without arbitration rights last summer, Yamamoto settled for a one-year, $1.175MM agreement but now stands to receive more than double that this time around, even if it doesn’t get to a hearing. With Yamamoto’s hearing slated for August 7th, filing numbers will be exchanged on August 5th if a new deal isn’t in place by then.
More from Edmonton:
- Prospect Xavier Bourgault is leaning towards not participating at the upcoming World Juniors, mentions Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link). Several Canadian forwards are opting out of the summer tournament to instead prepare for NHL training camps in the fall. Bourgault was a first-round pick by Edmonton last year (22nd overall) and had a strong season with QMJHL Shawinigan with 36 goals and 39 assists in 43 games and with the Oilers needing some low-cost players to round out their roster to stay cap compliant, he could have a chance to push for a roster spot in the preseason.
- In the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek posits that UFA winger Phil Kessel could wind up with the Oilers. The 34-year-old had just eight goals last season with Arizona but still put up 44 assists in 82 games. Kessel’s days as a top winger are basically done but in a secondary scoring role, he can still be a contributor. However, once Yamamoto and Ryan McLeod sign their contracts, Edmonton will be capped out so a trade or two will need to be made to free up the money to take a run at Kessel later in free agency.
Gatineau Olympiques Acquire Olivier Nadeau
While the NHL Draft is still a few days away, the 2022 QMJHL Draft is underway tonight. There’s some big action on the trade floor as well, as the Gatineau Olympiques have acquired Buffalo Sabres forward prospect, Olivier Nadeau, from the QMJHL champion Shawinigan Cataractes in exchange for this year’s 14th overall pick, a 2023 first-round selection, a 2023 second-round selection, and 2005-born defense prospect Thomas Hebert.
Nadeau, Buffalo’s 97th overall selection in 2021, led Shawinigan in regular-season scoring with 78 points in 65 games. While he finished ahead of teammates like Edmonton’s Xavier Bourgault and Dallas’ Mavrik Bourque, they both played in considerably fewer games and had higher playoff point totals.
That doesn’t discount Nadeau’s role on the team, though. Serving as an alternate captain, Nadeau is a powerful, versatile forward who knows how to use his 6′ 2″ frame. A smart and skilled passer, Nadeau boasts solid middle-six upside and is a good transitional talent. In what will be his last year of juniors, Nadeau will get a chance to shine on Gatineau, who suffered a first-round playoff loss this year.
Edmonton Oilers Sign Xavier Bourgault
The Edmonton Oilers have inked a top prospect, signing Xavier Bourgault to a three-year entry-level contract. The deal begins in 2022-23 and Bourgault will remain with the Shawinigan Cataractes for the rest of his season in the QMJHL.
Selected 22nd overall in 2021, Bourgault has shown once again why he was regarded as such an interesting NHL prospect, recording 26 goals and 51 points in 31 games for Shawinigan this season. While he has missed multiple chunks of the season with injuries–including a freak eye injury in November–he’s back on the ice now and has scored in each of his last four contests.
Shawinigan is in a good position in the standings and poised to fight for the QMJHL championship, though it certainly would be interesting to see Bourgault join the Bakersfield Condors at some point before the end of the season. The 19-year-old forward won’t be in consideration for the Oilers, but Bakersfield could add him on a tryout contract for their own championship run, after winning the Pacific tournament last year (the Calder Cup was not awarded in 2021).
If you ask his coach, Bourgault is already ready for the professional lifestyle, even if he has yet to suit up for the Oilers organization. Last month, Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic wrote about the young forward, and how Shawinigan general manager Martin Mondou has always been impressed with his training. If “everything he does is in the sense to be playing for the Oilers one day” as Mondou put it, signing this contract is a big step toward that goal.
Given he will turn 20 in October, Bourgault will be eligible to play full-time for the Condors next season–that is if he doesn’t land an NHL role out of camp.