Edmonton Oilers
Stocking Stuffer Trades For Not-Too-Greedy NHL Contenders
Not every NHL team needs a blockbuster. Some contenders are hunting for small, smart stocking stuffer trades ahead of the deadline.
What exactly is a stocking stuffer? Traditionally, it’s a small, affordable gift tucked into a Christmas stocking — nothing flashy, but something useful or fun that complements the bigger presents. If you apply that idea to the NHL trade deadline, it fits perfectly. Not every team is hunting for a blockbuster. Some contenders are simply looking for the right small addition — the kind of move that doesn’t grab headlines but quietly fills a need and makes the roster better.
The Toronto Maple Leafs: An Auston Matthews Wingman
Let’s start with a team that some wouldn’t actually consider a contender these days — the Toronto Maple Leafs. The idea of replacing Mitch Marner with another player sounds like a gift far bigger than a stocking stuffer. However, at this point, the Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t looking for a perfect fit or one winger to do what Marner did. No, at this point, the Leafs will settle for anyone who has some chemistry with Auston Matthews.
What the team has tried so far simply hasn’t worked. He’s having a rough season by his own standards, marked by long stretches of minimal impact. He’s been held off the scoresheet in nearly half of his games when empty-net points are taken out, including 15 scoreless outings. Even when he does contribute, it’s often limited, with 11 one-point games and only five multi-point performances.
If the Maple Leafs are relying on Bobby McMann and Max Domi, they might have problems. Toronto would love to make a trade for a winger who can consistently produce and get Matthews motivated.
The Vancouver Canucks: A Defined Management Structure
This technically isn’t a player trade, but the Canucks would love nothing more than to trade out of the mess created by the ongoing roles-and-responsibilities drama surrounding Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutherford.
Rick Dhaliwal and Don Taylor got into a heated discussion about the Canucks and what’s going on with that organization. Are they rebuilding? Are they trying to flip this roster as quickly as possible? The two execs don’t seem to be on the same page and while everyone seems to know that Rutherford is calling the shots, the question about what Allvin actually does feels warranted.
How can this franchise ever get anywhere if it can’t even figure out who is running the team? Maybe they know, and maybe Allvin is just a public face to point fingers at, but at the top of the Christmas list should be sorting out this disaster and assigning clearer roles.
Minnesota Wild – A Replacement Center
The Minnesota Wild are making a push — their trade to acquire Quinn Hughes has made that obvious. However, already light down the middle, in the trade, they moved Marco Rossi. The Wild could certainly use a center to fill some of that void.
Thus, it makes sense that Ryan O’Reilly would be on their radar. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic writes:
“The Wild need a center who can win draws, and O’Reilly can still contribute offensively, is a Cup champion and is the type of character guy Wild general manager and president of hockey operations Bill Guerin loves, as far as the culture piece of it.”
O’Reilly is going to be a player who gets some attention if the Nashville Predators make him available. That said, he shouldn’t be ridiculously expensive to acquire.
Edmonton Oilers – For Adam Henrique to Reconsider No-Trade Clause
I’m not suggesting that the Oilers should move on from Adam Henrique. He’s struggling and has only two goals and nine points in 38 games, but he’s the kind of player who offers more than scoring. However, if he doesn’t start to produce a bit more, there are better and less expensive options available to the Oilers in a depth role.
The problem is that Henrique has a full no-move clause and has exercised it already. Edmonton looked at trade options over the summer, and he declined to consider moving on. If the Oilers want or need to add at the deadline, cap space is a problem, and the ability to trade Henrique solves many of them. For the Oilers, just knowing that he’d be open to something else if his time in Edmonton isn’t going to give him the best opportunity to earn another contract might open up a window for both to get what they want ahead of the trade deadline.
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