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.
Injury Updates: Miromanov, Senators, Killorn, Bedard, Raanta
The Golden Knights welcomed back one of their blueliners for their game tonight versus Arizona as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated Daniil Miromanov from injured reserve. The 26-year-old had yet to play with Vegas this season as he worked his way back from ACL and meniscus surgery in the summer. He got into five games with AHL Henderson last month on a conditioning stint and fared quite well, notching a goal and five assists before being recalled a couple of weeks ago. However, Vegas opted to play it safe with Miromanov, allowing him more time to skate with the team before officially having him suit up for his season debut with the big club.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- The Senators are expected to welcome back goaltender Anton Forsberg and defenseman Travis Hamonic for their next game on Saturday, relays Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan (Twitter link). Forsberg is currently on LTIR and Ottawa will need to make some roster moves to get cap-compliant before activating him. The 31-year-old has a save percentage of .889 in 16 games so far this season. Meanwhile, Hamonic has missed the last couple of weeks due to an upper-body injury but has remained on Ottawa’s active roster so no roster move is necessary for him to return. The 33-year-old has five points and 69 blocked shots in 40 appearances.
- Ducks winger Alex Killorn skated before practice today as he works his way back from knee surgery, relays Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune (Twitter link). The 34-year-old had the procedure two weeks ago and it carried a four-to-six-week recovery period. While he didn’t stick around for Anaheim’s full practice, the fact Killorn is back on the ice is a promising sign that his return date could come closer to the earlier part of that range. He has 19 points in 34 games so far this season, his first with the Ducks.
- While Connor Bedard has been holding out hope that he could return earlier than expected, Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson poured cold water on that idea today. He told reporters, including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link) that the rookie center’s return is unlikely to come before the original six-week mark. Despite missing more than a month now, Bedard still leads all rookies in points with 33 in just 39 games.
- After coming into tonight’s game in relief of Pyotr Kochetkov, Hurricanes goaltender Antti Raanta suffered a lower-body injury, per a team announcement (Twitter link). Raanta made nine saves in his lone period of work. It has been a rough year for the 34-year-old who had a save percentage of just .870 coming into tonight’s action and cleared waivers back in December.
Afternoon Notes: Walker, Tarasenko, Rempal
The Philadelphia Flyers are seeking a first-round pick for defenseman Sean Walker, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. Walker has been a trade candidate for much of the season, though not much has come out about what his asking price may be. The Flyers acquired Walker this summer as part of a three-team trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings. Philadelphia also acquired Calvin Petersen, Helge Grans, and three draft picks in the deal.
This season is Walker’s first away from the Kings and he’s made the most out of the change in scenery, with 18 points in 51 games this season already surpassing his point totals in each of the last three seasons. He is on an 82-game pace of 28 points, a mark that would break his previous career-high by four points. He’s spent much of the season on Philadelphia’s second pairing alongside Nick Seeler. But Philadelphia’s recent acquisition of Jamie Drysdale has put pressure on Walker’s top-four role. It seems the team is leaning into that shift, now testing the 29-year-old Walker’s value on the open market.
Other notes from around the league:
- Ottawa Senators winger Vladimir Tarasenko has changed his agent again, now represented by Craig Oster of Newsport Sports. Newsport represents six other Senators, including Brady Tkachuk and Joshua Norris. This is the second time Tarasenko has changed agents in the last seven months, with his last change coming just before signing a one-year, $5MM contract with Ottawa. Tarasenko, 32, has been mentioned as a possible rental option with the trade deadline approaching. He has 13 goals and 33 points through 45 games this season while playing on Ottawa’s third line.
- The Vegas Golden Knights have sent forward Sheldon Rempal back to the minor leagues. The 28-year-old was recalled on February 5th, serving as a healthy scratch for the team’s Sunday win over the Edmonton Oilers. Rempal played four NHL games earlier in the season, scoring two goals and recording one penalty. He’s also scored 20 goals and 31 points in 41 AHL games this season, leading the Henderson Silver Knights in goals.
Transaction Notes: Brisson, Rempal, Malinski, Beckman
The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled forwards Brendan Brisson and Sheldon Rempal per a team announcement. In the same announcement, the team also recalled Jonas Rondbjerg as well as returning Daniil Miromanov from his conditioning stint, which was reported last night.
