This is huge information, as it reveals that the Oilers have massive plans to shake things up.
They ideally look to acquire two forwards and a defenceman while also making moves to get rid of expendable salaries.
In looking at the players they plan to acquire, there are so many options to speculate about. Friedman says that the Oilers want a «high priced» forwards, which sounds like one of Guentzel, Buchnevich or Henrique. The Oilers have been linked to all three of them for a long time and any would be a huge boost to the top six. They also want another smaller forward on the market, which could be a depth addition to the forward core that they most likely could acquire cheap.
The defenceman could be any of Walker, Carrier, Seeler or many other options. The Oilers only have a limited amount of picks to deal out, so it's more than likely this is a lesser acquisition with their pursuit of an expensive forward.
The Oilers also look to send out one of Foegele or Ceci, but would also be ecstatic to move on from the Campbell contract. I doubt it happens, but they may be able to work it in to a deal that can strongly benefit them.
There's also no word of a goalie as of now, so it seems like the Oilers will head into playoffs with Skinner and Pickard. This isn't anywhere near a bad tandem, but it's also not the assurance that most cup winners have in net.
Holland has huge decisions to make, and this deadline can really impact the trajectory of this core. Second round exit isn't good enough anymore and things have to change if there aren't results.
POLL | ||
MARS 3 | 264 ANSWERS Friedman breaks the news on Oilers' full deadline plan How happy are you with the deadline projections? | ||
These are exactly what we need | 139 | 52.7 % |
We need a second goalie for playoffs | 125 | 47.3 % |
List of polls |