Oilers pursuing former Calgary Flames first round pick in trade

PUBLICATION

Ryan Hall
January 11, 2024 (6:39 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

Now with Christmas and New Year's behind us and 2024 well on its way, trade season and trade speculation have begun to filter across the Internet as pundits and fans began to take their views to the Internet on who will be on the move.

Many teams are looking for different positions to fill including centerman, goaltenders and defensemen. It's safe to say that the Edmonton Oilers will be in the mix for some of those positions as general manager Ken Holland begins to charge up his cell phone and begin the conversations to help the team now.

Darren Dreger of TSN, explains that former Flames centerman Sean Monahan will likely be dealt at the trade deadline by the Montreal Canadiens. Numerous teams are mentioned including the Oilers.

After being plagued with several major injuries during his career, Monahan has had a much better season as he has been healthy throughout the entire year. He has played 40 games, scored eleven goals with 13 assists for 24 points.

The former first round draft pick in 2013, has shown that he can help teams down the middle and adding needed depth as he has regained some of his scoring touch. Standing at six foot 2 and 202 lbs he certainly cannot be pushed around and would give the Oilers a better look on their third line.

As many general managers have discussed over the years, having depth down the middle helps teams go long in the playoffs. With his skill set, Monahan also possesses a great cap hit that would attract many general managers. In his final year of his deal, he holds a $1.985 million cap hit.

In my opinion, that would be a bargain for a third line centre who could also be used in different roles along the line up as needed. It wouldn't take much for Holland to find a way to make his money work and it's likely the Canadiens would not need to retain any salary as he holds such a small cap hit.

There are options out there, and Monahan is certainly one of them.