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[Edmonton Oilers]

Roundtable: Which middle-six forward and ‘Ekholm Jr.’ defenceman should the Oilers target in trade?

What a Friday it was for the NHL.

You had the surprise Tristan Jarry trade early in the morning, only for it to be outdone later that night by Quinn Hughes getting dealt to the Minnesota Wild.

There were certainly some smoke screens last week about a potential Jarry trade not happening due to the Penguins’ unwillingness to retain salary, couple with the fact that reports started to surface the Oilers were looking to address other areas of their team.

Among those areas, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta’s suggested, was that the Oilers could be looking to acquire a physical, “Ekholm Jr.” type of defenceman, and another middle-six forward.

I polled some of the Oilersnation crew about who could be the best target.

Who would be the best targets?​

Tyler Yaremchuk: The first defenceman that comes to mind is Mario Ferraro from the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks have been a sneaky competitive team so far this season and have taken a big step forward, so it’s far from a guarantee that they sell but if the Sharks fall out and GM Mike Grier makes Ferraro available, then the Oilers should be all over it. Ferraro does a lot of things well and his $3.25m cap hit is very attractive. He can play both sides of the blueline as well, which the Oilers value. If the Sharks don’t want to move Ferraro and the Oilers need to check down… what about a reunion with John Klingberg? It wouldn’t cost a lot.

There are way more forwards on the market then defenceman, as usual, which means the prices should be lower and the Oilers would have options. Alex Tuch is at #1 on my list. It would cost a lot but I think there’d be interest from both sides in signing a long-term extension this summer and he’s a legitimate play driving winger and would make the Oilers forward group even scarier. I also like the idea of Boone Jenner. Low cap hit, positional versatility, and the ability to kill penalties. His game translates well to the playoffs.

Baggedmilk: I’m so bad at these games because I never know who is available unless they’re right in my face. That said, the defenceman I would love to see in an Oilers uniform is the one that will never actually happen. Of course, I’m talking about Rasmus Andersson. The guy is annoying, plays with an edge, has some offensive touch, and would add a different layer to the mix on D that the Oilers don’t currently have. That would be fun if Calgary would ever do it, or even the player for that matter. Up front, it would be amazing to get a guy like Ryan O’Reilly to really reinforce the centre depth. The math is almost impossible and the guy is getting older, but that’s the exact type of forward I’d love to see get added. Gritty, skilled, and able to defend? Perfect.

Apr 6, 2024; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson (4) checks Edmonton Oilers left wing Evander Kane (91) during the first period at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Liam Horrobin: The Seattle Kraken have began to slide back down the standings after a good start to the season. If that trend continues, could Jared McCann become available? He’s a former 40 goal scorer but a consistent 20+ goal guy, which is precisely what the Oilers need. McCann has one year left earning $5 million annually with a 10 team no trade list. There was speculation over the summer on his future in Seattle, per David Pagnotta, so the will to move him has lingered before. Brock Nelson cost the Colorado Avalanche Calum Ritchie, a first and a third round pick, so would they be willing to move Isaac Howard in the deal or maybe they can get away with moving Quinn Hutson instead.

Caprice St. Pierre:

As desirable as an Ekholm junior defencemen would be — and rightfully so — let’s be realistic here, the Oilers can’t have him. Not because he doesn’t exist, or because no one wants to come to Edmonton, but because the return isn’t manageable. Ask yourself this: what do the Oilers have to give? We’re not talking about your run of the mill, third pairing D man here. We’re talking about a two-way defenseman who can move the puck, be responsible, keep a calm composure, slot guys into place, and if we’re getting greedy here, be physical.

So when recalling Zach Hyman’s hat trick against the Red Wings and the Edmonton Oilers redemption from another loss to Buffalo, think back to 20-year-old Axel Sandin-Pelika, because that’s the guy you want, and that’s the guy — baring any miracles — you can’t have.

If you’re looking for a middle-six forward the Oilers could add, he’s out there. Perhaps Josh Doan in Buffalo? Or Ryan O’Reilly in Nashville who still has some gas left in the tank and enough accountability to force a team through a rough patch? Marco Rossi would have been nice, though he’s just been spoken for.

All three would be fine middle six centres for the Edmonton Oilers. They range in age, 23 to 34, and salary cap, $925,000 AAV all the way to $5 million. They’re legitimate players that could help this Oilers roster now. But the problem hasn’t changed.

The Oilers still have no picks, their prospects still aren’t good enough to get a defenceman and centre, their salary cap situation is too tied up. And let’s not forget, Stan Bowman just doubled the salary for his starting goaltender.

