Oilers Fans Livid After Scouts Identify Underwhelming Trade Target

Many feel that Savard would not be the player that would help the Oilers as the team continues to scour the league to look for an upgrade especially in their top 4 defenseman. The Oilers have managed to make their season work with a clear reduction along their blue line.

The 34-year-old Savard has played his last four seasons with the Canadiens he has seen a drop in his production as he has played 35 games, scoring one goal with nine assists for 10 points and as a + 1 while holding 18 minutes and 37 seconds of average ice time.

Many pundits and fans feel there are much better choices in terms of defensemen that may be available including Ivan Provorov of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Mike Matheson also of the Montreal Canadiens.

There have been several rumors circulating around the potential trade for Matheson as he would be a significant upgrade as he is a puck moving defenseman and possesses a good shot on the point.

The Oilers would need to move some money off the books to make a trade occur and would require the team in question to potentially hold retention on some of their salary to help the Oilers orchestrate the trade.

As it stands, the Oilers only have $1 million in deadline cap space which would not be enough to provide the upgrades that are needed. The next few months will be a very busy time for general manager Stan Bowman.

It's clear even though the Oilers are playing well and rising in the standings, upgrades are necessary to help solidify the playoff spot and to go on the long run to the Stanley Cup Finals again.