Edmonton Oilers may shock the NHL at trade deadline

Keeping their entire season in mind, it seems obvious that the Edmonton Oilers would want to target a goaltender at the trade deadline. Most fans and analysts see the clear need for more stability in the Oilers' crease, and to have a reliable partner for Stuart Skinner. Instead, the Oilers may shock everyone with a surprising direction at the trade deadline.

According to Oilers insider Bob Stauffer, it seems most likely that the Oilers will target a top-six forward to add at the deadline. The Oilers have previously been connected to Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins, and now Stauffer linked the Flyers' Travis Konecny to Edmonton as well.


To make any trades, the Oilers would need to clear cap space themselves. If they could find a way out of Campbell's contract they would, but it's more likely that someone like Cody Ceci, Brett Kulak, or Warren Foegele would be involved in a trade to make the money work.


It's shocking that the Oilers may not go for the obvious fix of acquiring a goalie at the deadline, but there's a few reasons for that decision. Right now, there's more than a few contending teams looking for goaltending help, and not many teams willing to part with cheap and quality goaltenders - so the price for a trade could be astronomical. Instead, the Oilers seem like they'll pivot to add to an already lethal offence, and try to keep out scoring whatever defensive problems they have.

It may be a bold strategy to ignore an obvious need for goaltending in favour of a more significant add at forward, but the decision could seriously pay off, especially is Stuart Skinner continues his great run of success. Calvin Pickard has also proven to be a capable backup goaltender, and perhaps the Oilers and their front office feel comfortable with this tandem in the playoffs. For now, we'll just have to wait until the trade deadline to see how this plays out.