The Oilers have made two trades over the past 48 hours which leaves their path forward both clearer and murkier at the same time. Let's get into what this all means.

OILERS ACQUIRE PODKOLZIN

The Oilers traded a fourth round pick on Sunday in exchange for Vasili Podkolzin. The Russian winger was selected just two picks below Philip Broberg in the 2019 NHL Draft. Podkolzin was drafted as an explosive power winger who fell in the draft because of the Russian factor of being uncertain when he would come to North America to play.

The winger came over in 21/22 to a reasonable start with 14 goals and 26 points in his first 79 games. Since then, Podkolzin's development has stagnated. He split time in the NHL and AHL in 22/23, scoring 4 goals in 39 games in the NHL and against in 23/24, scoring 0 goals and 2 assists in 19 games that season.

Part of the reason why Podkolzin may struggle is that while he is a left shot, he prefers to play the right wing. The Canucks however have predominantly used him as a left winger. The Oilers may be able to use the player as a left winger, especially if Holloway is gone but more on that later.

OILERS ACQUIRE TY EMBERSON

The second trade the Oilers made was a bit more surprising. I knew that there were options for trading Cody Ceci that wouldn't involve retaining cap space or having to give up a 1st or 2nd round pick. I assumed the trade was going to be a pure salary dump with a 6th, 7th or future considerations being the return.

Instead, Jeff Jackson and Stan Bowman, who was complicit in the Kyle Beach sexual assault and assaults of a high school and university student, took advantage of just an awful GM in Mike Grier, trading Cody Ceci and a 3rd round pick in 2025 in exchange for Ty Emberson.

Emberson, a 24 year old rookie put up 1 goal and 9 assists in 30 games with the Sharks last season. More important than his points was his ability as a shutdown defenseman. While the Sharks as a whole were a brutal team last season, Emberson was one of the few bright spots when he played. In the 160 minutes at 5 on 5 he played against Elite competition, the Sharks actually outscored their opponents 7-6 when he was on the ice.

The biggest concern with Emberson was his injuries. He played only 30 games and dealt with a slew of different and unrelated injuries. The hope for the Oilers is that it was a one off unlucky season and Emberson can be healthy all of next season. There is potential for this kid to not just be a third pairing defenseman but to actually be a solid shutdown option in the top 4.

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Now here is how this effects the offer sheets. With these trades, the Edmonton Oilers currently have the ability to put Evander Kane on LTIR, send down one of the veterans making 875+ a season like Josh Brown or Derek Ryan and be able to match both the Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway offer sheets.

IF the Oilers only match Philip Broberg, they will be able to bring back Evander Kane later in the season when he is off LTIR. If they match both, they will need to do something else when Kane is ready to play.

It certainly looks like Edmonton is going to match both but I remain unconvinced on anything until we see the official announcement. While the cap space is there Edmonton has just acquired a fast winger with offensively abilities that hasn't been able to break through and a young defenseman that can be a shutdown option to play on the right side; effectively replacements for both Holloway and Broberg.

My guess is that the Oilers do keep both players and figure out how they will bring Kane back (if he comes back this season) when they have to. Regardless, Jeff Jackson and Stan Bowman deserve credit right now for how they have navigated this situation. They were forced into a terrible position and so far have managed to walk out of it with two more potentially useful players and may still be able to keep the ones that the Blues targetted.

We will know for certain in the next 24 hours how this is all going to play out. I'll update once there is more to share.

Thanks for reading.

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