The Edmonton Oilers are one injury away from disaster.

EDMONTON -- A good coach will preach the value of every player to their team.

The Edmonton Oilers' head coach, Kris Knoblauch, has proven himself in many ways. He's become one of the most successful coaches ever, primarily because of his shrewd in-game adjustments and calm demeanor.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyLNBLX9Ni8[/embed]

But he can only do so much.

Ultimately, the players on the ice play the games. With that being said, Knoblauch is squeezing as much good play as he can from his players. 

However, there is a clear area of need for the Oilers heading into March's trade deadline.

With recent losses to the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs behind them, the Oilers clearly have a need that must be addressed at the trade deadline.

And it's a need they have had for a while.

Oilers Have Had A Defense Problem For A While

The Oilers entered this season with the following seven defensemen: Mattias Ekholm, Evan Bouchard, Darnell Nurse, Brett Kulak, Troy Stecher, Ty Emberson, and Travis Dermott.

Knoblauch has relied heavily on the team's best four defenders, Ekholm, Bouchard, Nurse, and Kulak. Emberson has proven himself worthy of handling tough assignments in key situations, but not with the same regularity that Kulak and Ekholm prove themselves.

The loss of Dermott and the addition of John Klingberg have not alleviated this issue either. Because these are the first few games of Klingberg's tenure since November 2023, it's unsurprising that he is still shaking off the rust after two appearances.

However, something crystal clear is the Oilers' need for another two-way defender.

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Mattias Ekholm Is The Oilers MVP On The Blueline

Ekholm missed Saturday's game against the Maple Leafs, and anyone watching the game could see the impact his loss had.

Stecher and Emberson are often the first players on the back end to see their ice time reduced if the Oilers are chasing a game. That was certainly the case on Saturday night. Emberson played 10:57, while Stecher played 12:54.

It wasn't a pretty game for the Oilers blueline, but it's clear that Ekholm's loss was greatly felt. He plays a lot of minutes in all situations for the team.

Any injury to Ekholm that lasts longer than one or two games could be the absolute worst thing to happen to the Oilers. Because of this, it behooves the team to acquire a defender with strong two-way capabilities.

The ideal candidate would be a right-handed version of Ekholm, whoever that player is.

Ekholm's value to the Oilers blueline cannot be understated - he's just that good.

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