As another goaltender has struggled in Edmonton—newly acquired Tristan Jarry over his last five games before the break—the questions and blame have started to shift from the crease to the Oilers’ team defense as a whole in front of their netminders.
GM Stan Bowman is well aware of these defensive issues, which is why he’s not only been searching for a top-nine forward but also a Mattias Ekholm-esque acquisition on the blue line ahead of the trade deadline. Several names have been floated as targets that fit the mold, though according to one Oilers reporter, they don’t have what it takes to land the player who would be the perfect fit: Artem Zub.
In a recent article for The Athletic, Allan Mitchell dove into Edmonton’s deadline dilemma, and while he pointed out the Senators defenseman as tailor-made for what the Oilers need, he quickly shut it down, claiming Bowman doesn’t have the quality assets required to pry him out of Ottawa.
“Defence is tough to fill due to a lack of strong options. It’s easy to identify the perfect fit — it is Ottawa Senators defenceman Artem Zub, and has been for a couple of years — but there’s no deal coming for that level of quality. The Oilers’ decade-plus of mortgaging the future at each deadline, combined with spending to the cap, has negatively affected the current situation.”
The 30-year-old Zub is in year three of the four-year, $18.4 million extension he signed with the Senators back in 2022. He’s produced 19 points (four goals, 15 assists) while posting a +12 rating through 56 games played this season.
If Not Artem Zub, Then What Can the Oilers Do?
Mitchell makes it clear that the odds of Edmonton acquiring Zub are slim to none—not only because of their lack of assets to interest GM Steve Staios, but also due to the massive impact Zub has on the Senators as a key reason they’re one of the league’s top defensive teams.
Artem Zub Senators NHL trade talk
So, who could Bowman and company pivot to as a cheaper option to bolster the blue line?
Brandon Carlo and Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the Maple Leafs have both been linked to the Oilers, though neither would come cheap. Bottom-pairing bruisers Luke Schenn and Logan Stanley have also come up and would be far more realistic as rental options that fit within Edmonton’s spending range.
The problem is how much of a difference does a move like that actually make? It may be cheaper and easier to stomach, but if the Oilers truly want to improve defensively, it’s likely going to require a more impactful addition than a sixth defenseman.
Because of that, it could be worth paying a higher price to land a better-caliber player—but do the future assets Bowman has really interest teams around the league that possess those players? That’s the question that needs to be answered, and one we’ll find out by March 6.
Next: How Big Could the Oilers Swing Ahead of the Deadline?
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