Edmonton Oilers
Oilers News Update: McDavid News, Trades, More
What’s the latest injury and trade news surrounding the Edmonton Oilers?
There’s a bit of news coming out of Edmonton on Thursday.
McDavid Injury News
The latest on Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid is that he’s skating, starting by practicing alone then taking a couple of minutes with the team before he left as the Oilers started a full practice. The latest speculated timeline puts him somewhere around Feb 29th and the game against the Winnipeg Jets as a return, but it could be sooner.
GM & President of Hockey Ops Ken Holland notes that Connor McDavid is “feeling good” and he will travel with the team on their upcoming trip to LA, Anaheim and Vegas. When asked if there’s any chance McDavid plays against Minnesota, “He’s moving well. We’ll see where he is in the morning. He’s day-to-day… he took a good step today but we’re not over-promising anything,” said head coach Dave Tippett.
In fact, there’s no guarantee McDavid will play on the trip at all and Joakim Nygard and James Neal are probably 2-3 weeks away from playing.
Holland and the Trade Deadline
As per a quote from Daniel Nugent-Bowman, “I’d probably be a little disappointed if I didn’t do something (by the deadline)”, said Ken Holland. That said, he’s not specifically feeling pressure to augment to a team that is without Connor McDavid right now. And, he’s not going to react to the trades other teams make. “I did that early in my career and found it didn’t work. I’ll focus on what we need,” he said.
Unfortunately, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic notes, between massive injuries and a suspension, the Oilers have salary cap issues just at the time of year when you want as much flexibility as possible ahead of the trade deadline. LeBrun writes, “The timing is brutal.”
So what will Holland do? LeBrun said he gets the sense that the Oilers will explore two different types of trades: the more difficult hockey deal for a top-nine forward signed past this season and the more likely rental deal for a moderately priced forward. The rental deal will not include giving up a first-round pick, so any forwards who are commanding that type of price are not on the Oilers radar.
There is some buzz the Oilers might be interested in Tyler Ennis of the Ottawa Senators. He’s got 14 goals and carries an inexpensive contract at $800,000. He can play in multiple spots throughout the lineup and succeed in the top or bottom six. He’s not the only player Edmonton is looking at but the key here is that they asking price needs to be low.
When asked if there’s any news on Jesse Puljujarvi headed into the trade deadline, Holland responded that he’s had “No meaningful conversations.”
Related: Hurricanes to Make Big Offer to Montreal for Petry?
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