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The Edmonton Oilers, owners of four first overall picks since 2010, have lucked out and received the honor of being able to draft Connor McDavid. Obviously, this is excellent news for the Edmonton Oilers because it gives them two elite centers in Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and McDavid. If you’re trying to rebuild your team, Hopkins and McDavid are a fantastic way to build your team strong up the middle. However, it’s also excellent news because it gives the Oilers something that they haven’t had in quite some time: flexibility.
When they draft Connor McDavid, the Edmonton Oilers top six forwards could look something like this:
Taylor Hall – Hopkins – Jordan Eberle
Benoit Pouliot – McDavid – Nail Yakupov
That looks pretty darn good, especially once you realize that four of those six guys are locked up long term. Leon Draisaitl could move to left wing and the Edmonton Oilers could do far worse than having Teddy Purcell on their second line. They’ll have options, that’s for sure. However, the Oilers largest problem will still remain: their defense. Let’s take a look at their defensemen from this season.
Oscar Klefbom – Justin Schultz
Martin Marincin – David Musil
Andrew Ference – Keith Aulie
Brandon Davidson
Of those six defensemen, Klefbom, Schultz and Marincin are the only keepers. Darnell Nurse should pan out nicely. However, of those four guys, Nurse is the only one who looks to be a top pairing defenseman.
Now its true that prior to the draft lottery general manager Craig MacTavish publicly stated that he would not be moving one of his young forwards this summer, and planned to move forward with them. While that may have been reasonable at the time, the fact is that the results of the Draft Lottery should change the Edmonton Oilers plans. I propose that the Oilers should trade one of their top six forwards for a steady top pairing defenseman.
The Edmonton Oilers should definitely not trade Hopkins or McDavid. When you look at teams that have success, almost all of them are strong down the middle. Having two elite centers isn’t a problem, it’s a blessing. Draisaitl is a trade option, but I think he should be converted to wing. With his size, I think he’d do well at left wing. The Oilers could easily get a top pairing defenseman for either Hall or Eberle. Personally, I’d choose Hall since the Oilers have options at left wing and I think the Oilers could get more for Hall.
Now, who should the Edmonton Oilers try to trade for? After looking at teams that have depth on their blue line, I think that the Predators would be a nice trade partner for the Oilers. Maybe a Hall for Seth Jones trade would work? The Blues also have an embarrassment of riches on their blue line. Perhaps a Hall for Alex Pietrangelo swap could happen? The Washington Capitals would sure love to have Hall, but assuming John Carlson is off limits, I don’t think that’s a good fit for the Oilers. Perhaps Karl Alzner, Philipp Grubauer and a 2015 first rounder for Hall could work? Alzner has proven himself to be a strong shutdown defenseman, something that the Oilers lack, and his contract is reasonable. Grubauer is a very promising young goaltender. That would also give the Oilers three first round picks at the draft or they could use two of those first rounders to move up into the top five.
Thanks to winning the 2015 draft lottery and having a ton of cap space, the Edmonton Oilers have flexibility. It should be fun to see what they decide to do with it. Will they try to fix their blue line in free agency? Or will they decide to make a bold trade? What are they going to do about their goaltender situation? Whatever the Edmonton Oilers do, they should be fun to watch.
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