Oilers have completely new approach to the trade deadline

The Edmonton Oilers currently sit six points back of the Minnesota Wild for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference and while the players keep saying they're focused on making the postseason, it seems like they will need some help to ensure a playoff spot and make a good run at it. Captain Connor McDavid mentioned on Tuesday that his team will need to play desperate in the coming weeks, however, will management be desperate as the trade deadline nears? 

According to TSN's Bob McKenzie, the Oilers might need to once again change their approach to the trade deadline, seeing that a new general manager has yet to take the reigns in Edmonton. The NHL insider believes the franchise should look to start a brighter future for the Oilers at the deadline, and not focus on the immediate needs of head coach Ken Hitchcock. 

“They obviously brought (Hithcock) in and they value him, in terms of coming in to try to stop the bleeding,” McKenzie explained on TSN Radio 1260 Edmonton. “But the bleeding hasn’t necessarily stopped. I think he’s viewed as a valuable resource, but you’ve also got to be careful.

“To your point, at some point here they’re going to bring in a new boss. The new boss may have different ideas than anybody else. So you’ve got to be careful what you do between now and the new boss comes in.

“That said, when you bring a new boss in - a new general manager in - if the first thing you do is handcuff him with salary cap concerns, that’s not so good.

“I think the best thing anybody could hope for here down the stretch is that the Oilers find a way to alleviate some of the cap crunch for next year. If there’s a way to move some contracts, then do so. But I think you’ve also got be really, really careful in terms of what assets you give up and how significant your moves are in terms of the cost of doing business.

“Because somewhere down the line here, whether it’s a month from now or three months from now, there’s going to be a new general manager. He doesn’t want to be saddled with a whole bunch of knee-jerk decisions between now and the trade deadline to satisfy some short-term situation.

“But I think the Oilers know that, from Bob Nicholson on down, that they’ve got be a little bit careful in terms of what they do, and judge each of those decisions accordingly.”

Oilers president Bob Nicholson was adamant last month that the team would not trade their first-round pick this season at the deadline and said they would not trade top prospects "unless we get some real good pieces back."

However, if Nicholson and the rest of the Oilers want to offer a good slate to their new GM, they will need to shed some salary to allow him to paint a bright future in Edmonton.