Did the Oilers Miss Out on a Blues’ Home Run Blue Line Trade?

The Edmonton Oilers were rumored to have been a team that looked closely at defenseman Cam Fowler this season. The Oilers have been eyeing an upgrade on defense most of the season, and when while Fowler wasn’t a right-shot blueliner Edmonton covets, he’s a strong left-shot option that GM Stan Bowman could have used while moving pieces on his roster around. But, as the Oilers were weighing their options, the Blues scooped in and acquired Fowler from Anaheim and got the Ducks to retain 38.4615% of his contract.

Now just over $4 million per season for the Blues over the next two seasons, Edmonton could have used a player who has absolutely been shot of a cannon since joining St. Louis. He’s got three goals and seven points in 10 games since the trade that saw the Blues give up only a 2nd round pick and Jeremie Biakabutuka.

Fowler scored twice in Tuesday’s 6-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in the Winter Classic. It was his 1000th NHL game.

Did the Oilers Miss Out on Fowler?

It should be noted that there isn’t any real evidence Fowler coming to Edmonton was close. In fact, he had a four-team modified no-trade clause in his contract, and he chose St. Louis as one of the teams he was willing to waive for. It’s not clear the Oilers were on his shortlist.

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We also don’t know what conversations, if any, Bowman had with Pat Verbeek, the Ducks’ GM. Verbeek noted that he’d been speaking with the Blues for some time before the trade was made. It was when the Ducks acquired Jacob Trouba on December 6 that the Fowler deal started to come together. The Oilers may not have been ready to make a move at that time.

Fowler is having a strong start to his run in St. Louis, but that doesn’t mean he was the ideal fit for the Oilers. He’s a strong offensive defenseman, but the Oilers are also looking for a player with size and grit, attributes Fowler doesn’t have.

There’s no doubt his offense would have been a welcome addition, but the Oilers also rank high among points from defensemen this season. The Oilers sat just behind the Colorado Avalanche at second in the NHL last season and they rank 9th this season with 85 points from the back end. One could argue Fowler could have helped, but the Oilers might have more pressing needs.

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