Oilers Eyeing Up Multiple Flyers in Trade
The Edmonton Oilers have had discussions with the Philadelphia Flyers over multiple players.
EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers have back-to-back games to finish off this short road trip. Tonight they play the Anaheim Ducks, and tomorrow they go against the Los Angeles Kings. There is some extra fire in the bellies of the players after losing - what would have been - a monumental game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
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Now that the 16 game win streak is over and 'messing with team chemistry' isn't as much of a concern - perhaps the management under Ken Holland will focus on loading up for the playoffs before the trade deadline arrives.
The deadline is a month away, and speculation is running rampant. There is fire to the smoke however, in that actual conversations with other teams are indeed happening. Whether or not deals are executed because of these talks, are another thing entirely.
The Philadelphia Flyers have been a surprise this season. They currently sit third in the Metropolitan Division - four points ahead of the New York Islanders who have one game in hand.
For a rebuilding team to be in a playoff spot, that's definitely a huge deal. It speaks to the quality of coaching on the team - which should come as no surprise given that it's John Tortorella behind the bench.
The Flyers aren't in a position to compete for the Stanley Cup this year, so obviously they will be looking to cash in on players who will bring great value to other teams.
Enter the Oilers.
According to Anthony Di Marco the Oilers have interest in both Sean Walker and Scott Laughton. Both are on relatively inexpensive deals - $2.65-million and $3-million respectively.
Walker is a great two way defenseman. He can pitch in on a secondary power play unit as well as kill penalties. Looking at Evolving Hockey's five metrics that they display in their charts - Walker is better than Cody Ceci in all five.
Three of those metrics are offense focused : goals for, expected goals for and Corsi for. The two that are defense focused are: expected goals against and Corsi against. All five are broken down into 'per 60 minutes' to account for ice time.
Laughton on the other hand, would be more of a Klim Kostin replacement. He's well liked by his teammates and brings a physical edge to his game.
Both players could no doubt help the Oilers. Will either of them become a teammate of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl? Only time will tell.
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