In a perfect world, the Oilers could have ASP and Josh Doan without giving up star players like Leon Draisaitl or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, but it’s not, and Edmonton is forced to see it through with who they’ve got.

Oct 31, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators center Ryan O’Reilly (90) skates with the puck against the Edmonton Oilers during the third period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Michael Menzies: Finding a dance partner to trade with is difficult right now. There are so few defined sellers because the standings are so tight, especially in the eastern conference.

The San Jose Sharks are one point out of a wildcard as of writing, but you have to think they still want to acquire assets. They already own the Oilers first-round pick, for example.

The Oilers probably want another right-handed defenceman with only Evan Bouchard as the righty in the top-four. With that said, Mario Ferraro is a very intriguing name. He’s a 27-year-old, rugged, left-shot who wears an “A” with the Sharks. Playing in their second pair and top penalty kill, his contract of $3.25-million expires this year.

He’s been a lifer so far in northern California and doesn’t profile as a guy the Sharks would be in a hurry to part from, but they do need to make room eventually for Sam Dickinson and Shakir Mukhamadullin. I’ll add this, Vincent Desharnais is on LTIR right now, but since he’s big and a righty, I wouldn’t rule out a reunion, but he doesn’t have any top-4 upside.

Another name: Brandon Carlo. The Maple Leafs sunk a huge acquisition cost in getting him and he’s underwhelmed. Maybe a change of scenario would help for a guy, who with the Bruins averaged 4.66 hits a game. What about Nick Perbix on the Predators blueline? His underlying metrics are alright on a bad Preds team and he’s just 27-year-old.

If I could just wish-cast a middle-six forward, I can’t be talked off Ryan O’Reilly. His impact on the Oilers roster as a hard two-way center, who also won the freakin’ Conn Smythe, would be transformational. However, the asking price would be simply too much. So with nothing original to add, I’ll cast my vote into the Alex Tuch ballot.

Zach Laing: Mario Ferraro is a guy I’ve kept coming back to. There’s the San Jose connection there, with Stan Bowman picking up Jake Walman from Mike Greir last year, so it makes sense they could circle back for another deal. The Walman acquisition seemingly came out of nowhere. His name was never on any of the big boards, and that, too, makes me think the Oilers could try and target players whose names aren’t out there in a big way.

One team worth keeping an eye on is the Pittsburgh Penguins. They have bigger names like Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell, who each have two years remaining at $5.13-million and $5-million cap hits, which could be very interesting options, but the money would be tough to make work. But other guys like Kevin Hayes (UFA, $3.5-million cap hit) and Anthony Mantha (UFA, $2.5-million cap hit) could be options that make a bit more sense.

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Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at [email protected].

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Source: https://oilersnation.com/news/round...nceman-should-edmonton-oilers-target-in-trade

 

[Edmonton Oilers]

Leon Draisaitl’s 1000th point has to wait, Calvin Pickard, and the Oilers lost on special teams

The Edmonton Oilers kicked off their five-game road trip with a decisive win over the Maple Leafs on Saturday, and they were looking to keep the good times rolling in their rematch with the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs were rattled by how things went when these teams matched up back in October, and I was fascinated to see how Sunday’s game would shake out. Would it be spicy? Would both teams look tired since they were each on the second half of a back-to-back weekend? Unfortunately, it was the Habs who had all kinds of jump on Sunday, and used those wheels to lock in a lopsided 4-1 victory.

1000 POINTS FOR LEON DRAISAITL HAS TO WAIT​

Do you remember when the Oilers had the third overall pick at the 2014 NHL Draft, and everyone was talking about how the Oilers should take Sam Bennett? That was, of course, until he couldn’t do a pull-up. It’s wild to think about now, but there were a lot of people who believed Edmonton should avoid Draisaitl because he was too slow and likely wouldn’t score a ton. More of a passer than a finisher, they said. Well, here we are 11 years later, and Leon Draisaitl has developed into one of the best players on earth. No disrespect to Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett, all of those guys are doing very well with the Panthers, but there’s no way that Drai wouldn’t go first overall in that group if we did a re-draft with the benefit of hindsight.

And on Sunday night in Montreal, most of us were waiting for Leon Draisaitl to register his 1000th point and cement himself in history as one of the 100 players in the league to reach the feat. Unfortunately, Drai did not get the point he needed. And the reason I’m writing about this is because I actually thought the rest of the team tried to hard to get him there. There were moments on the power play when clear shots were being passed up to set Draisaitl up with a cross-ice one-timer, when a shot from wherever the puck was would probably have been the better choice. As much as I get why everyone wants to get him to 1000 points, I also think he’s so damned good that it’s going to come naturally without having to force it. Maybe it’s just me, but as someone who bet on Drai to get a point against the Habs, I legitimately thought Oilers were trying too hard to make fetch happen. Big Sexy 2.0 is going to get his point, but I just don’t think everyone around him has to try so hard to make it happen.

