It's strange how quickly perceptions and impressions can change around this league. Two weeks ago, people were prepared to give up on this team and deservedly so as they really had not shown they were capable of this level of play.

All season we have been talking about the blueline as a point of weakness for the Oilers. Make no mistake it still is, but the needs on the backend are evolving. For months we have discussed how Edmonton needs a top four left shot defenseman who can take some minutes away from Darnell Nurse. Now, it is starting to look as though the better option would be a right shot defender capable of playing on a top pairing. Let me explain.

Philip Broberg has been playing really good hockey for the Oilers this month and is only improving with each game. He and Bouchard are technically the third pairing for this team right now but I expect JW to start giving them more ice time and tougher assignments. We are already seeing Woodcroft slot them on when McDavid is on the ice. Broberg's strong two way play and Bouchard's sublime passing help to elevate that top line.

Ceci is struggling hard on the top pairing which is to be expected. Last season, Ceci was great in that role but through his career he has shown he is more of good second pairing to really good third pairing player. A Kulak/Ceci shutdown third pairing would be a really good duo for this team that could take on more defensive responsibilities to shelter the Broberg and Bouchard pairing.

If Edmonton went after a top pairing right shot to play with Nurse, for argument sake let's say Scott Mayfield from the Islanders, here is what the team could run:

Nurse-Mayfield
Broberg-Bouchard
Kulak-Ceci
Desharnais

In this picture, is not Tyson Barrie. Barrie is an excellent quarterback on the PP but at 5 on 5 he is at best a third pairing player. He is tied with Kulak in 5 on 5 points. The Oilers powerplay is already dominant with McDavid, Draisaitl, RNH, and whoever else they want to put there. Giving that time to Bouchard wouldn't suddenly turn the PP into a pumpkin. Barrie's skillset is redundant on this roster.

Right now, Barrie also has high value. He is 12th in the NHL in points from defensemen and is not just a rental as he has one more year on his contract at 4.5 million. Tyson Barrie would be a player that both playoff teams and non-playoff teams would have interest in. I can't remember the last time the Oilers traded a player when they had value and not simply because they were trying to offload them.

If I'm being honest I don't expect this trade to happen before the deadline, or potentially at all as there are people in the Oilers organization that really value Tyson Barrie. Looking at the makeup of this roster though, Barrie's skillset remains redundant and I think there are better uses for the 4.5 million than on a third pairing PP specialist.

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Moving on to other trade talk quickly. Two names continue to pop up for the Oilers; Horvat and Toews. The reasoning here is that adding either would allow the Oilers to run McDavid and Draisaitl together more. Horvat would become the second line centre, moving RNH down to the third line centre. Alternatively, Toews coming in would keep RNH as the second line centre and Toews would be the third line centre.

Reportedly the value Toews is seen at around the league is a second rounder or more likely just a third round pick, with the Hawks retaining half salary. Edmonton would need to likely get another team involved to retain even more salary. Is Toews at 2.5 million worth it for the Oilers? It would still be a risk.

The Hawks have gone 17-30 in goals at 5 on 5 when Toews is on the ice. Currently he is centring their second line which consists of himself, Kurashev and Raddysh. On Edmonton he would have fewer responsibilities and... well not be playing with the Hawks, a team that is actively tryingf to tank.

We know how Ken Holland thinks. We know that he values "leadership" and "Cup experience" which were big reasons why he took on the Duncan Keith contract. It makes way too much sense to happen and I'm actually a bit shocked that it hasn't yet.

Let's say that the trade involves a third round pick and maybe even giving away a player like Puljujarvi to get another team to take on salary. Edmonton could run the following forward group into the post-season.

Kane-McDavid-Draisaitl
McLeod-RNH-Hyman
Holloway-Toews-Yamamoto
Foegele-Ryan-Kostin

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Tonight the Oilers take on the Canucks. After a thrilling game against the Lightning, it could be easy for Edmonton to take a breath and look past the struggling Canucks. Like the wins against the Ducks and the Sharks, these are games that Edmonton should absolutely dominate. The X Factor here is how the Canucks will show up for coach Bruce Boudreau who is almost certainly behind the bench for his last Canucks game.

The Canucks have been an embarrassing organization this season and their treatment of Boudreau has quite simply been cruel. He deserves far better, as do the Canucks fans.

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