Edmonton Oilers Interested in Trade For Penguins Top Four Defenceman

Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal reported yesterday that contract talks have stalled between Marcus Pettersson and the Penguins, and he could be available for trade at the deadline. The Oilers primarily need a right shot defencemen, but with so little available for trade, Matheson says the Oilers may end up trading for a left shot.

Pettersson is a 28 year old Swedish left shot defenceman that's played 454 career NHL games with the Penguins and the Anaheim Ducks. He's in the final year of his contract with pays him just $4.025M, which could be a very manageable addition for the Oilers.

Since becoming a full time player back in the 2018-19 season, Pettersson has been a very effective two-way defenceman that's improved with time. His offensive game isn't much to write home about, but last season he had a career high of 4 goals and 30 points. More impressive was his +28 on ice rating on a Penguins that struggled and missed the playoffs. So far this year, Pettersson has 5 points in 10 games and has a great analytical profile.

If the Oilers management believes a left shot like Pettersson is the best fit at the deadline, it may force a player like Nurse or Kulak to play their offside. The Oilers have recently tried switching Nurse to the right side, but it didn't pan out well. Maybe they try again with Kulak in the near future.

The Oilers defence early this season has been a clear point of weakness, and if they make one high impact trade through the year, it needs to be a home run add for the blue line. If there aren't any perfect right shot defenceman available, the Oilers will be forced to look at the rest of the field - hopefully, whatever decision they finally make will pay off.