Are the Edmonton Oilers working on a blockbuster trade?

I’m starting to wonder.

This in from NHL insider Brian Lawton: “I think Murphy is the calm before the storm for Edmonton Oilers.”

Lawton was, of course, referencing Edmonton GM Stan Bowman picking up Chicago d-man Connor Murphy for a second round pick on Monday.

And this in from insider account Klima’s Lid @thackattack41 on Twitter-X: “Bowman gets Murphy without giving up the ’26 2nd OR the ’27 1st. I doubt a 3C would cost both those picks. As Stauff said, 2 more trades coming…Stan’s cooking & Murphy was just the appetizer. Buckle up Oiler fans!”

My take

1. I’m not one to get worked up about most trade rumours but my spider senses are tingling mainly because Lawton is one of the most careful, measured, level-headed and reasonable NHL insiders around, both a former player, agent, and GM. He’s someone with a long history inside the game, someone with excellent contacts, and someone who does not say anything without thinking hard about it.

As for Klima’s Lid, for several months now this anonymous account has predicted Oilers doings with eerie accuracy, which makes me think they’re getting the inside scoop from someone inside the Oilers organization.

2. Of course, nothing may pan out here. But combine what these two just said with what Bob Stauffer said on Oilers Now today: “I do not believe the Oilers are done. The NHL trade deadline is Friday. I could possibly see as many as two more trades. OK? It could be zero. But it could be two. You may see a guy get moved out, which creates the flexibility to bring in something else. Time will tell in that regard.”

Later in the show Stauffer said to guest Frank Seravalli of Frankly Hockey: “I think we both think it’s inevitable that Mangiapane gets moved at some point. Is that fair?”

“He’s been in my trade targets board in the Top 10 for a long time,” Servalli said.

It should be noted Stauffer did not hint at any kind of blockbuster trade. Instead he’s talked more about trading for a third line centre.

Would trading for centre Nic Roy of Toronto be considered a “storm,” a bigger deal than bringing in Murphy? It’d be a good move, and it could be what Lawton, Stauffer and Klima’s Lid are all referencing, some kind of deal for a solid third-line centre.

I would not consider such a trade to be a bigger deal than the Murphy deal, but a similar kind of trade in impact on the Oilers.

Nonetheless, add up all this smoke together into one big cloud of speculation, and I suspect that even if Bowman does not pull off a major trade he’s now attempting to swing for the fences.

And why not?

Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Mattias Ekholm won’t be in their hockey playing primes forever.

3. The fact is that when it comes to making a blockbuster deal, Edmonton is limited. Even if it moves Mangiapane’s contract, that’s just a $3.6 million hole. I suppose if Edmonton could entice an opposing team to eat half of an incoming player’s contract, Edmonton could then bring in a $7.2 million player. That’s inching closer to blockbuster country.

4. What price would Edmonton have to pay to make such a deal? As Klima’s Lid points out the Oilers have their second round 2026 pick and their first round 2027 pick. They also have a number of solid young pros in Bakersfield that can be used as trading chips. Finally, there are also veteran Oilers players who just might be persuaded to drop their No Movement Clauses, which would give Edmonton even more cap flexibility, but that has the feel of the longest of shots.