Oilers potentially targeting top defenceman from rival team in trade
Flames defender Rasmus Andersson is looking like a top trade target for the Edmonton Oilers as the summer comes to a close.
With the departures of both Ceci and Broberg, the Oilers now are in need of a true second line right defender. The Oilers' defense core got significantly worse because of these two moves and it opens up the possibility for another move to grab a premier defenseman. One name who continues to pop up is Rasmus Andersson, which might actually be too good to be true.
Andersson would be perfect for the Oilers, as he's a cheap young defender that would fit their glaring hole on the right side. He only makes $4.5M for this and the next year, making him easy for the Oilers to fit into their cap crunch.
Andersson is a reliable two-way defender, good for 39 points in 78 games on the Flames last year. He would be great for the Oilers playing with Nurse on the second pairing, although he may not be able to fully make up for Nurse's defensive lapses.
The only issue would be prying him away from the Flames, and from other teams bidding on the hot asset. It's no surprise that the Oilers have a lack of assets to trade, but may continue to go all in and trade the house for any player with impact. The common consensus is that the trade will require a first and another high pick, with a player thrown in to make the money work without retention.
This package may not even be enough for the Flames, as the Oilers are literally the last place the Flames would want Andersson going. Depending on what his market looks like elsewhere the Oilers may need to add more, but chances are very low that they'd get away with less. Andersson is someone Oilers fans have been trying to acquire for a while now, and the time has never seemed more necessary to go all in for the Flames defenceman.
| POLL | ||
Would you go for Andersson? | ||
| Yes, he fills a necessary hole | 381 | 73.1 % |
| No, he costs too much | 140 | 26.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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