Oilers Could Stick it to Panthers With Ruthless Rental Trade

The idea that the Edmonton Oilers can somehow pull it off seems like a long shot at best, but GM Stan Bowman should be calling the Florida Panthers and making a pitch for goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. The veteran netminder is now available at the trade deadline, and there might not be a bigger shot across the bow than making that rental trade. It’s the kind of ruthless thinking contenders do when grabbing any extra edge they can, while also poking away at the team’s biggest playoff rival.

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With Florida out of the mix, they won’t be repeating as Stanley Cup champions this season. Pierre LeBrun writes, “The Panthers lost again last night, and my understanding is they’ve made the decision to be sellers as far as listening on pending UFAs, which most notably include the likes of AJ. Greer and Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky has a 16-team no-trade list. Doesn’t mean he will be dealt for sure, just means Florida is listening.”

Related: Oilers Deadline Buzz: Bigger Trade Coming After Murphy?

If Bobrovsky is available, the Oilers should make a pitch. Reports are that they took their swing on the goalie front, making a trade for Tristan Jarry, and they’re prepared to lie in the bed they made. Still, there’s time, and Bobrovsky’s availability should change the conversation. He’s a two-time Stanley Cup winner, he’s going to be available for less than market rate (both due to a down year and a hefty contract), and he might be the netminder to get the Oilers over their Cup Final slump.

This Won’t Be an Easy Trade To Make

Having said all of that, I’m well aware that this is not an easy trade to pull off. Several pieces would have to fall into place, first of which is that Bobrovsky would have to have put the Oilers on his acceptable trade list.

Second, there’s not the not-so-small matter of his salary. A $10 million cap hit can be reduced to $5 million at most with salary retained. That is even challenging for the Oilers, who would have to move Andrew Mangiapane and other pieces to make the money work. If it’s Florida, the Oilers would be sending Mangiapane to, expect there to be a hefty price paid to get the Panthers to play ball.

Remember, too, Bobrovsky is a rental. Overpaying for a temporary fix by giving up a solid prospect would be problematic.

Finally, the Oilers would have to move a current goaltender. Jarry has a 12-team no-trade list a contract that isn’t appealing to most teams. He’s been slumping since coming back from a minor injury in Edmonton, and he’s locked in for two additional seasons after this one. Connor Ingram has been a nice story, but he seems to be the one piece that the Oilers can somewhat rely on. Moving his $1.15 million deal doesn’t move the needle significantly for Edmonton, but it also leaves the Oilers with a combination of Jarry and Bobrovsky. That’s a problem if neither takes the lead and plays extremely well down the stretch.

Is This The “Big Trade” Analysts Are Talking About?

Jeff Marek of Daily Faceoff says he’s got a sneaky feeling that Edmonton might make a splash before Friday’s trade deadline. He’s floating the idea of a Darnell Nurse trade, which is tough given Nurse’s no-move clause and contract.

Marek said:

“I’m really getting warmer to the idea that the team we all might be talking about by the time the deadline rolls around on Friday are the Edmonton Oilers. And maybe it’s that blockbuster that no one sees coming, or maybe it’s someone like — this isn’t a report, this is just conversation leading up to the deadline on a Tuesday — so they make the move for Murphy yesterday, you know, do they look at doing something with Darnell Nurse now? Would that be a bomb enough for Friday? Oh yeah, it would. Could that be the next shoe to drop here? Because the closer things get to Friday, there are a lot of people talking about Edmonton doing something significant here.”

Is adding Bobrovsky the kind of splash Marek might be talking about?

It would be quite the storyline if the Oilers went out and acquired the goaltender who beat them twice in the last two Stanley Cup Finals.

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