THE FUTURE FOR CALVIN PICKARD​

Calvin Pickard got his ninth start of the season on Sunday in Montreal, and in the hours leading up to the game, all I could think about was what the last couple of days must have been like for him. There’s a zero percent chance he didn’t know about or hear the noise about the team’s goaltending, and for a lot of people, finding a way to upgrade on Pickard was more critical than upgrading on Skinner. But now that Stan Bowman pulled the trigger to bring Tristan Jarry to town, I can’t help but wonder what the future looks like for our pal Cal. We know the guys in the room love him — they’ve defended him as recently as this season — but the NHL is a results-based business, and Pickard’s haven’t been nearly good enough. But when the team loves the guy and goes to bat for him with the GM, it’s fair to wonder how much the power of friendship comes into play with what happens to Pickard next.

Will Bowman still look to upgrade on the backup position, knowing full well how much our current guy matters to the players in the room? Does he care? Only time will reveal what happens between the crease, but for the time being, we have to hope Pickard can start to round back into form. Against Montreal, I thought Pickard was the best Oiler on the ice. And even though I know I’ll take heat in the comments for giving him love after allowing four goals on 27 shots, it’s hard to ignore that he was faced with multiple breakaways, odd-man rushes, and clean shots from in tight that he mostly handled with care. The guy was on an island for most of the night. Put another way, the Oilers probably would have lost that game regardless of who was in net, and I think it would be deeply unfair to hang this one on Pickard.

SPECIAL TEAMS WERE NOT SO SPECIAL​

It’s not often that we take shots at the Oilers‘ special teams, but I felt like last night’s performance deserved a few words. We all know how dangerous Edmonton’s power play can be, but you wouldn’t have known it from the way they handled their five power play opportunities. While scoring once on five chances with the man advantage isn’t horrible by any stretch, it’s hard not to feel like there were a few more opportunities that could have cashed with a few adjustments. And the first thing that pops to mind was the two-minute 5-on-3 that the boys got in the first period. Even though the Oilers were actually pretty damned good in those two minutes, they ultimately couldn’t score. It doesn’t matter how many looks you get if you can’t get any of them past the goalie. It’s hard not to imagine how different things might have gone had they been able to score there.

On the PK, the Oilers gave up a pair of goals in four shorthanded situations, and it doesn’t take a data scientist to figure out that running a 50% penalty kill is probably going to be a problem. On the first one, Ivan Demidov ripped the puck past Pickard with a perfectly placed shot. Honestly, I’d tend to tip my cap to the shooter on this one, but even if you do respect the finish, the Oilers actually had a chance to clear the puck only moments before. On Nick Suzuki’s goal, Alec Regula lost his position and allowed the Montreal captain to gain the inside ice. Once Suzuki was the first guy to get to the post, the tap-in he scored will likely go down as one of the easiest he’ll ever score at the NHL level. The point being that even if you give the Habs credit for the way they scored their two PP goals, both featured mistakes by Edmonton that should have been avoided. And when you lose the PP and the PK battle in the same game, it’s not hard to understand why the Oilers ended up losing the game.

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[Edmonton Oilers]

What do the Oilers have in their newest prospect Samuel Poulin?

Last Friday, the Edmonton Oilers sent out Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak, and a 2029 second-round pick in exchange for Tristan Jarry and former 2019 first-rounder Samuel Poulin.

While all eyes were on Jarry in his debut win in Edmonton colours Saturday night, Samuel Poulin also had a strong debut with the Bakersfield Condors that night, finishing with two points on the second line with Finnish forwards in Roby Jarventie and Viljami Marjala.

Who is Samuel Poulin?

Samuel Poulin was a first-round selection in 2019 by Pittsburgh after having a great draft year, scoring 29 goals and 76 points in 67 games for the QMJHL’s Sherbrooke Phoenix. The next season, Poulin stepped up his game, putting up 32 goals and 77 points in only 46 games played. So far, Samuel has put up some solid numbers in his AHL career with 137 points in 208 total games played. The main issue is that the Blainville, Quebec native has only 15 NHL games played on a Pittsburgh team that has been going through a transition period and playing a fair amount of young guys.

