Possible package deal linked between Oilers and Predators
Photo credit: Brad Penner - Imagn Images
Not for the first time in recent weeks, the Oilers have been linked to Nashville as a potential trade partner, a team which analyst Tyler Yaremchuk believes is rebuilding and will likely liquidate some of its top assets.
In fact, most of Nashville's stars, with the exception of Captain Roman Josi, have been named as trade-bait. Juuse Saros and Philip Forsberg are two in particular the Oilers should consider acquiring.
Oilers' problems looming large in first-quarter of season
It looks to me like Edmonton's on-ice issues are not going away, and after 21 games, appear to be more systemic than only surface ones that can be fixed with x's and o's.
Two of the more pressing issues have been goaltending and secondary scoring. Making a deal for Saros and Forsberg solves both of these in large part.
Of course, there would have to be some creative negotiating about who goes the other way and making the salary cap work; but nobody said it would be easy.
Anything worth having rarely is.
A package deal also works for Nashville since it can then offload big contracts, while acquiring prospects and draft picks for its retool, or full-out rebuild.
Juuse Saros has proven to be one of the league's better netminder with a .914 career SV %. He is a clear upgrade over Skinner, while Forsberg's has consistently scored at almost a point-per-game over his 800 games.
Both of these players have a no-movement clause, however, meaning they would have to approve any trade to Edmonton.
Of course, Nashville's roster includes several useful players that can also be had, like Ryan O'Reilly, who's a beast in the post-season; Steven Stamkos' goal scoring; and Jonathan Marchessault and Michael Bunting, both of whom can score and play the feisty game the Oilers are missing this year.
There is much to consider. What is certain, however, is that Stan Bowman could easily lose the season if he doesn't act soon.
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