According to Elliotte Friedman on the most recent edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, a trade is on the table. The Edmonton Oilers may make a move to address the offer sheets from St. Louis on Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway, and Cody Ceci is the most likely player to be dealt.
Friedman noted that there's legitimate interest from teams to trade for Cody Ceci. Being a 30 year old veteran right shot defenceman has value in itself, and being in the final year of a contract that pays him only $3.25M is attractive to many teams. The San Jose Sharks have been identified as a team that may have interest in Ceci, by insider Sheng Peng.
Due to the Oilers perilous cap situation, the Sharks could get a veteran NHL defender for a rebuilding season for nearly nothing in trade. It's unfortunate the Oilers may not get much in return for Ceci, but taking the cap space and potentially keeping Philip Broberg or Dylan Holloway will be worth it. The Oilers have plenty of candidates internally to replace Ceci, including Troy Stecher, Josh Brown, and Connor Carrick.
The Oilers have seven days to take action and either match the offer sheets from the St. Louis Blues, or let the players walk. However they can free up their salary situation in the next few days will dictate their actions. Hopefully, the Oilers can do their best to retain their best talent for now and the future.
Source: OilersAccess on X
Friedman reports on 32 Thoughts that Ceci is a trade candidate
POLL | ||
AOUT 14 | 148 ANSWERS Pacific Division Team linked to Oilers' Cody Ceci in trade Do you think the Oilers will trade a player to free up space to match an offer sheet? | ||
Yes | 112 | 75.7 % |
No | 33 | 22.3 % |
See Results | 3 | 2 % |
List of polls |