Oilers quietly working on a deal few expected

The Edmonton Oilers may have already added defenseman Connor Murphy earlier this week, but don’t think for a second they’re finished.

According to Bob Stauffer, the Oilers are actively targeting a right-shot center to slot into the 3C role and they’re willing to move their 2027 first-round pick to get it done. The player in question is believed to be on an Eastern Conference team (not Toronto) and carries a cap hit in the $2.5 to $3.5 million range. That’s not small change.

Stauffer also speculated Edmonton could make as many as two more moves before Friday’s deadline, likely needing to ship a player out to create additional cap flexibility. The Oilers already had to demote Andrew Mangiapane and Alec Regula, place Mattias Janmark on LTIR, and get Chicago to retain half of Murphy’s $4.4 million AAV just to complete their last deal.

They’re tight against the cap, which means if another addition is coming, something significant has to give.

But while Stauffer believes the Oilers aren’t targeting a player in Toronto, speculation continues around Nicolas Roy… and so could Edmonton be fooling everyone and attempt a trade with the Maple Leafs?

TSN’s Darren Dreger reported the belief in Toronto is that Roy will be dealt before the deadline. The former Stanley Cup champion carries a $3 million cap hit through 2026-27 and brings strong defensive play and elite faceoff ability, exactly the type of bottom-six stabilizer contenders crave.

His colleague Pierre LeBrun also spoke about the possibility of going after Roy on last night’s Insider Trading, though the Oilers would need to separate themselves from Andrew Mangiapane and his contract.

“We know he cleared waivers a couple of days ago, and they spent a lot of Tuesday trying to find a landing spot on that extra year at $3.6 million. Once they’re able to do that, the top priority is to go and get a third-line centre who has physicality, some ruggedness, the type of player who really fits in come playoff time.

The name of Nicolas Roy has been out there, the Toronto Maple Leafs player that came over in the Mitch Marner deal.

The Oilers do covet the kind of attributes that Nick Roy has, though I’m told they have not yet made a trade offer to the Maple Leafs, but he represents the kind of player they’re looking for right now.”

Could Edmonton be the fit despite what Stauffer says?

With a first-round pick reportedly on the table and management clearly pushing chips in, the Oilers look poised to do more damage before the clock hits zero.