Todd Cordell
I'd be bugging the heck out of Anaheim and Colorado figuring out what it would take to get Hampus Lindholm/Sami Vatanen or Tyson Barrie. If it costs 4th overall to get Lindholm, for example, that's fine with me.
Going out and signing someone like Jason Demers in free agency for just cap space would probably be a good idea, too.
That would allow the Oilers to add two top-4 defensemen without losing anyone notable on the roster.
What I wouldn't do is trade Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Top-6 centers - especially young ones - don't grow on trees and, last I checked, there is no rule that you can't have more than two good centers. Having a lot of depth at a premium position is a good thing, not a problem.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Nick Bonino - all top-6 forwards - centering three different lines and it's working out pretty well for them.
Meanwhile the San Jose Sharks have Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau who are all capable of playing center, and have at various times throughout the year. The Sharks deal with their depth by mixing/matching line combos and rotating the faceoff man depending on the side of the ice the faceoff is on. It seems to work for them, too.
Trade Jordan Eberle, trade 4th overall, explore free agency, etc. Don't trade a center just for the heck of it.
James Tanner The Oilers should use their 4th and next years first to trade for a defenseman like Tyson Barrie or maybe Vatenen from the Ducks. Then they should try to sign Yandle and count on improvements from Klefbom and Nurse. They especially need to not panic and remember that their defense would have been a lot better if they had Klefbom last year.
Matt Henderson Trade Eberle for a decent player, Offer sheet Seth Jones, sign Demers as UFA. Now there are options. Boom. Done. This is easy - being a GM.
But in all seriousness, I would love to know what it would take to get Trouba or Barrie, if Hamonic is still actually available, and whether or not Vatanen is an option for the rumored Pouliot + Yakupov package. There are a lot of options still.
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