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Looking At Forwards That Could Help The Oilers (aka Draisaitl and McDavid)

November 7, 2019, 4:18 PM ET [32 Comments]
Sean Maloughney
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Apologies for missing the game day blog yesterday, I was up in scenic Northern Alberta without a single bar on my phone.

As expected, it's becoming harder and harder to defend the Edmonton Oilers. The team has one regulation win in their last 9 games with essentially every game won being done off of the success of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. All stats point out that the current slide occuring isn't a blip in the radar... this is what the Edmonton Oilers are, and it will almost surely represent a less than .500 record from here until April.

The option may very well be to call-up Kailer Yamamoto, Tyler Benson, and maybe Cooper Marody and start running the prospects soon, however for me, that represents the same problem this organization has had for years; rushing prospects because you don't have enough NHLers.

There are a few players around the league that will likely be traded by the Feb 24th Trade Deadline but if Holland can play smart and make the right deal, he might be able to target some of these players well before other teams start raising the prices. Here are a few players Edmonton should target. All of the teams below are struggling teams that would have reason to move away from the players on their roster.

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TYLER TOFFOLI - LA KINGS - 27 YEARS OLD - RW - 1 YEAR AT 4.6 MILLION

Toffoli could almost be the posterboy for why high shooting percentage players regress. After scoring 31 goals in 2015/2016 with a 14.6sh%, Toffoli has since only broken the 20 goal marker once. He was a healthy scratch a few games ago by the Kings coaching staff and it's almost a given he will be gone by the deadline. Toffoli would be the most skilled natural winger the Oilers would have and could fill in anywhere on the right side in the top 9.

JEAN GABRIEL PAGEAU - OTTAWA SENATORS - 26 YEARS OLD - C - 1 YEAR AT 3.1 MILLION

JG is a perfect fit long term for the Edmonton Oilers as a third line centre, he is only 26 years old, a natural centre who shoots right, and is consistently productive. Right now due to Ottawa being.... Ottawa, he is putting up inflated numbers as a second line centre. If there was a single player Edmonton could acquire to play out this season as an Oiler, I honestly believe Pageau would make Edmonton a Wild Card team.

ERIC STAAL - MINNESOTA WILD - 35 YEARS OLD - C - 2 YEARS AT 3.25 MILLION

I do read the comments posted on the boards and one name a few of you have thrown out is the veteran Eric Staal. Being 35 and having a couple years left on his deal, there is some inherent risk with acquiring such a player but over the past few seasons he has scored over 20 goals (scoring over 40 two years ago) and this season still has 11 points through 15 games. Especially if Holland could convince the Wild to take on some salary on this contract, Staal could be a great stop-gap option until the likes of Ryan McLeod are ready to step in.

TAYLOR HA.... NIKITA GUSEV - NEW JERSEY DEVILS - 27 YEARS OLD - LW - 2 YEARS AT 4.5 MILLION

Sure getting Hall would be the top get for Edmonton but the assets required to do such a thing would be more than Holland likely wants to give. In the meantime, Hynes can't seem to figure out what to do with Gusev. Gusev is an elite offensive player but a very mediocre one defensively. He has appeared in only 10 of the 13 games played but NJ but has scored 3 goals through those 10 games, most of the time appearing on the third and fourth lines. The entire state of the Devils is something every GM should be keeping an eye out for in the coming months.

CHRIS KREIDER - NEW YORK RANGERS - 28 YEARS OLD - LW - 1 YEAR AT 4.625 MILLION

The immediate rebuild in New York isn't going as fast as many expected. The goals simply haven't been there. Kappo Kakko isn't immediately lighting the lamp like Laine did when he entered the league and players like Kreider are performing below expectations. Last season Kreider had 28 goals through 79 games, this season he has 3 through 13 which puts him on pace for barely over 20 on the full season. I can't speak for what the Rangers would want specifically in return but you can assume it would be a player or prospect that would fit into more of a long term plan.

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There, a range of different players from struggling teams who could provide one thing Edmonton desperately needs, scoring. The issue in Oil Country right now is the cap prevents Holland from making any trade for the above players unless a near equal amount of cap space is sent out in return. Difficult, but not impossible.

Playing GM for a moment, I would offer the LA Kings, Kris Russell and Joel Persson in exchange for Tyler Toffoli. The Kings are currently struggling, allowing too many goals and Russell is a player that Todd McLellan was very comfortable with in Edmonton and ran him as a top 4 defender. In addition a younger player like Persson or even a Matt Benning would help negate the fact that LA would be taking on an extra year of Russell.

Then I would turn my head to Ottawa and Pageau. The Senators have reportedly been interested in Jesse Puljujarvi and I would trade him, alongside Sam Gagner with an equal 3.1 million dollar cap hit, and maybe a lower round draft pick in exchange for Pageau.

A month from now here is the roster the Oilers could run:

Draisaitl-McDavid-Kassian
Neal-RNH-Chiasson
Nygard-Pageau-Toffoli
Khaira-Sheahan-Russell
Haas

Nurse-Bear
Klefbom-Larsson
Jones-Benning

If Holland could find a way to make these deals, Edmonton would still have plenty of time this season to ice a competent roster, without having to give up the farm or future in order to sustain it. Next season when Edmonton would have more cap-space, options like Toffoli and Pageau could be extended or moved on from.

Thanks for reading.
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