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NHL Trade Deadline - One More Add? |
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Today is the NHL trade deadline and fans are eagerly waiting to see if Ken Holland has one more move left in the tank. Already it should be considered a successful deadline for the Oilers with the additions of Mattias Ekholm, a legitimate high end top four defenseman and Nick Bjugstand, a bigger right shot that can play centre or the wing in the bottom six.
Is there one more add going to happen? Likely not according to recent reports this morning that believe the Oilers are in fact done for the day. This is a little disappointing for those hoping for another impact add but also not entirely surprising.
The Edmonton Oilers are right up against the cap right now. In order to make any additional moves they would need to shed salary at the same time. The obvious names to move are Kailer Yamamoto and his 3 million dollar contract through to the end of next season, Warren Foegele and his 2.75 through next season, and Cody Ceci and his 3.25 to the end of the 24/25 season.
There are two types of teams that Edmonton can trade with; playoff teams looking to add players for a run and sellers looking to offload assets to try and improve their roster for the future. I'm not sure the above players are of interest to either camp right now.
Most playoff teams are right up against the cap and are looking for teams to retain in deals. None of the above players are rentals meaning a team would have to be worried about cap issues for next season as well.
For the sellers, some may have interest but again, why would a seller add a player like this now when they have an entire summer ahead of them and far more players to evaluate, have access to and potentially find a better fit for their roster. Some may circle back to these players but those GMs don't have any pressure to get it done now.
Lastly, the players themselves, while all true NHL players are not perfect players. Kailer Yamamoto scored 20 goals last season and is young but we are already seeing the impact that injuries have had on his career. We are still waiting for confirmation that he will play tonight after a hard hit in the Toronto game.
Next you have Warren Foegele. Scoring more of late and a strong top 9 option but at 2.75 million for this year and next there are likely cheaper players available in free agency and closer to the draft. Finally Cody Ceci is signed for two more seasons and is a defensive defenseman but he has struggled on the top pairing this season with Darnell Nurse. Again, which teams want to give up assets right now for that player when in Free Agency they could acquire a similar player for nothing more than cash.
It takes two to tango and unless a team suddenly has great interest in one of the above names the Oilers likely have their playoff roster set. Overall I would have to give Holland a B+ or A- on this trade deadline. Bringing in a true top four defenseman that may even be a top pairing guy that is under contract is a key add for this roster for this season and moving forward. If he could upgrade one more position in a meaningful way this deadline would go from "really good" to "amazing."
If there are updates you will find them here. Thanks for reading!
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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