NHL Insider Reports Oilers' Recent Activity in Busy Trade Market

It's a curious report to hear from Seravalli, after reports earlier this season that the Oilers were aggressively pursuing a defenceman in trade.

However, at the moment while plenty of other NHL teams are swinging trades with the holiday roster freeze looming, Seravalli seems to be saying no moves will come for Edmonton.

Applied to the broader context of the Oilers potential trade plans, this means that Stan Bowman may be holding off to make their big move until the last minute, at the trade deadline.

The Oilers may not have a clear picture of their salary cap situation until closer to this year's deadline, especially with Evander Kane potentially returning in March.

For most of this season, the especially with Evander Kane potentially returning in March daily and give them the most money to work with by the deadline, which only works if they do hold off until the deadline.

It may be a bit worrying for the Oilers to see all these trade targets flying off the block now with moves involving Will Borgen, Cam Fowler, Jacob Trouba, and more. Not because they're Oilers targets, but because scarcity later in the year could drive up trade prices for defenders at the deadline.

For now though, the top target named by Bob Stauffer remains available. Mike Matheson of the Montreal Canadiens seems to be the Oilers best fit at the moment.

Hopefully the Oilers scouting department and management identify the perfect fit for this team, because they'll likely only have the space for one impactful addition. If they get it right, it should push this team over the top, and give them what they need to win the Stanley Cup.