This set of transactions will give the Golden Knights a total of 14 forwards and seven defensemen available for their game tomorrow night against the Edmonton Oilers. Seeing their team decimated by several injuries already this season, Vegas’ organizational depth has been tested after their Stanley Cup Championship run last spring.
Playing in a combined eight games this year for the Golden Knights, Brisson, and Rempal will likely serve in the team’s bottom six, as neither player has averaged more than 12 minutes of ice time a game. Outside of the NHL, both Brisson and Rempal have been successful this year with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, scoring 12 goals and 20 goals, respectively.
Other notes:
- The Colorado Avalanche have announced that the team has recalled defenseman Sam Malinski from their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. Signing with the team as an undrafted free agent last season, Malinski’s first full season with the organization has been productive. In 22 games for the Eagles, Malinski has scored four goals and 13 points in 22 games, sitting third on the team in scoring among defensemen. In the exact amount of games played for the Avalanche, Malinski has put up three goals and 10 points while averaging a touch over 14 minutes of ice time per game.
- With Pat Maroon, Connor Dewar, and Vinni Lettieri still on the injured reserve, the Minnesota Wild have recalled forward Adam Beckman from the Iowa Wild to round out their depth. This will be Beckman’s first call-up of the 2023-24 season after failing to make the team out of training camp. Playing in 37 games for Iowa this year, Beckman has been relatively productive, scoring nine goals and 19 points in total.
West Notes: Holloway, Karlsson, Maroon
The Edmonton Oilers have announced the recall of forward Dylan Holloway from their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield. Holloway returned from a lower-body injury just before the NHL All-Star break and spent the break with the Condors where he tallied two goals and two assists in four games.
The former 14th overall pick had a poor start to the NHL season as he went pointless in his first dozen games and had just a single goal in his first 14 games. After his return from injury, he was much more effective with a goal and an assist in just four games before his AHL assignment.
With Holloway back, the Oilers will be looking to tie an NHL record with their 17th consecutive victory when they take on the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.
In other Western Conference notes:
- The Vancouver Canucks recalled forward Linus Karlsson from the Abbotsford Canucks of the AHL. Karlsson has been sent back and forth multiple times throughout the regular season and will have another NHL opportunity after having gone a month since last dressing for Vancouver. The 24-year-old had a solid January with three goals in five AHL games and is having a good season overall with 10 goals and 17 assists in 30 games. At the NHL level, Karlsson has dressed in four games but is still in search of his first career point.
- The Minnesota Wild placed forward Pat Maroon on the injured reserve today as he deals with an undisclosed injury he suffered back on January 27th. Maroon has had his name thrown around ib trade rumors as of late as he is in the last year of his two-year contract and could be a valuable depth addition to a team. Maroon has four goals and 12 assists in 49 games in his first season with the Wild and could add valuable experience to a team in need of leadership and toughness. Maroon won three Stanley Cups in a row from 2019-2022 with the St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Golden Knights Notes: Røndbjerg, Dorofeyev, Miromanov
The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled forward Jonas Røndbjerg from a brief stint with their AHL affiliate the Henderson Silver Knights. The 24-year-old has been up and down in recent weeks and was recalled back on January 19th on an emergency loan but then was sent back down to the AHL over the NHL All-Star break.
Røndbjerg is fortunate that Henderson is located close to Las Vegas as this is the tenth time Røndbjerg has been recalled this season. Røndbjerg started the season at a decent pace with a goal and two assists in his first five NHL games but since that time he has been held pointless in nine straight NHL games. At the AHL level the Rungsted, Denmark native has remained a consistent secondary scorer with four goals and 10 assists in 27 games.
In other Golden Knights notes:
- Jesse Granger of The Athletic reports that Golden Knights forward Pavel Dorofeyev will skate tomorrow but is not well enough to return for Tuesday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers. The 23-year-old didn’t dress for Vegas’ final game before the All-Star break as he has been dealing with an upper-body injury. In 29 games this season, the former third-round pick has seven goals and seven assists and has only registered two minor penalties.
- The Golden Knights have also recalled Daniil Miromanov from a conditioning loan, although he will remain on the LTIR for the time being. The 26-year-old has been dealing with an undisclosed injury since the start of the regular season and hasn’t seen any NHL action since last year. He played his first game of the year on January 24th with Henderson and tallied a goal and five assists in five AHL games. Miromanov had two goals and four assists in 14 games with Vegas last year and looked like he could challenge for an NHL roster spot after getting long looks the past two seasons.
