There has been plenty of talk and we’ve covered extensively the rumors surrounding the Edmonton Oilers blue line situation.
Some are suggesting it’s the strength of the team as the pipeline is full of young prospects with a bright future. Those people are arguing it might be time to move some veterans to help in other areas. There’s a counterargument that the Oilers blue line is a weakness. It didn’t perform wall in the play-in round versus the Chicago Blackhawks and there seems to be an obviously hole where a top-two defenseman should be.
Based on those two arguments, a trade that involves someone (or more than one) from the Oilers blue line seems to make sense. When you consider the team is going have to work hard to juggle the tight salary cap and the Oilers just got hit with the news that they’ll be facing around $670K in cap penalities due to bonus overages, moving out a defenseman make sense.
But who?
Servalli Notes Adam Larsson Is Most Likely Gone
While many are saying the Oilers should try to move on from Kris Russell (and they might), it wasn’t Russell’s name that appeared on Frank Seravalli’s update TSN Trade Bait Board on Tuesday. Instead, Adam Larsson took the No. 15 spot on the list.
With one year left at $4.16 million, Larsson being on the list makes some sense. He’s not a player the team will likely invest long-term in because of the younger players making a push. He’s also potentially a defenseman that can fetch the Oilers a decent return. A former high first-round draft pick, he can be an effective defenseman when he’s on his game and would easily fit into most team’s top four.
He’s also largely one-dimensional. And for that reason, he’s an easy target for the Oilers who need to move someone.
While Seravalli didn’t talk what teams might be interested, the Toronto Maple Leafs are rumored to be among them. That too makes sense for Edmonton as the Maple Leafs have players like Andreas Johnsson, Alex Kerfoot and Zach Hyman they could still potentially move this offseason.
Next: Oilers Will Stick With Goaltending Tandem Next Season
