Oilers seeking long term addition to blue line in trade, says top insider

The Oilers lost a few quality defenceman this offseason, and have now replaced them with a number of unproven candidates trying to battle for roster spots. However, Bob Stauffer is reporting that the Oilers will be targeting a top four right handed defenceman with term on their contract in trade.

Just a few weeks ago, NHL insider Frank Seravalli reported that the Oilers could be making an impact trade to shake up the roster before training camp begins. Training camp is just a few days away now, and perhaps Stauffer's updated report indicates there's more smoke on a potential trade right now. If not now, they'll still be in the market until the trade deadline.

Edmonton should have the cap space and assets to make an impact trade for a second pairing defenceman at the trade deadline this year. Analysts have suggested a few candidates including Rasmus Andersson and Artem Zub, but hearing Stauffer report that the Oilers are looking for someone with term makes it more interesting.

Considering that Mattias Ekholm is getting older and Darnell Nurse is playing below the value of his $9.5M contract, it'd be a smart move for the Oilers acquire a high-end defenceman that can be part of the future instead of a rental player. That opens up plenty of candidates for trade targets, potentially even young stars just breaking into the league.

If the Oilers scouting department can identify an undervalued player somewhere, they could hit a home run in a trade for a defender. The trade for Ty Emberson seems to be a great value deal, maybe the Oilers can pull off another similar trade with more impact. Throughout this entire season, the Oilers will be scouting defenceman and preparing to make a move when they can to bring in that long term piece.