Could the Edmonton Oilers be sitting on a blockbuster in the days leading up to the trade deadline?

GM Stan Bowman has already gotten one trade out of the way, acquiring defenceman Connor Murphy from the Chicago Blackhawks, and is reportedly interested in bringing in a third-line centre as well. Though there have been some whispers that Edmonton may be looking to land a big fish before the deadline passes.

No concrete info on the Oilers’ blockbuster ambitions has been reported on by any of the NHL’s most trusted insiders, but Elliotte Friedman did have an interesting thing to say on Tuesday’s edition of OilersNow with Bob Stauffer.

“This time of year, it’s crazy out there,” Friedman said. “Someone said to me, ‘There’s people talking out there like the Oilers could make a bigger deal,’ and I’m trying to think, okay, it’s not impossible.

“My confirmation bias right me tells me that [the Oilers] are gonna move Mangiapane and get a centre… and then when I hear people start talking about can the Oilers do something bigger, I’m like what on earth could that be?”

By the sounds of it, Friedman isn’t hearing about a potential Oilers blockbuster from a direct source, but the fact that the rumour is making the rounds in his circle could be a tell. It didn’t seem likely that Edmonton had a major move in them this year, but never say never.

It’s easy to forget that Bowman had sniffed around Mikko Rantanen before last year’s deadline, and that info came out right around the deadline.

So, is there a realistic chance the Oilers could swing a blockbuster deal to help save the season? Let’s take a deeper dive to see what’s possible…

Do the Oilers have the cap space?

Cap space will be one of the most important things to keep in mind in any major trade the Oilers are involved in.

As it stands, things are very tight with just a measly $200,000 in cap space after trading for Murphy. That will not be nearly enough to even add a player making the NHL minimum. But that isn’t expected to stay the same for long.

The Oilers are expected to offload Andrew Mangiapane’s $3.6-million cap hit at some point in the near future. Once they accomplish that, along with Mattias Janmark going on LTIR, the team will have around $2.65-million cap space to play around.

That helps, but it still doesn’t open up enough space to make a move for a really impactful player. Assuming 50 per cent salary retention, the max cap hit the Oilers can fit with this much space is $5.3 million.

The only way to up that number is to shed even more salary off the current roster, but who could they do that with?

What assets could the Oilers trade?

To make a blockbuster deal, you must give to receive.

There are a few obvious assets that the Oilers could dangle in a big-name trade, but they are primarily futures. Edmonton still possess both its 2026 second and third round draft picks as well as its 2027 first-round pick. Those will likely be the most valuable draft picks at their disposal.

They also have a few intriguing young players that could entice a team, like Isaac Howard, Matt Savoie, Josh Samanski, and Quinn Hutson. Those players, along with the draft picks, could form a solid package that has the potential to constitute a pretty good return.

The only issue is that moving all those assets still won’t do much to open up additional cap space. To do that, Edmonton would have to take a look at moving some other roster players.

Adam Henrique and his $3-million cap hit could be a potential candidate, but his no-movement clause (NMC) would make things difficult. Trent Frederic’s $3.85-million cap hit is another option, but the term and NMC are hurdles.

If we wanna talk big-time cap relief, the only plausible option is Darnell Nurse and his monstrous $9.25-million cap hit. His name has started to be whispered in trade speculation, but, once again, his NMC makes things difficult.

Lower cap hit candidates to move could include Kasperi Kapanen ($1.3 million), Ty Emberson ($1.3 million), or Spencer Statsney ($800,000).

Potential blockbuster targets?

The Oilers will be limited in their scope of blockbuster trade targets because of their cap situation, but there are still some potential targets.

If we are under the assumption that the Edmonton Oilers can only move out Mangiapane’s deal to clear up cap space, the Oilers can target any player with a cap hit of $5.3 million or lower, as long as they get 50 per cent retention.

Impact players who may be available in and around that price-point include:

Blake Coleman (LW, Calgary Flames) – $4.9 million
Vincent Trochek (C, New York Rangers) – $5.6 million
Rasmus Ristolainen (D, Philadelphia Flyers) – $5.1 million
Ryan O’Reilly (C, Nashville Predators) – $4.5 million
Jonathan Marchessault (RW, Nashville Predators) – $5.5 million
Jake DeBrusk (LW, Vancouver Canucks) – $5.5 million
Boone Jenner (C, Columbus Blue Jackets) – $3.75 million

If Edmonton can swing a way to get a contract like Henrique or Frederic off the books as well, that could add names like Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Nazem Kadri, Dougie Hamilton, MacKenzie Weegar, and Brock Boeser to the list of potential targets.

With the deadline so close, it feels unlikely that this type of move is in the cards for the Oilers, but things change quickly this time of the year. Only time will tell if the Oilers can pull the trigger on a bigger deal.