3 Oilers Most Likely to Be Traded

Caleb Kerney

Mar 2, 2024, 16:05

Caleb Kerney

Mar 2, 2024, 16:05

There are three Edmonton Oilers who insiders say are likely on their way out by the trade deadline.

EDMONTON -- To make an omelet you need to scramble a few eggs.

With the Edmonton Oilers chasing first place in the Pacific Division standings and a looming trade deadline - the team is going to have to make a sacrifice or two to load up for a Stanley Cup run.

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They are rumored to be in on a number of different players - both forwards and defensemen. However, on the other side of this equation is the fact that the Oilers will need to make deals that send out salary.

Depending on what the other team is looking for that can be achieved in the same deal or a separate deal. There is a recent report of the most likely candidates for the Oilers to trade by the deadline. Here they are, in order of least likely to be traded to most likely.

Brett Kulak

The Oilers are expected to upgrade their blue line in one capacity or another - which makes the chances of a defenseman finding their way off the team more likely. Brett Kulak is one such defenseman.

The 30-year-old is an incredibly useful defenseman. Kris Knoblauch considers the pairing of Kulak with Vincent Desharnais the "best third pairing" in the NHL. But when a third pairing defender costs a team $2.75-million there's a chance that they could get moved.

The Oilers have been lucky to not have any significant injuries to their blueline. If that were to happen to anyone ahead of Kulak on the left-side depth chart, he can play up in the lineup for a good stretch of games. That utility makes him a tough player to move.

Warren Foegele

Warren Foegele is having a career season. But he's a UFA in the summer and is currently on the books for $2.75-million. The Oilers are going to be in a pickle next year trying to fit all the players they want under the cap.

Foegele may be pricing himself out of Edmonton and if that's truly the case it's better for the team to receive some assets for him instead of seeing him walk away for free.

Cody Ceci

Darnell Nurse's defense partner has drawn as much ire from Oilers fans as Nurse himself. Cody Ceci has been a great teammate and a serviceable defender for the team.

But the 30-year-old blueliner's $3.25-million cap hit contract (for the rest of this year plus next season) looks like the most likely player to be moved before Friday.

Ceci and Nurse face a quality of competition lower than Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard - to much worse on ice results. With Desharnais (seemingly) not ready for top-four pairing minutes, its incumbent upon management to find a player from one of the other 31 teams to replace him.

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