It sounds like Edmonton Oilers GM Stan Bowman is working the phones hard ahead of Friday’s trade deadline.
The Oilers have already made their first splash of the deadline, trading for defenceman Connor Murphy in a deal with the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday. Now, the focus has reportedly shifted toward adding a forward, particularly a third-line centre.
Rumours heading into the week suggested that Edmonton would attempt to add both a defenceman and a forward before the deadline. With Murphy satisfying the need on the blueline, it makes sense that Bowman would look to fill out the forward group next.
But who could the Oilers be targeting? TSN’s Pierre LeBrun seems to have some insider knowledge on Edmonton’s pursuit of a 3C and recently laid out a few names that Bowman could be targeting.
“The number one priority is to go get a third-line centre who has some physicality and ruggedness,” LeBrun said on Tuesday’s edition of Insider Trading. “The name of Nic Roy has been out there… the Oilers do covet the kind of attributes that Nic Roy has, although I’m told they have not yet made a trade offer to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“If not him, there’s a bigger name out there, Brayden Schenn… The Blues would have to retain salary for that to ever make sense for Edmonton.”
Nic Roy has been a name that’s been getting a bit louder in recent days. The 29-year-old right-shot centre has five goals and 20 points in 58 games this season and carries a $3-million cap hit through next season. He isn’t the most productive forward, but it sounds like the Oilers are looking for a grittier presence in their bottom-six.
If Edmonton can find a way to dump Andrew Mangiapane’s salary, they could easily fit Roy in his place.
The mention of Brayden Schenn is a new one in terms of a connection to Edmonton. The St. Louis Blues captain was heavily involved in trade rumours last season, but managed to stay put. With St. Louis floundering near the bottom of the standings, it may be time for the two sides to finally part ways.
There are some red flags when it comes to acquiring Schenn, who is set to turn 35 this summer and carries a hefty cap hit of $6.5 million through the next two seasons. On top of that, his production has fallen off a cliff this season with 13 goals and 25 points through 60 games. Although he did have a 50-point campaign last season.
Dumping Mangiapane would not be enough to clear up room, meaning St. Louis would need to retain some salary as well. This would almost certainly bump up the acquisition cost for the Oilers.
Both players present some amount of risk, but the Oilers seem deadset on bolstering their bottom-six ahead of the deadline. It won’t be long now until we find out what Bowman has up his sleeve.