Pierre LeBrun of the Athletic: The Edmonton Oilers are already without their second-, third-, and fifth-round picks in the 2021 NHL draft. Their fourth-round pick may be used to find a rental, bottom-six forward.
Detroit Red Wings Luke Glendening could be a fit. The Oilers may not be looking to add depth though.
“Sometimes at the trade deadline, you acquire depth, but because we have a 29-man roster (including taxi squad), I’m not making any moves between now and Monday for depth,’’ Holland told The Athletic on Friday.
“We’re happy with our depth. It’s been one of the reasons we have the record that we have. I think Dave Tippett has done a good job of moving players in and out, we’ve got players working hard on the taxi squad and staying ready. So I’m not looking to do anything for depth between now and Monday.’’
The Oilers have little cap space to work with and are dollar-in, dollar-out according to Holland. Kyle Turris was put on waivers and will give a little flexibility but not much. They need a bit of room for Slater Koekkoek if he’s ready to return before the end of the season.
The Oilers have some notable UFAs and they risk losing them for nothing.
“We’ve got some really good players here who are unrestricted free agents at the end of the year, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Adam Larsson, Tyson Barrie, certainly in my mind, we’re running the risk of keeping those players on our team because we’re here to win,’’ said Holland.
Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: Things are tight for the Edmonton Oilers and they don’t have a lot to work with.
“If you’re a buyer, it’s poker. You’re playing poker,” said Oilers general manager Ken Holland.
They don’t really want to give up any of their top prospects, they have limited cap space, and have the Canadian quarantine to deal with.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been out with a suspected head issue.
Anaheim Ducks Rickard Rakell has a year left at $3.8 million could fit nicely in their top-six but Holland doesn’t want to give up a first-round pick.
Could they get the St. Louis Blues to retain 50 percent of Mike Hoffman‘s $4 million cap hit and take a B-level prospect like Dmitry Samorukov or Raphael Lavoie?
The Oilers could also use an experienced second-pairing left-handed defenseman. Could they pry Jamie Oleksiak out of Dallas?
Pending UFA Scott Laughton could be a third-line option but he could be costly.
Taylor Hall would still be a $4 million cap hit even with the Buffalo Sabres retaining 50 percent.