Oilers Interested in Top Four Defenceman on the Trade Block from Columbus Blue Jackets

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Liam McCormick
October 24, 2024 (4:53 PM)

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The Edmonton Oilers are in clear need of an established defenceman before entering this year's playoffs, and one prime candidate may have just landed on the trade block.

According to David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period, several NHL teams are calling the Columbus Blue Jackets about acquiring defenceman Ivan Provorov in a trade.

Provorov is a 27 year old left shot defenceman and a former 7th overall draft pick from the Philadelphia Flyers in 2015. He had serious potential to be a star player from his junior career and sophomore NHL season scoring 17 goals, but Provorov has more so developed into a 2-way defender. On poor Flyers and Blue Jackets teams for most of his career, he's often struggled to put up decent analytic metrics.

However, Provorov has the appeal of a player that's been relied on to play nearly 30 minutes a night for an extremely manageable strategy of $4.725M. The Fourth Period mentioned that Columbus may be reluctant to trade Provorov, so he may come at a premium price to any team wanting to acquire him. Of course, contract negotiations with Columbus could also complicate things.

«Provorov is going to be in high demand closer to (the) March 7th trade deadline. My sense, though, is that the Blue Jackets may not be ready at this point to deal him.»
- Pierre LeBrun, via The Fourth Period

Last season on the Blue Jackets, Provorov had a decent season, scoring 5 goals and 32 points and posting a -11 rating.

The Oilers primarily need a defenceman to play on the right side, but for his experience and salary cap cost, Provorov will likely become a prime candidate for the Oilers to target for their defence.