Yahoo Sports How Oilers' Recent Moves Affect Their Trade Deadline
Stan Bowman has been busy.
With Noah Philp's recall and John Klingberg's signing, he's addressed two key roster holes without delving into the trade market... for now.
The best-case scenario for the Oilers is that those two players grab onto full-time roster spots and don't let go, freeing Bowman up to go big-game hunting at the trade deadline. But Philp is a 26-year-old rookie and Klingberg is coming off major hip surgery, so neither player is anything close to a guarantee.
But they're here to stay, so the question is: how do they change the Oilers' trade deadline plans? Today we'll take a look at their three biggest areas of concern and see what needs to be done with Philp and Klingberg in the fold.
Bottom-Six Centre
Another season, another Oilers team in need of a depth centre. Adam Henrique was acquired at last year's deadline and re-signed in the offseason to be the third-line centre, to mixed results. While his scoring has ticked up recently, he's still probably best suited for the wing or the fourth line at this point.
But Philp has the fourth line covered, replacing the aging Derek Ryan. Philp will be given every chance to seize that role, and if he does all Bowman will have to do is decide whether he's comfortable with Henrique centering the third line.
If he's not, he will have to consider options like Yanni Gourde, Trent Frederic, and Scott Laughton to bolster the bottom six.
Top-Four Defenceman
This one all depends on what version of John Klingberg shows up in Edmonton. If he's anything approaching his late-2010s peak, then he'll slot in perfectly next to Darnell Nurse as a puck-mover and offensive weapon on the second pair and the Oilers don't have to acquire a defenceman in March.
More likely, he takes Troy Stecher's spot cycling between the second and third pairings or plays the third pair with Brett Kulak while Ty Emberson slides up to play with Nurse. In that case, he'd be a useful stopgap until more reinforcements come at the deadline in the form of a legit second-pair defenceman.
Finally, there's the chance that Klingberg just doesn't have it anymore. The Oilers clearly don't believe so, or else they wouldn't have signed him, but you never know until you see him play in an NHL game.
In the second and third cases, the Oilers would still be shopping for a top-four upgrade, a full-time partner for Darnell Nurse. The best candidate for that role right now is Pittsburgh's Marcus Pettersson, though he's currently injured and there's always a chance someone else shakes loose as the Eastern Conference sorts itself into contenders and pretenders.
In that likely case, Klingberg would become a valuable seventh defenceman, allowing the team to run an 11-7 lineup they can trust.
Top-Six Forward
This would be the real prize, and it all depends on Klingberg. If he can become a top-four defenceman, or even play well enough to lower the Oilers' sights on the blueline, then Bowman will be free to go after a big addition up front.
Secondary scoring is always in demand and always available at the deadline. This year, that takes the form of Brock Nelson, Taylor Hall, Gustav Nyquist, and Mikael Granlund. All four of those players would give the Oilers a significant boost in the top six, while also pushing other players down to help in the bottom six, killing two birds with one stone.
But the Oilers can't afford two big additions at the deadline, both in terms of cap space and assets. John Klingberg's play on the back end will help them decide whether to prioritize forwards or defence.
NY Post
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With all that in mind, it seems most likely that the Oilers make two acquisitions, one big and one small. Whether that's a top-four defenceman and bottom-six forward (Marcus Pettersson/Scott Laughton?) or a top-six forward and depth defenceman (Brock Nelson/Will Borgen?) remains to be seen.
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