Elliotte Friedman Confirms The Oilers Are in The Run For This Defensemen

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S. Harper
January 22, 2023 (11:49)

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The Edmonton Oilers have managed to climb back into a playoff spot and have been playing some killer hockey. Despite this, Oilers General Manager Ken Holland has been searching high and low to acquire another top defensemen ahead of the NHL trade deadline March 3rd.

One player they seem to have their eyes on for a while is Columbus Blue Jackets Vladislav Gavrikov. The Blue Jackets will be in sell-mode leading up to the National Hockey League's trade deadline and Gavrikov has been garnering serious interest revealed by Sportsnet's Hockey Insider Elliotte Friedman.

During the 32 Thoughts segment on Hockey Night in Canada, Sportsnet insiders Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek discussed Gavrikov's situation in Columbus and the possibility of where he may end up.

"I do think that Edmonton and Toronto are among the teams that have looked into Gavrikov. What's interesting here is that Columbus is allowing teams to speak to him." Friedman said.

Jeff Marek went on to say, "I do believe that Columbus' preference would have been to re-sign the talented defenceman. I don't think that's going to be able to happen. $2.8 million is the AAV. Just about any contending team can slide that into their payroll. I think Columbus is looking for a package along the lines of the David Savard deal, that was a first and a third, or a Ben Chiarot, that was a first +"

Gavrikov has played in 45 games this season scoring 3 goals, and 7 assists, and has just 26 minutes in penalties. He is a 6-foot-3 defensemen that never shies away from pounding away at someones face in defense of his teammates.