Oilers Linked To Interesting Blue Jackets' Forward

The Edmonton Oilers' biggest need is to upgrade or change around some of their bottom-6 players. Adam Henrique and Trent Frederic are obvious ones, but those seem nearly impossible this season given their contracts with no-trade clauses or term.

Another option is Andrew Mangiapane, who is open to a trade and has another year left on his contract. The Oilers don't have much cap space, so a forward will have to be traded out if they want to go after another addition.

David Pagnotta suggested, "I think the Oilers would love to get their hands on a player like Boone Jenner." He also said, "The captain...has captivated the attention of...a lot of contending teams. If those...contract negotiations that are expected to occur next month...don't beat fruit, then they will listen."

The Columbus Blue Jackets have plenty of talent to choose from, but also a lot of cap space, so you'd think they don't have to be stingy, but there are many players, RFAs and UFAs, who will be needing new contracts. Jenner is just one of the UFAs, but as it feels like the Blue Jackets are going to be signing many of their top players to contract over the next year and a bit, the cap space is going to feel like it's dwindling quickly.

Notable players who will need new contracts before 2028 include Adam Fantilli, Kirill Marchenko, Dmitri Voronkov, Kent Johnson, Cole Sillinger, Charlie Coyle, Mason Marchment, Denton Mateychuk, Jet Greaves, and at least eight more players. There is a lot of work to be done, and when healthy and with young players coming into roles in the NHL, space is limited.

The Oilers would be wise to just look for a rental like Jenner who has a rough style of play, but can also score. He would suit the third line nicely, but would also be able to play on the fourth line. Adding a player like him would allow the Oilers to even shift Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to the third line center role if they really wanted to spread the scoring out.

Jenner is a solid player with six goals and 19 points in 28 games with 65 shots, 63 hits, and 28 blocked shots. He can do it all, but injuries might be a concern for a team like the Oilers using assets and space to acquire him. To top it off, his cap hit is similar ($3.75 million AAV) to that of Mangiapane's, so a little cap maneuvering would have to be done to make that change at forward.