Trade proposal links Edmonton Oilers to reunion with former first round draft pick star

According to The Sporting News, as long as the Oilers have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, they will be cup-contenders. Yet, it is one thing to contend for, and quite another to win a Stanley Cup.

Hockey insider David Pagnotta believes the Edmonton Oilers are looking for another top-6 forward in order to end a Stanley Cup dry-spell that dates back to the 1989-90 NHL season.

And who better for Edmonton to acquire than Seattle Kraken's RW Jordan Eberle, who is already familiar with the organization, and has shown that he can play effectively in a top-6 role.

Though 2024-25 was an off-year for Jordan Eberle (9G, 26PTS, 42GP), his stats show that he is quite capable of producing at a high level. In 2022-23, he recorded 20G and 63PTS in 82GP, and in 2023-24, 9G and 44PTS in 78GP, all with the Seattle Kraken.

The Oilers' need for depth scoring, in particular in the playoffs, has been widely documented, and is an area that Stan Bowman would address by trading for Eberle. In 76 career playoff games, Jordan Eberle posted 19G and 47PTS. While playing with the New York Islanders, he recorded 13G and 33PTS in 49 playoff games, played over three season, showing a consistency from which the Oilers would certainly benefit.

Jordan Eberle's talent can only bolster an already impressive top-6 forward group, and would be an effective addition on either Connor McDavid's or Leon Draisaitl's wing, a position head coach Knoblauch would do well to stabilize before the start of training camp, and the start of the season at the latest.

However, pulling off such a deal for Eberle would prove challenging, and would require some roster juggling to accomplish. The Oilers have only $250K remaining in cap space. Jordan's 2025-26 AAV will be $4.75M.

The gap between the two is considerable and would require the Oilers moving some forwards, and /or the Seattle Kraken absorbing a portion of Eberle's salary; given his off-year in production last season, Seattle may just consider that option to secure a trade with Edmonton, who have an excess of forward assets available for trade.