The Edmonton Oilers have come out of the gates with a rather underwhelming record, posting a 4-5-1 record through their first ten games. With their recent loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday (Oct. 28), Oilers fans have become concerned over their lack of offensive production from their depth pieces, as well as their defensive struggles that have hindered their ability to shut down teams.
Related: Oilers Fans Don’t Need to Panic Over Hyman’s Slow Start
While it seems like it will be a matter of time before the Oilers can start dominating in the way fans expect from them, a potential trade seems to be a possibility if they aren’t able to turn their record around and start winning soon. In a recent article posted by Allan Mitchell, he referred to a trade rumour connecting Calgary Flames’ defender Rasmus Andersson to the Oilers but shut it down immediately.
“For Flames general manager Craig Conroy, trading Andersson to Edmonton could be a career-ending move. The provincial rivalry between Calgary and Edmonton is such that a Stanley Cup in Edmonton with contributions from Andersson could have severe impact on Conroy’s reputation in the southern city.”
source – ‘Tinkering with Oilers pairings: 5 righthanded defencemen who should be trade targets’ – Allan Mitchell – The Athletic – 10/28/2024
Andersson would be a fantastic acquisition for the Oilers as he would stabilize their defensive depth, but Mitchell brings up a strong point bringing up the rivalry between the two teams. If the Flames’ general manager, Craig Conroy, decides to give their rival team a strong asset heading into the postseason and his team suffers long-term because of the trade, his job would be on the line.
The Flames have had a strong start to their 2024-25 campaign and they look like a playoff team, so them dumping Andersson for future assets doesn’t look like a strong possibility. However, if the Flames start to struggle and find themselves as sellers heading into the 2025 Trade Deadline, the Oilers should be the last team they consider trading Andersson too.
Oilers Need More Out of Their Depth Players, Could Still Find Trade
The Oilers have gotten exactly what they need out of their top guys in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl who both are sitting with a point-per-game average through ten games. Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard have also been solid offensively. The problem is, the rest of the team has been close to silent in the offensive zone. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins only has four points, Viktor Arvidsson only has three points, and Zach Hyman only has one point. While finding a defensive upgrade should be a priority for the Oilers heading toward the trade deadline, it shouldn’t be out of the question for them to look into acquiring offensive depth.
While Mitchell points out the obvious with the rivalry between the Oilers and Flames, there are plenty of other options around the league that the Oilers could look into. For example, The Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, and Chicago Blackhawks are all in the middle of a rebuild and could look to part with some of their forwards at the upcoming deadline.
From the Ducks, Trevor Zegras seems like an attractive asset since his name has been thrown around in trade rumours previously, but his contract may be out of their price range. The Sharks have a few pieces in Klim Kostin, Mikael Granlund, and Fabian Zetterlund who are all in the last year of their respective contracts and could be affordable adds, but it may be tough considering they have no retention slots available. The Blackhawks have Taylor Hall, Andreas Athanasiou and Ryan Donato who could all attract interest at the deadline as well.
At the end of the day, the Oilers and Flames likely won’t make a trade with each other at the 2025 Trade Deadline. It seems as though both teams will be buyers heading toward the postseason, so the Oilers will have to look elsewhere if they hope to improve their team. If the Oilers aren’t able to snap out of their sluggish start to the 2024-25 campaign, they may have to pull the trigger on a trade before the deadline.
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