Hall Fan

"Oilers and More"

Canada • 2013 Years Old • Male

Oilers Buyers For the First Time in a Long Time

Rumor from a TSN correspondent covering the Oilers vs. Canadian game for radio consumption said that he heard the Oilers are looking to acquire a top 9 forward in a big way before the deadline.

Oilers have been hovering the middle of the top 8 in the Western Conference this season and there is a chance they could go either way. I really wouldn't put money on them making the playoffs or missing them at this point as the race is actually really close and the addition of a couple key players on a few teams could change everything (other than the money I already have on the Oilers making the playoffs that is).

For me this seems like big news, not surprising but interesting considering the team hasn't really done a lot to their top players (except through draft) in a while. I would say one player a year change and this year that was Lucic. The really interesting part of this for me is that if you ask anyone that follows the Oilers, what is the main thing the Oilers need for a playoff run. I think a HUGE majority would say a legitimate top pairing dman. Preferably one with some offensive ability and at this point I don't think we care what hand the guy shoots as long as he is good. Personally I would think the second thing and maybe the easiest to get would be a rental back up. Just someone in case of injury but that is easy to get and the market is full of them.

To say the Oilers are looking to add a top 9 forward to me means that they are looking to do this on top of the other two. There is really no point on making a playoff push with the defense they have. Unless this is not what they are doing. This could simply be a trade to make the team better. An example of this would be Drouin. Tampa isn't going to sign him and they can't protect him in the expansion even if they did. Lucic is good but he is not Drouin. There are many players looking for a top forward.

Could they part ways with Lucic to bring in a defenseman from a team like Minnesota (it wouldn't be the wild but I mean a team with their build) that can't protect key defencemen and has way too much money sunk into their blueline. Anahiem might be a team like this. Freeing room to bring in Drouin. Drouin sounds like a headache but so did Kassian and he is good for the price tag. I think Drouin really just needs a change of scenery and he is a different type of player. More of a playmaker that can create offense for the second line which is badly needed. Nuge and Eberle just need that spark as we have all seen what they can do when they are hot.

In a perfect world the Oilers would grab a Shattenkirk but that is wishful thinking. Still it is exciting to think that they are trying to grab someone. It's funny looking back. There was a time when I swore Lowe was the worst GM ever but we need a GM that is willing to add 3 or 4 players to this roster but that just doesn't seem possible anymore. I would be surprised if they got a second pairing defenseman and a forward better than Letestu.

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