REPORT: Oilers May be Interested in at Least Three Different Defencemen
It's no new news that the Edmonton Oilers seek to improve their defence. Per David Pagnotta of thefourthperiod.com, they could have their eyes on Jakob Chychrun, John Klingberg, and now even Kevin Shattenkirk.
Any of these skilled blueliners can help the Oilers meager defensive numbers. They vary in age and salary, so there are some options for GM Pat Verbeek.
Chychrun has been the centerpoint of numerous rumors as he has been on the trading block for a while. He's just 24 years old and has a cap hit of $4.6 million for the next two seasons after this. Heading into a game against the Colorado Avalanche on December 27th, Chychrun has 13 points, with three goals in 16 games. He could really help the Oilers, but the price is steep.
Klingberg, who is 30, came to Anaheim as a rental and a high-priced one at that. His $7 million salary cap hit is fairly steep and the Edmonton club would need to trade off both Tyson Barrie ($4.5M) and disgruntled Jesse Puljujarvi ($3M) to make it work.
Now, with this latest option of Shattenkirk, he has a $3.9M cap hit, but is 33 years old, turning 34 next month. While he did tally 35 points last season for the Ducks, he is struggling with just nine assists in 31 games this campaign.
It would seem that if the Oilers want either Chychrun or Klingberg, they would need to create some cap space, especially when Evander Kane returns along with his $5.125M cap hit. The Oilers only have about $1.6M in cap space presently.
If they decide on Shattenkirk, they may be able to create enough space to add him to their lineup as a rental. The Edmonton team hopes to improve over the second half of the season to make a run at the Cup.
So, fans... if you were GM Ken Holland who would you go after?
| POLL | ||
Who should the Oilers pursue to improve the defence? | ||
| Shattenkirk works the best | 58 | 14.8 % |
| Chychrun has to be the one | 225 | 57.3 % |
| Klingberg will do for now | 44 | 11.2 % |
| We'll see | 66 | 16.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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