The Edmonton Oilers will enter the 2024-25 NHL season with a obvious gap on the precise facet of their protection. The workforce will probably need to deploy considered one of Josh Brown, Ty Emberson, or Troy Stecher on the second pairing, but it surely strikes as a serious want if the Oilers plan on competing for a Stanley Cup once more this season.
Radio commentator for the team, Bob Stauffer, indicated Sunday {that a} right-handed shot defenseman with time period will probably be on Edmonton’s radar this season however is pretty obscure about when it’ll finally make that addition. Edmonton nonetheless has a number of choices left on the free-agent market, reminiscent of Kevin Shattenkirk or Justin Schultz. Nonetheless, Stauffer’s report indicating that the Oilers are in search of time period hooked up probably alienates any present free-agent candidates.
Not solely will it push Edmonton away from any free-agent choices, however the report from Stauffer signifies the Oilers will peruse the commerce marketplace for a second pairing right-handed shot defenseman. Their choices are restricted at this stage of the NHL calendar, however there are nonetheless a number of choices value exploring.
Arguably the most suitable choice for Edmonton resides about 200 miles south in Calgary. Rasmus Andersson of the Calgary Flames has two years and $9.1M remaining on his contract and represents a perfect candidate for the Oilers to plug into their prime 4. He’s scored 138 factors in 239 video games for the Flames over the past three years whereas averaging 23:31 of ice time per evening. Andersson will be trusted in all conditions and is a accountable participant within the defensive zone.
Regardless of the match and the separate trajectories of each groups — the Oilers and Flames don’t like one another, to place it bluntly. The 2 organizations have solely related on three trades of their histories, with the latest coming in 2019 being a swap of James Neal and Milan Lucic. Common supervisor of the Flames, Craig Conroy, has proven a willingness to commerce inside the Pacific Division, however aiding his group’s greatest rival could also be too bitter of a tablet to swallow.
The Washington Capitals are another choice, though they’d not be thought-about a rebuilding group. The workforce introduced in Matt Roy this summer time on a six-year, $34.50M contract, which can make it extra snug transferring a defenseman reminiscent of Trevor van Riemsdyk. He wouldn’t be as a lot of a needle-mover as Andersson, however he can be a extra dependable choice than their inner candidates.
The youthful van Riemsdyk brother not too long ago performed in his tenth NHL marketing campaign final yr and has excelled in blocking pictures. He’s averaged 126 blocked pictures a season with the Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes, and Capitals, and the Oilers may use extra of that after ending thirtieth within the class final season. Including van Riemsdyk to its defensive core would give Edmonton a grace interval in including a real top-four defenseman, because it may then transfer van Riemsdyk to the bottom-pairing subsequent to Darnell Nurse or Brett Kulak.
Edmonton will probably be hard-pressed to search out different choices on the commerce market with most groups having already finalized their roster heading into the 2024-25 NHL season. The Oilers are distinctive, as their offense may simply carry them to the commerce deadline, however the precise facet of their protection should be addressed earlier than the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.