Flames Claim Brayden Pachal Off Waivers From Golden Knights
The Flames claimed defenseman Brayden Pachal off waivers from the Golden Knights on Sunday, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Calgary confirmed the news in a media release shortly thereafter.
Pachal, 24, has logged a career-high 17 games played for Vegas this season. His first NHL goal came in an early-season win over the Sharks on Oct. 12.
A minor-league mainstay over the past few seasons in AHL Henderson, Pachal cracked the Golden Knights’ opening night roster in October with season-opening injuries keeping Alec Martinez and Zach Whitecloud out of the lineup. As injuries continued to affect the Vegas blue line, Pachal slipped down the depth chart behind 23-year-old Kaedan Korczak, who’s recently found a home in the team’s top four alongside Brayden McNabb in the absence of Shea Theodore.
After the Golden Knights claimed 2019 first-round pick Tobias Björnfot off waivers from the Kings in early January, there was even less of a role for Pachal on the NHL roster. As such, he was a healthy scratch in 11 straight games before the All-Star break, last skating in a Jan. 4 contest against the Panthers.
Calgary is likely parting ways with pending UFA blue liner Chris Tanev (and potentially Noah Hanifin) ahead of the March 8 trade deadline, leaving them with a lack of NHL-caliber defenders to take them through the stretch run. Claiming Pachal off waivers is likely made with that foresight in mind. He’ll compete with depth defensemen such as Dennis Gilbert and Jordan Oesterle for bottom-four ice time and should allow the Flames to keep younger prospects like Yan Kuznetsov and Ilya Solovyov developing in the minors.
Pachal’s October goal is his only point this season, averaging 14:37 per game with a -2 rating and 18 shots on goal. Only two full-time Golden Knights – Martinez and Brett Howden – have a worse Corsi share at even strength than Pachal’s 44.2% mark despite a low quality of competition.
Despite the underwhelming possession metrics, the Flames believe he can develop into a defensive contributor down the stretch. GM Craig Conroy said Sunday that Pachal “will be an asset to our penalty kill” and called out his 6-foot-2, 202-pound frame as something to like (via Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson).
Pachal also has a history of occupying leadership roles, serving as Henderson’s captain from 2021 to 2023 and as captain of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders in the 2018-19 season. He played in one postseason game last year, Vegas’ series-clinching Game 5 win against the Jets in the First Round, on his way toward getting his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.
This is not the Flames’ first run-in with Pachal, who turned pro out of juniors in 2019 after signing an entry-level contract with Vegas as an undrafted free agent. As Flames Nation’s Ryan Pike points out, Pachal attended Flames development and prospect camp in the summer of 2018.
He’s under contract through the 2024-25 season at a $775K cap hit after signing a two-year, $1.55MM extension with the Golden Knights in June 2023. His deal is a two-way pact carrying a minimum guaranteed salary of $200K this season, but it converts to a one-way deal next year. Calgary had three open roster spots before making this transaction and nearly $1.5MM in projected cap space, so no corresponding transaction is necessary to execute the claim.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Golden Knights Place Brayden Pachal On Waivers
While they’re off until Tuesday, the Golden Knights have made a roster move today as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Vegas has placed defenseman Brayden Pachal on waivers.
The 24-year-old cleared waivers early in training camp back in October but never wound up being assigned to AHL Henderson. Instead, he has been a full-timer on the active roster although playing time has been difficult to come by. Pachal has played in 17 games for the Golden Knights so far, picking up a goal while averaging 14:37 per night. For his career, he has three points in 29 NHL contests.
While that’s not necessarily the statistical profile that would jump out at anyone, Pachal is in the first season of a two-year deal that carries a cap hit of the league minimum ($775K). Between that and the fact he’s a right-shot defender, there’s certainly a chance that a team looking for low-cost depth on the right side opts to take a flyer on Pachal.
At the moment, the Golden Knights are only carrying a minimum-sized active roster of 11 forwards and seven defensemen so if Pachal was to clear waivers, he couldn’t be sent to the Silver Knights without another move being made first. Blueliner Ben Hutton was listed as week-to-week when he was injured in late December while recent waiver claim Tobias Bjornfot went on IR three weeks ago with an undisclosed injury. If one of those two was to be activated, then Pachal could be removed from the roster. Shea Theodore is also injured and is on LTIR but his return might still be a couple of weeks away.
