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Edmonton Oilers beat writer for The Athletic, Daniel Nugent-Bowman, recently gave his two cents on the possibly changes that are going to take place to the roster of the club he covers. Basically, who’s staying, who’s leaving, and who might be getting traded and the last category is where I’d like to comment on because it’s a list of two players that I’ve been saying the Oilers could use as trade bait to upgrade the club in other positions.
The Most Likely to be Traded
Caleb Jones
It sure seems like Jones could use a fresh start. He started the season on Larsson’s left side, taking the place of the injured Klefbom, but quickly fell out of favour with the coaching staff. Jones was scratched 23 times and didn’t appear in a playoff game. Any trade will probably have to wait until after the expansion draft — if Seattle doesn’t claim him first. The Oilers leaving him exposed is a distinct possibility.
It probably doesn’t help that he deleted the fact that he was a member of the Edmonton Oilers on his Twitter bio and unfollowed a plethora of his teammates in addition to following the Seattle Kraken. He’s since fixed this little bio snafu but I would say the message has been sent.
I know a lot of fans want to think that Jones is a 2nd pair defender that could line up beside Adam Larsson next year and not be a liability, but I’m not one of those players. My feeling is that he’s a 3rd pair defender and maybe that’s his ceiling, therefor, he’s expendable in my opinion. It doesn’t do Jones any favors that he started the regular season off on the wrong foot with the coaching staff and that Philip Broberg is about 30 AHL games away from replacing him either.
Like DNB says, IF the Kraken don’t take young Mr. Jones in the expansion draft or he’s not traded there, he’s got value around the league. There’s no doubt in my mind about that and who’s to say the Oilers couldn’t recoup some of those draft picks they’ve dealt away by using him as trade fodder?
Last thing on Caleb Jones, I’ll be shocked if he ever puts on an Edmonton Oilers jersey every again.
Big-Name Trade Possibilities
Ethan Bear
Bear had an up-and-down sophomore season after an excellent rookie campaign. He’s only 24 and is a player the organization seems determined to bet on. Trading him now doesn’t make a ton of sense. The Oilers would be selling low, and they’ll almost certainly need him next season — and need him to take the next step. What makes Bear so intriguing is he’s maybe the only roster player under contract even worth considering trading that has good value. By no means should the Oilers be actively looking to ship Bear out — nor do I think they are.
Now, here’s where I differ with DNB. I think the Oilers should be shopping Bear and seeing what the market is for the young right-shop defender. Just as with Jones, I’m not convinced Bear is as good as some in the fanbase pumping him up to be. I’ve seen him crumple under the pressure during the playoffs two years in a row now. Mind you, this year he was better.
I don’t think he’s a good enough skater to be a full-time top-pair defender and his offense from junior and the AHL hasn’t translated to the NHL.
Now, that’s not to say those two very specific skills won’t improve over time but we’re in win-now mode or getting very close to it in Edmonton and like Jones, he didn’t start the year off very well with his coaches. I can’t see that as being something one would want on his record with a coach who loves veterans and has a very special defender in Evan Bouchard breathing down his neck.
There’s a catch here though, we know that in spot appearances Bear can be used alongside Darnell Nurse on the top pair and if they were to trade him, they’d be sacrificing that sort of roster flexibility as well as forcing someone into a spot they might not be ready for and signing a first pair right-shot defender off of the UFA market would be extremely costly.
So what does the GM do? Well, if he can find a way to get Tyson Barrie back for a reasonable price, he could then move Bear for a LW or 3C or a goalie. It’s less of a longshot than some believe, but still, the chances aren’t great if Barrie is looking for a homerun deal.
They could go for a homerun themselves by signing Dougie Hamilton but that seems more of a longshot than Barrie, to be honest, and I’m not sure it’d be great salary cap allocation. Hamilton is elite though and pairing him up with Nurse would really be a scary tandem.
The most likely option is that they keep Bear for another year, try him with Nurse for an extended period of time and deal with what may come when it arrives. There’s nothing wrong going into 2021-22 with Bear, Larsson, and Bouchard on the right-side of the Oilers’ defense and tinkering as the season progresses. Hopefully, Ken Holland leaves enough cap space to make a trade in the event that an upgrade is required.
Wildcard option? Evan Bouchard becomes a top-pair defender before the season is out thus forcing Bear down the depth chart.
Stranger things have happened and big things are expected of Uncle Evan…
This is just my opinion. I’m not saying Jones and Bear aren’t good NHL players or that they will never be, right? Hell, I thought Darnell Nurse was never going to turn the corner and look what he did. So, you never know what a youthful defender can do with a little bit of time and trust.
What are your thoughts? How would you feel if the Oilers moved on from one or both of these young defenders in the offseason? Let us know in the comments section!
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