The Edmonton Oilers are far from done.
Edmonton has lost in the Stanley Cup Finals in back-to-back seasons, and the team is looking to get back there again this season. However, the Oilers have played poorly this season, but the team is looking to fix some holes ahead of the March 6 NHL Trade Deadline.
NHL insider Pierre LeBrun of TSN revealed on March 3 that the Oilers’ No. 1 priority is to acquire a third-line center.
“What’s next first is they have to somehow separate themselves from Mangiapane and his contract,” LeBrun said on Insider Trading. “He cleared waivers a couple of days ago. They spent a lot of time (on) Tuesday, I’m told, trying to find a landing spot for Mangiapane, and that extra year of $3.6 million.
“Once they’re able to do that, their No. 1 priority is to go get a third-line center who has some physicality and some ruggedness, the type of player that really fits in come playoff time. The name of Nic Roy has been out there, the Toronto Maple Leafs player who came over in the Mitch Marner deal. The Oilers do covet the kind of attributes that Nic Roy has, although I’m told they haven’t made a trade offer to the Toronto Maple Leafs for him. But, he represents the kind of player they are looking at.”
The Oilers are reportedly looking for a center who plays well defensively, but can also add some secondary scoring. However, no trade can happen until the team deals with Mangiapane and his contract, as the signing from this summer hasn’t worked out.
Oilers Acquire Connor Murphy
Edmonton made its first move before the trade deadline by acquiring veteran defenseman Connor Murphy from the Chicago Blackhawks.
Murphy is in the final year of his four-year, $17.6 million deal. He will help the Oilers’ defensive system, and someone Connor McDavid is excited about.
“Not fun to play against, which is a good sign,” McDavid said of Murphy. “Just a solid player, and I think he can really help for sure. You can’t have too many of those guys. Those guys are extremely valuable. I’m excited about it.”
Edmonton’s defensive play has been an issue this season, and the team is looking to improve that. Murphy is a step in the right direction as he can be part of a shutdown pair.
Edmonton Looking to do More
Although the Oilers jumped at the chance to acquire Murphy, the team isn’t done.
Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said the team is looking to make more moves. Bowman, meanwhile, said he will do whatever he can to improve the roster before the deadline hits.
“We’re always looking to add,” Bowman said. “I don’t know if there is added pressure, but I would say we want to win. That hasn’t changed. If we can bring in new players to help us, that’s great.
“I think my point earlier is that there’s a lot of ways to improve as a team. Part of it is new players and part of it is our existing players to dial it in a little bit better. Certainly, we’re not looking at the team in a couple of years. We’re looking to try to win right now, and that’s the way it was when the season began. It hasn’t changed at all and we’re going to keep pushing.”
Edmonton is 29-24-8 and holding onto the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
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