2 Reasonable Oilers' Trade Proposals to Acquire a Defence Upgrade

Caleb Kerney

Jul 29, 2023, 14:13

Caleb Kerney

Jul 29, 2023, 14:13

The Oilers could acquire one of two defensive defencemen at a reasonable price.

Having a lot of NHL-caliber defencemen is never a bad thing. This is a luxury that the Edmonton Oilers have yet to experience in the Ken Holland era. Because it's not enough to just have those defenders, they need to be healthy too.

Oscar Klefbom was a top pairing defenceman for the Oilers during his tenure with the team. The very tragic thing, is that he couldn't stay healthy at the end of his career. If the Oilers had Klefbom playing regular minutes they would not have needed to trade for Mattias Ekholm. Instead, they could have targeted a right-handed defender upgrade.

With Ekholm in the fold now, they turn their eyes to another defenceman upgrade. Holland has gone on record saying that he's comfortable with the defence core at the moment - but if the opportunity arises, he should jump at the chance. These two trade proposals feel like plausible deals that could transpire.

Cody Ceci & Vincent Desharnais for Brett Pesce

The Oilers are hell bent on keeping offensive dynamo Evan Bouchard. His price tag could skyrocket after this next deal is signed and expires. The Oilers have several options for the right side on the 3rd pairing - which leaves Cody Ceci as the hypothetical odd man out.

Ceci packaged with Vincent Desharnais and a 2024 2nd round pick for Brett Pesce. The Carolina Hurricanes could retain $1-$1.5-million on his contract. The Oilers can add the condition that the 2nd round pick becomes a 2025 3rd round pick if the Oilers don't make it to the Western Conference Final in 2023-24.

In this scenario, the Oilers get their upgrade on the right side without giving up too much. The Hurricanes get a serviceable defenceman they can plug into their system plus a pick and a defensive prospect who is very close to being an NHL regular.

Chris Tanev In, Cody Ceci Out

The other deal that could make sense is a three-way trade between the Calgary Flames, Anaheim Ducks and the Oilers. The Ducks play the middle man here and retain $2-million of Christopher Tanev's cap hit, for a 3rd round 2025 draft pick from the Oilers and a 5th round pick (or later) in 2024 or 2025 from the Flames. Ceci finds his way to the Flames to complete the deal, with a lower level prospect making their way to the Oilers.

Either of these deals would require a new configuration of the pairings. Bouchard could be paired with Darnell Nurse, as they have been in the past. Which would leave Ekholm to shepherd Philip Broberg, with Tanev potentially matching up with Brett Kulak. Tanev may better be suited to pair up with Nurse, which would allow him to play a more offensive style. Tanev can cover for any lapses and Nurse can build on a career best campaign.

The Oilers may need to send a prospect to the Flames as part of the deal. Either Desharnais, or Markus Niemelainen or another prospect that the Flames could use in their rebuild who isn't named Dylan Holloway or Beau Akey. Both of these deals definitely improve the Oilers defensive depth, and give them options. If they continue to run a 11 forward and seven defencemen formation, they can try a multitude of different pairings to see who develops quick chemistry. Time will tell if anything like this happens before the season or just in time for the trade deadline.