One of Poulin’s strengths in his game is the ability to put the puck in the net. Right now, the six-foot-two winger is on pace for 28 goals, and his ability to find the soft areas of the ice was on display in his debut, as you’ll see below in the first clip.

It was his first game as a Condor, but the former Penguin and Roby Jarventie were linking up early on plays. Poulin also showed the ability to find open space with Wilkes-Barre. In the next clip the left-shot forward scores off a broken play, but he makes a beautiful cut to the middle to be an open option as the F3. Poulin is rewarded by being the only player around the puck and finishing.

The next and final clip detailing his scoring ability shows off the pure velocity of Poulin’s shot. The 227-lb. winger opens up his hips before accepting the pass and ripping a shot knocking off the goalies helmet.

When I was first watching film of Stan Bowman’s newest acquisition I came into the process expecting a lot of shooting from any angle, but I was fairly surprised to see how well Poulin can hold the puck and move it around to his teammates at times. Having the six-foot-two, 227-lb. frame definitely helps with protecting the puck, but Poulin showcased a ton of trust and strength in his edges. In the clip below he is able to get the defenceman on his backside and even though he is falling down Poulin manages to make an excellent play to get the puck to his teammate in the middle.

In the next clip it is a bit more boring/simple than the past one, but I think it matters. Poulin shows the ability to do a smooth outside edge turn at almost 230 lbs. and he also shows the patience to not touch the puck till the opposition is blocked by his backside and his legs are protecting his stick. Great tendencies.

The final area of Poulin’s game I would like to highlight is his playmaking ability and more so the ability to get the puck from the boards to the middle of the ice even if it is a bit risky. This was even on display in his first game as a Condor as you’ll see below. Samuel Poulin is on the wall and threads a beautiful pass to Rem Pitlick in the slot who gets a shot on net.

Good things happen when you can get the puck off the boards and I came away impressed a few times with Poulin’s confidence to get the puck to the middle. The next clip is another example of the former Penguins prospect showcasing this ability. Poulin is on the wall with his back to the opponent (he loves to do this) under extreme pressure as another two defenders come into his bubble, but he finds a lane to a streaking Scranton player who makes a nice play to give Poulin the secondary assist.

Such a beautiful pass. Speaking of beautiful passes, in our next clip Poulin shows us he has a bit of deception to his game. The former Sherbrooke captain is on a two-on-two rush when his linemate starts pulling away from his defender Poulin recognizes this and drags the puck into his shooting form only to get the defender to open up a lane for him to put the puck through. Another excellent play.

Being 24 and turning 25 in February, Poulin is done developing physically and most players don’t see a ton of change in their play past this point. It would be a miracle if Poulin ever put up the numbers he had in juniors, but being on pace for 68 points in 71 games is another step up in his game.

I see a world where Poulin can give you some helpful minutes as a fourth-liner. He kills penalties, his work ethic on the forecheck and backcheck is consistent, and he can sometimes take a puck from the wall to the middle to advance possession. In reality this is more of a throw in for a Condors team who has been in need of a forward that is willing to play on the defensive side of the game.

However, I think he can have a bigger impact than we give him credit for. Building off my last point about Bakersfield needing help with a two-way presence on the forward group, Poulin’s game is the ultimate compliment at the AHL level. He is a jack-of-all-trades and can do the dirty work for a line if they need. I think his game will allow a lot of the other Oiler prospects play to their strengths whenever they are paired with Poulin.

Time will tell us how the trade pans out, but so far I like the addition and theory behind adding a Samuel Poulin.

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Source: https://oilersnation.com/news/what-do-edmonton-oilers-have-in-newest-prospect-samuel-poulin

 

[Edmonton Oilers]

Pagnotta talks Jarry trade, the Oilers’ backup goaltender, and a GM change in Buffalo

NHL insider David Pagnotta believes the Edmonton Oilers got to the point where they were willing to “suck it up” and include Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak in the move to acquire Tristan Jarry, despite wanting to keep both of them.

Pagnotta joined Oilersnation Everyday with Tyler Yaremchuk and Liam Horrobin on Monday to discuss the Oilers and other league-wide moves.

He said that suggested trade targets like Juuse Saros and Jordan Binnington would be too expensive, either due to contract or in a trade package.

Pagnotta added that general manager Stan Bowman has been having these goalie conversations since the draft.

“They didn’t want to lose them. They wanted to make the money work, but they [Skinner, Kulak] were really the only way to do it,” said Pagnotta. “That’s what I mean by them having to accept the fact that, okay, we have to change our little internal philosophy a little bit and move forward with this.

