Edmonton Oilers have a prime candidate to upgrade on at the deadline

There's been lots of speculation over what the Oilers are going to do at the deadline, as now it sounds like the market is cooling for a high price top 6 forward. This isn't the worst news for the Oilers, as they are on an astounding 16 game win streak, and they most likely don't want to mix up the formula too much if it isn't necessary.

This could make them buyers for depth pieces, just upgrading the smaller guys on the roster who haven't been a huge part of that win streak. Any team in the NHL can upgrade parts on their roster, and to think that the Oilers could get better after the deadline is almost absurd.


Looking at the stats, it's obvious who the weak links are. The second pairing of Nurse and Ceci are very lucky to have a 60% share of goals while they're on the ice, since they hold a very rough 47% expected share.


Ceci has a cap hit of 3.25M until the end of next year, and is someone who is underperforming relative to his cap hit. That could make him a prime candidate to be moved, as David Pagnotta points out on Hello Hockey:


Here he makes it not only obvious that Ceci could be moved on from, but that there would be a replacement for him in that second pairing RHD slot, as Desharnais would not be able to fill that position.

If the Oilers can get a fourth line cheap veteran winger to replace Connor Brown and can replace Ceci with less money or higher value on the second pairing, it's scary to think of the damage they can do with their undeniable depth.