{"id":464079,"date":"2025-03-06T15:41:02","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T20:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=464079"},"modified":"2025-03-06T15:41:02","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T20:41:02","slug":"nhl-rumours-edmonton-oilers-seek-defensive-depth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/03\/06\/nhl-rumours-edmonton-oilers-seek-defensive-depth\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Rumours: Edmonton Oilers Seek Defensive Depth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s time for some more NHL rumours with the trade deadline fast approaching. We&#8217;ve seen a number of massive moves already made. However, more could be coming as general managers try to put the finishing touches on their rosters. Clubs are seeking Stanley Cup glory and the right move at the trade deadline could be crucial to accomplishing that.<\/p>\n<p>One team could be making moves at the deadline is the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/03\/06\/nhl-predictions-march-6-montreal-canadiens-vs-edmonton-oilers\/\" target=\"_self\">Edmonton Oilers<\/a>. This edition of NHL rumours deals with Oilers looking to shake up their defensive situation.<\/p>\n<p>All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.<\/p>\n<h2>NHL Rumours<\/h2>\n<h3>Edmonton Oilers Seeking Reinforcements on the Blueline<\/h3>\n<p><em>Rumour: In a recent edition of <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.tsn.ca\/nhl\/insider-trading-where-the-canadian-teams-stand-two-days-out-from-trade-deadline-1.2265925\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TSN&#8217;s Insider Trading<\/a>, Pierre LeBrun addressed what the Oilers might be prioritizing at the March 7 trade deadline. LeBrun said that Edmonton is looking add defensive depth over dealing with their goalie situation.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Analysis:<\/em> Oilers General Manager Stan Bowman has already <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/03\/04\/seven-year-veteran-oilers\/\" target=\"_self\">made a move<\/a> at the deadline in adding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/f\/fredetr01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-03-06_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trent Frederic<\/a> from the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/03\/06\/nhl-predictions-march-6th-boston-bruins-vs-carolina-hurricanes\/\" target=\"_self\">Boston Bruins<\/a>. However, Bowman <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/02\/14\/nhl-rumours-edmonton-oilers-trade-deadline-plans\/\" target=\"_self\">may not be done<\/a> trying to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/03\/03\/nhl-rumours-edmonton-oilers-could-move-forward\/\" target=\"_self\">address some areas<\/a> of concern on their roster.<\/p>\n<p>LeBrun mentions that the Oilers want to deal with some of their defensive issues. Only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/n\/nurseda01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-03-06_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Darnell Nurse<\/a> has seemingly been consistent on the back-end this season. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/bouchev01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-03-06_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evan Bouchard<\/a> has seen a dip in production from last year.<\/p>\n<p>Edmonton is playing some of its worst hockey of the season and some may think a move may be needed to shake things up. However, LeBrun added that Oilers management doesn&#8217;t want to make a deal they will regert.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s always trepidation about any move at the deadline. However, something may need to be done in order to get the Oilers back on track before the post-season.<\/p>\n<h4>What it Means<\/h4>\n<p>Edmonton has been spending plenty of time scouring the market for defencemen according to LeBrun. However, the Oilers don&#8217;t want to put too much emotion into make a trade. Bowman will make a trade, but it has to be one that makes sense.<\/p>\n<p>Some think the Oilers should address their situation in goal. The play of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/skinnst01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-03-06_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stuart Skinner<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/pickaca01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-03-06_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Calvin Pickard<\/a> has been inconsistent this season and some think Edmonton should work on a solution to fix what ails it in the crease. However, it seems that defence is more of a priority than goaltending at the deadline.<\/p>\n<p>Edmonton was only one game away from hoisting the Stanley Cup. There are loads of expectations on the team to finally end the drought of a Canadian team winning the NHL&#8217;s biggest prize. The Oilers had some stretches of great play this season. However, they&#8217;ve really struggled as of late.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ve seen times over the last couple of seasons where the Oilers can turn it on an reel off a massive winning streak. This team is talented, but it may need a move in order to jumpstart their post-season push. Edmonton is hoping to play it smart at the deadline, but the clock is ticking as the deadline draws nearer.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main photo by: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s time for some more NHL rumours with the trade deadline fast approaching. We&#8217;ve seen a number of massive moves already made. However, more could be coming as general managers try to put the finishing touches on their rosters. Clubs are seeking Stanley Cup glory and the right move at the trade deadline could be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2352,"featured_media":458917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23,4547,4548,4321],"tags":[5540,965,1854,1790],"class_list":["post-464079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oilers","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-rumours","tag-edmonton-oilers-rumours","tag-nhl-trade-deadline","tag-stan-bowman","tag-stuart-skinner"],"modified_by":"Dan Mount, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2352"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464079"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":464101,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464079\/revisions\/464101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/458917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}