Two major trades taking place at once in Edmonton?!
What is GM Ken Holland up to?
HockeyFeed
The Oilers are looking at gearing up for the postseason, and Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger have shared reports that many trades are being talked about in Edmonton at the moment. During last night’s edition of Insider Trading on TSN, LeBrun explained that general manager Ken Holland’s top priority was set on adding a top-six forward to boost the second line with Leon Draisaitl. It sounds like Holland is targeting a few options across the league:
“We mentioned [ Pittsburgh Penguins forward] Jake Guentzel as a real splashy name last week, but who knows if he’s even available. The idea of a reunion with [ Seattle Kraken winger] Jordan Eberle has grown within the Oilers front office if the Kraken fall out of it and he’s a pending unrestricted free agent.
"[ Ottawa Senators forward] Vladimir Tarasenko changed agents for the fourth time in three years last week. He has a full no-trade clause, but I believe he would waive it for a contender like Edmonton. Tarasenko is on the Oilers’ radar.
"Then you have a couple of Detroit Red Wings like Daniel Sprong and David Perron if Detroit falls out of the playoff race, but they show no signs of doing that. Lots of moving targets there, but Edmonton is hoping to add up front.”
But that’s not all for the Oilers. LeBrun’s colleague Dreger also reports that Holland is also focusing on all bases and could make an additional move, possibly on the back end, as he explores defensemen available on the market.
“ I think the Oilers are definitely leaning towards adding a forward, but the experience of general manager Ken Holland and the management group of the Oilers are making sure they have all their bases covered.
"So, they’re having conversations about some of the top defensemen available like Sean Walker of the Philadelphia Flyers and, perhaps, Chris Tanev of the Calgary Flames . To make a deal like that it seems likely they’d have to include someone like Cody Ceci or Brett Kulak .
"Again, it’s more likely that they move on a forward, but this is Holland and the Oilers making sure that they stay in the market in every single position. If they have to pivot, or shift direction, they are educated enough to do that.”
Holland is going to be busy in the coming month, it sure sounds like! However, I guess fans in Edmonton will only believe the trades once they are materialized as we all know Holland can be a big talker, and end up never pulling the trigger.
Come on, Holland, let’s see if you can add up front and on the back end!
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