Oilers GM Ken Holland ready to cut ties with veteran player in trade

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Liam McCormick
February 15, 2024 (1:25 PM)

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The Edmonton Oilers clearly have a roster capable of winning the Stanley Cup this season, and General Manager Ken Holland is expected to go all-in with a trade deadline acquisition this year. With multiple moves believed to be coming, the Oilers will have to move some players off the roster to fit salary. According to Jason Gregor, the first Oiler to go this season could be Connor Brown.

Oilers GM Ken Holland signed Brown as the big addition to the team this offseason, and Brown's tenure has gone horribly wrong. Despite ice time in the top six, Brown has looked much slower than years past, and is completely unable to produce offensively. He's now fallen down the lineup to the fourth line, and only really contributes on the penalty kill. In 42 games this season, Brown hasn't scored a single goal, and has registered just 4 points.

If the Oilers want to bolster their fourth line or their bottom six in general, Brown is a prime candidate to upgrade upon at the deadline.

Brown is owed just $775K in salary this year, and even if the Oilers trade him this season to replace that cap hit, the team will still owe him a bonus of $3.225M that will be on the books next season.

As a team that's serious about winning the Stanley Cup this year, it's simply ridiculous to head into the playoffs with a player that's been such a non-factor this year as Connor Brown has been. Even though he's making league minimum, the Oilers still don't see his contract as worth it - and they undoubtedly view the $3.225M next season as a grave mistake.