“This isn’t something that just came to them on a whim. This wasn’t Minnesota and Quinn Hughes, where it took only a week and they got things going. This is something that they were kicking tires on going back to the draft.

“This is a guy [Jarry] that they zeroed in on, and they wanted. With two more years left in his contract and a palatable cap hit for a starting goalie, you kind of check that box.”

Pickard’s status​

Questions still loom about whether the Oilers will improve on their backup goaltending. Bowman said Calvin Pickard, “will remain with the team” following the Jarry deal. The Oilers could look to call up Connor Ingram, too, despite subpar stats with the Bakersfield Condors.

For example, Laurent Brossoit was placed on waivers by the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, and there isn’t room to add him to their NHL roster.

The 33-year-old former Edmonton Oiler carries a $3.3 million cap hit in the final year of his contract. Liam suggested he could be a name to acquire.

“There are still creative ways to make money work here,” said Pagnotta. “If you send Pickard on waivers, and you clear out that million dollars, and then you have Tomášek, and other guys that you could possibly go that route, or other guys that don’t need to go through waivers.

“I just don’t know definitively if that’s the route that the Oilers want to take.”

Pickard started Sunday against the Montreal Canadiens, saving 23 of 27 shots, but didn’t get much support from the skaters in front of him in a 4-1 loss. The plan is to give Jarry the majority of starts.

“That’s probably an area that would at some point be addressed. But I still think there are other areas of this team, other holes on this team that they’d like to work on.”

Sabre-rattling?​

The Buffalo Sabres were carrying three goalies on their active roster until Colten Ellis was injured against the Oilers last Tuesday.

With general manager Kevyn Adams fired on Monday, and former Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen promoted into the role, is there an appetite to move either Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen or Alex Lyon?

Elliotte Friedman believes the Oilers have been interested in Lyon before.

“I still think that one in particular is probably summer-related,” said Pagnotta. “But now with Jarmo Kekäläinen, and the aggressive nature that they want him to have, maybe those types of discussions pick up.

“The other one is Alex Tuch. What do they do there? What do they do with some of their other players? Is there enough now in your messaging that’s going to convince Alex Tuch to be confident enough that they can start to get through a competitive season. And that over the tenure of his contract, he’ll be comfortable in the notion that this is going to be a playoff-type team?”

Oilersnation Everyday with Tyler and Liam airs at noon from Monday to Friday.

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Source: https://oilersnation.com/news/david...oilers-backup-goaltender-gm-change-in-buffalo

 

[Edmonton Oilers]

Oilers’ Curtis Lazar helped off the ice with apparent injury in Tuesday game against Penguins

The Edmonton Oilers are down a man against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In the second period Tuesday night, forward Curtis Lazar got tied up with Penguins defenceman Jack St. Ivany and fell into the boards, colliding with former teammate Brett Kulak in the process. Lazar then needed assistance getting off the ice, and did not return to the game.

Here’s a look at that play:

An unfortunate incident, Curtis Lazar falls into the boards after getting tangled with Jack St. Ivany.

Lazar would need help getting off the ice.

: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/gNR8aqpC3U

— Oilersnation.com, Oily Since ‘07 (@OilersNation) December 17, 2025

Lazar joined the Oilers on a one-year contract this summer as a free agent coming from the New Jersey Devils. So far this season, he has two goals in 17 appearances with Edmonton, averaging under 10 minutes a night.

The 30-year-old’s exit from the game is especially concerning considering his injury history. Last season, he played just 48 games with the Devils after suffering a knee injury that required surgery. Upon his return to the lineup, by his own admission, he wasn’t performing to the standard he expected of himself, finishing the year with five points. Edmonton took a chance on him this year, and after a goal against the Winnipeg Jets earlier this month, he spoke about getting another opportunity and finding his place with the Oilers.

“It’s the NHL, you can’t take a single day for granted,” he said. “Especially, you said you’re able to line up whatever, whatever happens, happens. But when you get the call, you want to be able to do a job. I know what I can offer and how I can help a team win. And I was glad to just kind of take that next step tonight. Doesn’t matter, you know, if you’re limited or your minutes are limited or whatnot, you still want to make the most of your opportunities. And a lot of that for me, it’s face off, defending, penalty kill.”

Official word on the extent of Lazar’s ailment is still to come. The Oilers currently have a number of players out with injuries, including Connor Clattenburg, Jake Walman, Jack Roslovic, Kasperi Kapanen, and Noah Philp.

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Source: https://oilersnation.com/news/edmon...lped-off-ice-apparent-injury-against-penguins