Edmonton Oilers Trade Talk: Oilers Scouts Watching Canadiens and Flyers

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Edmonton Sun

Archibald certainly in play with NHL trade deadline looming

Edmonton Oilers winger Josh Archibald is an unrestricted free agent this summer and still unvaccinated, so maybe a deal to a U.S. based team possibly makes sense to get his $1.5 million cap hit removed because of the Canadian border crossing/quarantine issues.
The Oilers want to see how his conditioning is after missing 50-plus games because of heart muscle issues, which have since cleared up… once he shakes the rust off, he will make their shaky penalty kill and fourth line better because of his hitting and skating ability..
The Oilers are in a dollar-in, dollar-out trade scenario and are looking for a veteran, big right-shot rental defenceman, presumably in the same fiscal range as Archibald. Perhaps Philadelphia’s Justin Braun at $1.8 million?

BLH’s Thoughts: Done. I would do that trade at the drop of a hat and considering that the Oilers have been scouting the Flyers all week, it seems that Ken Holland has his eyes on somebody on that club. Maybe Philly could flip Archie again to another American team to try and get a draft pick to aid in their upcoming rebuild, but Justin Braun would be a fantastic addition to the Oilers. Edmonton’s pro scouts have had their eyes on him since the Chiarelli days.

Obviously they want to see if Archibald can play though and I don’t think it should shock anyone if he gets a handful of games in before the deadline which is on the 21st of this month I believe. That’ll be a showcase for the Oilers and any other teams who might be interested in him.

Oilersnation

Should the Oilers be interested in Filip Zadina?

GM Steve Yzerman doesn’t tip his hand, but the sense league-wide is a change of scenery is in order for Zadina.
Zadina is a gifted shooter, but the knock on him is that he’s become more of a perimeter player – and only a select few players (Alex Ovechkin or Steven Stamkos) can consistently score in today’s NHL from the outside.
Zadina was also a healthy scratch on Jan. 4 and his ice time is down more than two and a half minutes from last season…
Zadina was the Red Wings’ first pick in 2018, No. 6 overall, which was Ken Holland’s final draft as the team’s general manager.
Between this season and last, Zadina has boasted very good underlying numbers but a very low shooting percentage, which generally indicates bad puck luck.

BLH’s Thoughts: I liked this young fella’s skills leading up to the draft, but he’s not been able to find his way at the NHL level to date. Detroit’s not been a great team in that time, mind you, but even so. Somebody with Zadina’s toolbox shouldn’t be spending time in the press box at this point.

It should be asked, who would he replace in Edmonton were the Oilers to bring him in and what would that acquisition cost look like? I feel like a Zadina move is something that happens in the summer anyhow because it’s not like he’s lighting up the score sheets.

Now, that said, young Canucks forward Nils Hoglander is apparently getting some attention from other GMs right now. Do you think a Zadina/Hoglander trade would make any sense for Vancouver and Detroit?

I would argue that the Oilers should spend its assets on defensive upgrades and if they are thinking about adding some more forwards, I would hope they’d be the sort of players who have a lot of post-season experience.

The Hockey Writers

According to Shawn Simpson of TSN, what the Senators can get in a trade for Anton Forsberg could depend on whether or not goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury decides to stay in Chicago. If Fleury isn’t dealt there will be a number of teams vying for Forsberg’s services and the asking price will go up based on the law of supply and demand.
Kraken GM Ron Francis will be a seller that this year’s trade deadline but during the offseason, he’s going to hit the UFA market and see if he can’t entice a couple of key players to sign in Seattle.
As per Marco D’Amico of Montreal Hockey Now, one of the names the Montreal Canadiens pursue this offseason (assuming he gets to market) is defenseman Kris Letang. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun recently reported the Canadiens would be aggressive in free agency and D’Amico listed Letang, among others as potential fits.
As per Mark Spector of Sportsnet, Oilers Director of Pro Scouting, Archie Henderson, was in Winnipeg Tuesday evening scouting the Canadiens and Jets game. It is believed there were a couple of players the Oilers were looking at with speculation Ben Chiarot might be among them.

BLH’s Thoughts: Edmonton’s defense, in theory, would be so much better if Chiarot and somebody like PHI’s Justin Braun were added. Also, in theory, the goaltending would benefit from those types of additions.