The Philadelphia Flyers have a crowded blue line, which the Edmonton Oilers could take advantage of.

The Edmonton Oilers are holding fast to the eighth-seeded playoff position going into tonight's game against the Chicago Blackhawks. The St. Louis Blues and Seattle Kraken are hot on their tails with 41 points - but the Oilers have at least two games in hand on those teams.

To truly stay in the mix the Oilers will need to make an upgrade on defense. Credit to Kris Knoblauch and Paul Coffey for maximizing the use of their current roster. The results of which include an eight-game and seven-game win streak.

The Philadelphia Flyers and Anaheim Ducks made a trade last night that sent the hockey world into a spiral - Cutter Gauthier to the Ducks for Jamie Drysdale and a second round pick. How does this affect the Oilers?

The Flyers now have eight healthy defenseman with Travis Sanheim, Cam York, Sean Walker, Nick Seeler, Marc Staal, Egor Zamula, Rasmus Ristolainen and the aforementioned Drysdale.

The Oilers can jump on this situation and acquire an upgrade on defense - specifically the right side.

Sean Walker is a Great Two-Way Defender

Walker is the player here who really stands out. Earlier in December Frank Seravalli put Walker at #8 on his Trade Board. He has a very affordable $2.65-million cap hit contract that he is expiring at the end of this season.

In 40 games this year he has 13 points while averaging 20:22 in ice time per game. While he hasn't been setting the world on fire with his offense, he has already matched his career-high five goals.

Walker has had an enormous impact on the penalty kill for the Flyers this season. He averages 2:16 per game on the penalty kill. That displays that he can fill a variety of different roles on a playoff team like the Oilers.

Cody Ceci, the Odd Man Out

If the Oilers make a move for Walker, Cody Ceci would (more than likely) be the player going the other way. Ceci is presently in the third year of a four-year deal that is paying him $3.250-million.

Ceci has 11 points in 36 games this year. That's not too far behind Walker, but still something of note. He plays less than Walker per game (19:57) but more on the penalty kill (2:51).

When looking at Evolving Hockey a few things stand out. Firstly, the first three vertical bars are offensive impacts, and the last two are defensive impacts. For the sake of breivity, let's look at expected goals for per 60 minutes (xGF/60) and expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60).

When reading these charts it's important to note that the "0" is league average. Each number higher or lower is a standard deviation above (or below) average.

In xGF/60 Ceci and Walker are fairly even - with Walker just below two deviations above average and Ceci approximately 0.25 deviations below him.

On the defensive side we see a much larger difference. Ceci is about 1.5 deviations below average in xGA/60 while Walker is about 0.75 deviation above average. Anything above average is really what you want to see.

Let's Make a Deal

A deal for Walker could be as simple as Ceci plus a draft pick (or prospect) to make a deal happen. The Oilers can get away without retaining any salary given the space that the Flyers presently have. Ceci and a second round pick might be enough to seal the deal. 

As a result of the Drysdale - Gauthier transaction, the trade market could start picking up. If it does, the Oilers need to be in the mix.

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