The Oilers can't afford to stand pat while the hot stove heats up all around them.
The Oilers can't afford to stand pat while the hot stove heats up all around them.
There are two trade deadlines this season: February 9th, before the NHL goes on break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, and March 7th, the actual trade deadline. Teams are clearly trying to get their big business out of the way early, before the February break.
So where does that leave the Edmonton Oilers?
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3shxx_OCd4[/embed]
They obviously weren't going to be in on the Mikko Rantanen and J.T. Miller blockbusters. But those aren't the only big trades that have gone down in the past couple of weeks, and we haven't heard so much as a rumour about the Oilers sniffing around the trade market as it heats up.
The Calgary Flames got things started by dumping Andrei Kuzmenko's contract on the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for two good young forwards in Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee.
Then, fresh off sending J.T. Miller to New York, the Vancouver Canucks then flipped the first-round pick they acquired from the Rangers to Pittsburgh in exchange for defenceman Marcus Pettersson and winger Drew O'Connor.
Later that day, the Dallas Stars acquired Mikael Granlund and former Oiler Cody Ceci from the San Jose Sharks.
Trending Oilers Articles
Oilers Top Prospect Shows Off Wheels At AHL Skills Competition
Former Oiler Now On Another New Team
'Offside's Offside': Oilers React To Game-Deciding Call Against Maple Leafs
Oilers Forward Continues Clawing Out Of Doghouse
While the Oilers are in a different situation from the Flames, they too could use two young middle-six forwards with team control, yet this was all Calgary.
The other two trades follow a template the Oilers should be using: acquiring a defenceman and a forward, one big piece and one depth piece, in the same deal. For a team with needs up front and on the back end and limited resources, it just makes too much sense for the Oilers.
Furthermore, Pettersson in particular should've been high on the Oilers' list as a top-four defenceman, yet it seems the Oilers weren't anywhere close to trading for him. Granlund and Ceci weren't seen as big targets for the Oilers but both fit the mold as potential upgrades.
[gallery ids="156,157,158,159"]
While it's not the end of the world that the Oilers weren't in on Pettersson and Granlund, it does raise some questions about their trade deadline plans. If teams are scrambling to make deals before the 4 Nations break, and big fish are already starting to go, then what will be left at the real trade deadline once the Oilers have accrued the cap space they need?
It's something to monitor for now. Because once the trade dominos start to fall, it's next to impossible to stop them again. The Oilers can't afford to be left standing when the music stops and all the trade targets have found new homes. Stan Bowman should be in on everything, right now, because he might not get another chance.
Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers team site to never miss the latest news, game-day coverage, and more. Add us to your Google News favourites, and never miss a story.