The Oilers’ highest trade asset is now to win before McDavid leaves – Hockey Writer – Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers have signed Connor McDavid for a two-year extension, meaning they have three seasons to become free agents. Although it does not state what will happen from now to now, the Oiler has only one goal, which is to win the Stanley Cup.
Earlier in the offseason, there were reports, especially from Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thought Podcast, McDavid chose to revolve around the fact that the Oilers are now competitive, but the long-term long-term outlook is unclear.
The two-year deal feels like a final atum and re-planning on a very considerate $12.5 million block, McDavid provides the Oilers with a major breakthrough to help form a Stanley Cup-winning team. Stan Bowman is under pressure to him more than anyone who is now in the general manager position, and at some point in the next three seasons, he will need to ensure the Oilers win.
The most common way for managers to improve their team is through transactions. They have moved a lot of assets out over the past few seasons, but they still have many assets that can help them bring some significant improvements. This is a breakdown of the highest trade assets owned by oil workers.
Savioe, Howard, leads Young forward
The Oilers’ forward team is very impressive, but at a young, high-value asset, Matt Savoie and Ike Howard are two people jumping off the page.
Savoie, who ranked ninth in 2022, showed a lot of hope after a season with the Oilers. Savoie was impressed with 54 points as an American Hockey League (AHL) rookie and, most importantly, a strong training camp earned him a spot in the Opening Day squad.
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For Howard, he entered his first professional season after three great NCAA seasons and also appears to be in the Oilers debut.
In this singles window, players like Savoie or Howard are good at being part of the solution. As of now, they haven’t proven anything at the NHL level. While there have been a lot of prospect trades over the past few seasons, high-end guys like Howard and Savay haven’t moved a lot, and when they are traditionally a prospect swap, with Rutger McGraorty/Brayden Yager and Sam O’Reilly/Howard/Howard/Howard are the latest examples.
In fact, it’s very likely that the oiler won’t move either of the two to add more skills and get younger. Attracting talented young players can be the path to success with the Oilers.
Another striker has performed well in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) over the past few seasons, but Maxim Berezin is not at the same level at the same level.
As mentioned above, the oilers are best to keep these players best, but with pressure, trading them can also be a good move for the club to win during McDavid’s contract term.
Defensive assets
On the defensive side, there is no much value besides the obvious top four players. Both Evan Bouchard and Jake Walman have signed new deals and will certainly stay. Elliotte Friedman said Mattias Ekholm is having an extended conversation and is eager to stay. Darnell Nurse is a valuable player on the ice and performs well at times, but he is not one of the top defenders, and his hat hits almost make his trade almost impossible.
Below the lineup are important players of the Oilers, although they may not bring much value to the deal unless it is intended to upgrade the position. Ty Emberson, Troy Stetcher, Brett Kulak and Alec Regula make up the second and scratches on the bottom.
For prospects, Beau Akey has performed well in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and will make his AHL debut this season. Although he is not the prospect of Blue Chip by any means, he can add value to the transaction. His influence is unlikely to set the Oilers apart for the next three seasons, and if they want to do everything possible to win in that window, Akey may be one of the players on the move.
Draft picks
When it comes to trading, draft picks have always been an important factor for competitors. Last season, players like Gustav Nyquist, Brad Marchand, Anthony Beauvillier and Mikael Granlund were a host of players who were acquired last season for draft picks only.
The Oilers have achieved some of the lowest value draft picks over the past few seasons. They did well in the playoffs, which led to later draft picks.
Currently, they currently have all the draft picks except for the 2026 first-round pick, which is traded to the San Jose Sharks for Walman to trade. They have all second and third round picks, plus the 2028 third round pick, which is part of the handshake deal after the quote last season.
For later draft picks, they need to make a deal to get them to work.
They don’t have much extra stuff, but the Oilers have almost all of their draft picks and have the ability to attract them when choosing to use quality players, especially with other assets.
Potential upper limit casualties
When players are invited to improve your team, they come with a literal price tag. The Oilers started the season with $834 block space. They can do nothing about it. All they have is nine forwards and five defensemen who have signed this season. With the previously estimated $104 million, they should have room for everyone to have too many problems.
But if they do attract big players, then there must be a way out for players, too. The oilers don’t have any bad contracts, especially on the forward group, but the nurses will be the only ones who can handle a large number of them.
In the case of forward groups, if they lead the winger, they may want to move the others on the wings where the trade fell.
The oilers don’t need to do too much about the lineup. They proved that their goal was to be a Stanley Cup champion and be hungry than anyone else. The Oilers could have a healthy season and thriving, choosing to keep the lineup as it is, or even win everything. But if they do seek improvement through trade, then these are their best choices.
