Nine Oilers who will not be traded this season.

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Ryan Hall
October 22, 2023 (8:41)

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Early in this NHL season, teams begin to evaluate whether their plans are working in terms of the players they have signed or who are part of their system.

These games also provide the head coach and their staff with the opportunity to assess the success of their systems. As the evaluation process continues, one thing is certain: there are players on teams who will not be traded due to their stature within the league, their significance to the team, and the contracts they have.

According to hockeywriters.com, nine players on the Oilers' roster will not be traded during the 2023-2024 season. Trade talks and speculations have arisen due to the poor start the Oilers have endured, going 1-3-0 in their first four games.

Troubles have been apparent in all areas of the Oilers' game and may necessitate some roster adjustments at some point during the season.

The players listed as untradeable are Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Connor Brown, Darnell Nurse, Mattias Ekholm, Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Stuart Skinner, and Dylan Holloway.

In the forward group, it's evident that these players form the core of the team's offence. McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, and Nuge have long-term deals, along with no-trade and no-movement clauses, preventing them from being moved.

They are also responsible for the bulk of the team's scoring and are indispensable. Dylan Holloway is an up-and-coming player, and the Oilers have high hopes that he will remain on their roster for years to come, becoming a top-six forward to help balance the offence.

As for the defensemen, Mattias Ekholm is a long-term solution and one of their best defensemen. Since acquiring him from Nashville at a significant cost, Ekholm is here to stay. Darnell Nurse, on the other hand, has a burdensome contract, and even if the Oilers were to retain 50% of his deal to facilitate a move, it would consume a significant portion of their cap space that they could use to acquire other defensemen to bolster their Stanley Cup aspirations.

In the goalie ranks, Stuart Skinner will remain an Oiler for the foreseeable future, with a very favourable deal he signed last season, totalling $2.6 million per year for the next three years. He has also been providing solid goaltending for the Oilers, offering an alternative to Campbell, who has yet to live up to his contract.

General manager Ken Holland faces a challenging task and hopes that Jay Woodcroft and his staff will find a way to yield better results from the talent they've been given."