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Dzingel to the Oilers? It Would Make Sense

January 15, 2019, 3:33 PM ET [79 Comments]
Trevor Shackles
Ottawa Senators Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
You can follow me on Twitter @ShackTS

The Edmonton Oilers are in a difficult situation right now. They have the best player in the world on their roster but despite that, they sit 9th in the Western Conference. They have an incredibly thin roster besides Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and you can bet that GM Peter Chiarelli and the rest of the front office are desperate to get their team into the playoffs.

That's why yesterday's tweet from Ryan Rishaug wasn't surprising at all:




So they are willing to move a 1st round pick, a goaltender, and a young developing forward in any trade that can net them a quality forward. That "young developing forward" is probably code for Jesse Puljujarvi, and a quality forward that the Senators could offer is none other than Ryan Dzingel. He really is the perfect fit for the Oilers.

Edmonton's left wing depth chart is Draisaitl (when he's not playing centre), Milan Lucic, Ryan Spooner, and Tobias Rieder. Their right side is even worse with Ty Rattie, Alex Chiasson, Jesse Puljujarvi, and Zack Kassian. It's obvious that they need help on the wings, and Dzingel is a top-six winger who already has 33 points in 44 games. He would have the 4th most points on the Oilers, behind the McDavid/Draisaitl/RNH group, because there is a massive drop-off after that. They need to lengthen out their lineup and push players such as Lucic, Rattie, and Chiasson out of the top-six. Dzingel is not a star level player, but he is on pace for 60 points, and that can be the difference between being a wildcard team and being on the outside looking in.

I believe that if you want to be a good GM in the NHL, you should try to make as many deals as possible with the one's who appear to be the worst at their job...and Chiarelli is easily one of the most incompetent in the league. There hasn't been any dialogue on a potential contract for Dzingel, so that makes me believe he is going to be traded before the deadline. If he isn't going to be re-signed, Dorion needs to look at potential trade partners, and the Oilers are a perfect fit in terms of how desperate they are and because it's not like he'll be dealing with Doug Wilson who loves to fleece the Senators.

In an ideal situation, Dzingel would stay in Ottawa, but I don't even know if he wants to stay, nor am I sure if the team wants to give him what he wants. Just like with Matt Duchene (and to a lesser extent, Mark Stone), Dorion needs to move Dzingel if he knows that a contract extension will not be signed.

As for what Edmonton could give up, it's hard to say exactly what a deal would look like just because Dzingel is a UFA and will obviously have less value than he would have if he had a few more seasons left on his contract. Having said that, I could see the Oilers giving up their first round pick if they are really going to go for it and try to make the playoffs, thinking that their pick will be in the 20s. If that is offered straight up for an expiring Dzingel, Ottawa should take that and run, knowing that the Oilers could easily miss the playoffs this season. If the pick is for 2020, I'd be less enthusiastic about that, but there's no guarantee the Oilers will be good next season either.

I'm curious to know what Puljujarvi's value is in Edmonton and also around the league because he could be an option as well. It would be a bit of a risk for Ottawa just because Dzingel is the more proven talent and Puljujarvi has yet to showcase why he was taken 4th overall in 2016. At the same time, he has the higher upside and is still only 20 years old, so it would be quite exciting to see the Senators acquire him. It seems like Edmonton is souring on him and might be more inclined to move him at the deadline, plus Chiarelli might feel pressure to make a big splash heading into the end of the season.

There haven't been any substantial rumours about Dzingel to the Oilers that I have seen, so this is pure speculation of course. However, it makes sense for these two teams to match up. They have always been involved in rumours before, despite making fewer trades between each other than one would expect. I don't know what the Oilers would be willing to give up for Dzingel specifically, but it looks like their 1st round pick and Puljujarvi are potentially on the table.

Let's hope that Edmonton gets desperate between now and the deadline...You can never really rule anything out with Chiarelli.
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