NHL insider updates status of Oilers and Leafs trade talks

Pagnotta's comments coincide with those of Insider Elliotte Friedman, who'd also reported that other teams were speaking with Toronto about Nic Roy and Oilver Ekman-Larsson, two assets the team seems ready to part with.

Edmonton was first said to be targeting Toronto's Bobby McMann, whom of the three Leafs would have the greatest impact of an Oilers' club ready for a strong playoff push.

That has since been updated and the team is now lookin to fill cash-in on parley.

Roy addresses Edmonton's need for a 3C, while OEL fills the top-four, right-side defense position the team is lacking.

Filling those two roles allows coach Knoblauch more roster-flexibility, especially with Nuge, who could continue playing alongside McDavid on the top-line, where he's most effective.

Also, the coach can then slide Darnell Nurse onto the 3rd defense-pairing, where he could do more with less ice-time. Nurse has struggled on the 2nd-pairing this year, often criticized for being out of position.

The only real barrier for Edmonton is the two Leafs' salaries, which total $6.5M. Oilers are projected to have about $2.9M of cap space available at the trade-deadline - they'd be required to dump salaries to make it work.

Yet again, Mangiapane's $3.6M is proving a sticking-point in any future negotiations. His contract likely remains at the forefront of any deals that GM Bowman is entertaining at the moment.

If Stan Bowman is to make any kind of impact at the trade-deadline, his moves will need to involve salaries going the other way. This will likely cost the team an additional late-round draft pick or low-depth prospect.

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