freelancer

Edmonton • Canada • 25 Years Old • Male

Trade Deadline Options: RW

Once again we find ourselves approaching trade deadline and once again the Oilers find themselves in the exciting position of wondering if they can acquire second or third round picks for.... wait.... buyers you say? Ahem, moving on.

Here are some options on the right wing the Oilers should consider as rental players.

Patrick Eaves - Eaves is having one of his most productive seasons in almost a decade. He is currently sitting on 16 goals; his most since the 05-06 season. He is similar to Maroon in that while not a flashy player himself he has fit in well on a line with Cody Eakin and Jamie Benn. His 9 PP goals would rank him #1 on the Oilers.

Radim Vrbata - Like Eaves, Vrbata's cap hit is only 1 million for this year. He has arguably been the Coyotes best even strength producer this season as he is first on the team in assists and tied for second in goals.

Patrick Sharp - Another player from Dallas. I could have gone 3/3 and added Hemsky to this list but I will refrain. Sharp is a bit of an anomaly. He is coming off a concussion which probably means he isn't any GM's first pick for a playoff push. Sharp has some fairly consistent playoff numbers over his career and if he can stay healthy could be a strong playoff contributor.

Thomas Vanek - 31 points in 34 games. While there is a certain irony to talking about Vanek coming to the Oilers he is probably the player on this list with the most upside and the least downside. Some of his playoff numbers could be cause for alarm but I feel he could be a perfect winger to play opposite of Lucic.

There are a few names to mull over. Other options like Iginla or even Jagr could be possibilities as well. Out of all of these names I would say Eaves and Vanek would be my two choices. An additional RW would allow Draisaitl to be used on a different line and spread out scoring. However there is also an argument for acquiring a 3rd line centre and keeping the McDavid-Draisaitl pair together. A conversation for another ramble.

Thanks for reading.