Former NHL Enforcer Sends a Warning to The Edmonton Oilers

PUBLICATION

Austin Sabourin
January 29, 2023 (5:19 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

With the Oilers not playing again until after the All-Star break and their next game coming on Feb 7th the question of "Are the Oilers going to acquire a defenseman?" will surely be asked from now until then. A defenseman that is known to be on the Oilers radar is Joel Edmundson from the Montreal Canadians. Edmundson left a game on January 26th due to an injury and was listed as day-to-day.

In December, TSN hockey insider Pierre LeBrun reported that the Oilers showed some interest in multiple defensemen and mentioned that the Oilers were linked to the physical 6-foot-5 defenseman from the Canadians. Also, Sportsnet's Jason Bukala added on what LeBrun said, saying that the Oilers don't need another offensive defenseman and would prefer to go after someone who plays a more physical brand of hockey and who can play shutdown defense like Edmonson.

Bakula of Sportsnet created a mock trade which would be the Oilers sending a lottery protected first-round pick, Jesse Puljujarvi, and a 2024 fifth-round pick or an unprotected fifth-round pick in exchange for Edmundson, the Canadians' sixth-round pick, and $500,000 salary retained. With that being said this year's draft is set to be one of the deepest drafts we have seen in a while and a first-round pick would be a big price to pay for someone of Edmundson's caliber.

We will all be curious to see if the Oilers do something during their break and might instead go a more all-around defenseman like Chychrun. Or maybe they do go after Edmundson who would bring a physical play to the table and be useful come the playoffs. This is something to definitely keep an eye on as we creep up on the NHL trade deadline, but former Oilers enforcer Georges Laraque has warned they team they should try and avoid going for Edmundson.

Laraque is currently a Montreal-based media personality with ties to both teams. Laraque played 490 games for the Oilers and also played 61 games for the Canadians. With that being said Laraque appeared on the "Oilers Now" show and told the Oilers they shouldn't go after Edmundson due to his injuries and went on to say:

"Joel Edmundson no word of a lie, his back is done. He [has] a herniated problems in his back, he has an ice pack [on] his back all the time, and he's slowed down a lot. He's a big disappointment because, not that he doesn't want to, but physically, he can't just do it anymore. Often, he's seen getting treatment on his back and, you know, he just can't do it. So, the Oilers cannot go there.

-Georges Laraque

Putting Edmundson's injuries aside, there could be a benefit adding a player like him. As he isn't known for his offensive play, he averages 19:15 time on ice per contest and has 64 hits on the season. He is also one of the top leaders in the shot blocking category with 110 on the season. Edmundson has some playoff experience with 48 games to his name and also won a Stanley Cup back in 2019 with the St. Louis Blues. With that being said if the Oilers were to go after him, he wouldn't just be a rental as he is signed through the next season with a $3.5 million cap hit.