Oilers Quick Hits & Rumors: Klingberg, Skinner, Kane, Deadline

Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic sat down with Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman and had a long conversation about rumors surrounding the team, players on the roster, and the organization’s trade deadline plans. The Oilers are scouring the market, but Bowman is weighing his decisions carefully. He’s trying to balance what he has versus what he can get and will determine how much better that makes his roster.

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Here are a few things he said about players on the team and deadline opportunities:

John Klingberg’s Playing Time to Increase

GM Stan Bowman was asked about John Klingberg’s role moving forward. He said the Oilers see him as a key part of the defense, without strict labels on top-four or bottom-pair roles. Ideally, they want to give him more ice time but avoid burnout, especially for a deep playoff run. This is true of most of their blueliners. Klingberg is playing 17 minutes now, likely increasing to 18-19, and the plan is to gradually integrate him into special teams.

Oilers’ Trade Deadline Plans Revolve Around Depth

Bowman said he is looking around the league ahead of the deadline, but he doesn’t feel pressure to make a deal because the team doesn’t have any glaring holes. He noted, “It may not be a big-name addition — or it may be. It’s still a little bit early to try to prognosticate that.” He added, “I’m looking at a lot of different options, and we’re not ruling things out. But we’re also realizing that we have a lot of good players here. But that can change quick if you have a few injuries.”

Bowman didn’t get into what he was willing to trade at the deadline, but said that he’s not ruling out anything.

Oilers Won’t Ask Jeff Skinner to Waive No-Trade Clause

When asked if the team may look to trade Jeff Skinner and if they would ask him to waive his no-trade clause, Bowman responded, “I don’t envision that being the case.”

The Oilers are impressed by how hard Skinner has worked, how he’s been a true professional, and that he has not complained despite wishing he had more minutes and opportunities. Bowman also noted that the team has seen Skinner’s game come around a bit in the past few weeks. “He wants to take a step forward and play a bigger role.”

As for if the Oilers might consider a trade: “I suppose things can always change, but that’s not the focus right now for Jeff.”

Evander Kane’s Status for the Regular Season

Bowman also said it’s too early to know if the Oilers will be getting Evander Kane back at any point in the regular season. “But, I mean, he’s still not close to playing,” Bowman said.

He added the Oilers will know more a month from now. “When you get further into the process, you can maybe guesstimate it better. But as we sit here today, I don’t have a prediction on when he’s going to be ready to play. He’ll be back when he’s ready, but I’ll leave that to the doctors and trainers to figure out.”

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