Injury Notes: Karlsson, Kapanen, Faulk, Fleury
Having played their last game before the NHL All-Star break on Saturday night, the Vegas Golden Knights will get a reinforcement as soon as they return, as forward William Karlsson has been officially activated from the long-term injured reserve (X Link). Out with a lower-body injury since the team’s Winter Class game against the Seattle Kraken, Karlsson has missed a total of 12 games for the Golden Knight with this injury.
Although Karlsson has largely been one of the more productive scorers on Vegas’ roster this season, the team has produced a 7-4-1 record in his absence, garnering more appreciation as a Stanley Cup contender in the Western Conference. Before his lower-body injury took him out of the lineup, Karlsson scored 15 goals and 32 points in 38 games for the Golden Knights which still places him fourth on the team in scoring.
As Vegas continues to the Vancouver Canucks as the top team in the Pacific Division, Karlsson will be an important addition back in the lineup. After the All-Star break, to finish off the month of February, the Golden Knights have challenging games against the Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Boston Bruins.
Other injury notes:
- After being placed on the injured reserve on January 16th with a lower-body injury, the St.Louis Blues will be expecting forward Kasperi Kapanen back after the All-Star break (X Link). As one of the more prominent depth offensive pieces on the Blues’ roster, Kapanen has struggled a bit over the course of the season, scoring four goals and 13 points in 42 games on the year.
- Sticking in St.Louis, Justin Faulk suffered a lower-body injury in the team’s most recent game against the Calgary Flames and will be kept out until after the All-Star break (X Link). Sitting second on the team in scoring amongst defensemen, Faulk has scored two goals and 19 points in 40 games this season, with only two of those points coming on the team’s powerplay.
- In another activation from the long-term injured reserve, the Tampa Bay Lightning have done just that with defenseman Haydn Fleury, according to CapFriendly. Having been placed on the team’s LTIR since January 1st with an upper-body injury, Fleury has filled a similar role to which he has played in the past this season, averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time in 12 games for the team this year in a depth role.
Transaction Notes: Flames, Golden Knights, Wild, Blackhawks, Lightning
While most teams prepare for an informal roster freeze over the upcoming NHL All-Star break, many are also stripping their roster down to the bare minimum to save as much cap space for the encroaching trade deadline in early March. Today, the Calgary Flames activated forward Martin Pospisil from the injured reserve, while optioning Matthew Coronato, Adam Klapka, and Cole Schwindt to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers.
According to Ryan Pike of Flames Nation, this set of transactions by the Flames will save the organization approximately $497K in cap space, just by sending them down over the All-Star break. As one of the expected sellers leading into this year’s trade deadline, the nearly half a million in cap space could allow Calgary to weaponize their cap space, as many deadline sellers have done.
For development’s sake, with the NHL returning to regular season action on February 5th, the trio of players sent down by the Flames today will have the opportunity to play in three games for the Wranglers. Coronato projects to factor in the most, still leading Calgary’s AHL team in points, having already scored 12 goals and 29 points in 27 games for the Wranglers this season.
Other transaction notes:
- Similarly to the Flames, the Vegas Golden Knights have optioned Brendan Brisson, Sheldon Rempal, and Jonas Rondbjerg to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, per a team announcement. Having been recalled on January 18th via an emergency loan, Rempal has largely been the most successful of the bunch over the last several games for the Golden Knights, scoring a goal against both the New York Islanders and New York Rangers over the last four contests.
- In an announcement earlier this afternoon, the Minnesota Wild sent down forward Jake Lucchini and goaltender Jesper Wallstedt to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. Not only one of the best prospects in the Wild organization but one of the best prospects across the league, Wallstedt was able to make his NHL debut in his previous call-up coming in early January, stopping 27 of 34 shots in the team’s loss against the Dallas Stars on January 10th.
- The Chicago Blackhawks have sent down forward Cole Guttman and defenseman Louis Crevier to their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, per a media release this afternoon. Guttman has been the much better player in Rockford this season, playing with the team through much of October and November. Over that stretch, Guttman scored three goals and nine points in 12 games for the IceHogs, tying him for 12th on the team in scoring for the season.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning made similar roster moves today, sending down Maxwell Crozier, Mitchell Chaffee, and Waltteri Merela to their longtime AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Although neither of the three have made a large impact in their limited NHL experience, Chaffee has been the most successful over the last stretch, earning a goal and an assist in the team’s recent victory against the Arizona Coyotes on January 25th.