Oilers Have 2 More Moves To Make This Season

The Edmonton Oilers made a big splash this morning by acquiring Tristan Jarry and Samuel Poulin from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak, and a second-round pick in 2029, while also acquiring Spencer Stastney from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick, but a couple more things have to be done for the Oilers this season to truly be ready for another Stanley Cup run.

It has become evident by the success and Connor McDavid's comments about stable lines that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has to stay on the wing in the top-6, particularly on McDavid's line. So, that leaves the third line center role up for grabs, and Adam Henrique isn't the guy that's going to be who the Oilers need in that role. Other options at center are Noah Philp, who's probably not ready for that role, and players who can play center, but don't typically in Jack Roslovic, Trent Frederic, David Tomasek, and Mattias Janmark. Other than Roslovic, who played very well on the wing when healthy for the Oilers once he got up to speed, there are no real good options.

So that means, the Oilers will have to make another money-in, money-out trade, likely involving Janmark, Tomasek, or Kasperi Kapanen to be able to bring in a cheap, but effective third line center with salary retention, or even not. Who that may be, options will reveal themselves, but this isn't a trade Edmonton is likely to do until the trade deadline when they see what they have closer to the playoffs.

The other move, and this is also a big one, is getting rid of Calvin Pickard. Skinner is traded, so the band-aid is ripped off. Now, the much worse goalie in Pickard can be traded as well and the Oilers can follow the path of the Colorado Avalanche of last season, trading both goalies mid-season and being a complete powerhouse this year.

Pickard is in the final year of his deal at $1 million AAV, so he can even be waived with no cap impacting the Oilers. There likely won't be any takers for Pickard, so sending him to the AHL is the more likely scenario. The players may like him, but they also liked Skinner. They understand it's a business and Pickard has provided a 4.01 GAA and .851 SV%. Connor Ingram is in the AHL, but there are and will be options available around the league that the Oilers can afford, like potentially Alex Lyon or an NHL-ready AHL goalie like Nico Daws, Michael DiPietro, or Clay Stevenson.

Stan Bowman doesn't sit still and do nothing. He has GM'd the Chicago Blackhawks to multiple Stanley Cups with additions that made the team better. These are two doable upgrades that need to happen.