We do?

if it is Werenski and Jones, EDM considers.

I think oilers d is fine and has some good young guys coming up. Goaltending and bottom six is their main issues

No. Holland isn't giving up Draisaitl for another LHD when he spent the 2019 #8 overall pick on a LHD. If you look at the Oilers LHD depth chart you'll see that it's the area that needs the least attention.

Jones has just 1 year left on his deal. He doesn't have the kind of value that would be required if Draisaitl is heading the other way.

I think this is more you saying Columbus needs a 1C. You won't be getting this one.

kind of seems like nashville has a better option for the 1 LHD we need. Or if not that's fine 9 D on the roster.

["Edmonton Needs Defense"]

Not that badly.

7th worst in the league. Elvis could help too.

Edmonton is giving up 3.33 goals per game. 7th worst in the league. Plus you are basically using one goaltender.

Well they could be good trade bait if you don’t need them. How does Edmonton keep getting Top 10 picks?

Maybe so. But something has to break soon. I just think there needs to be a better balance and they might have to give up some offense for that.

Columbus has needed a 1C for 20 years. Edmonton, just IMO, is obvious top heavy offensively and needs to balance this out. If they do that with a better goalie combo I think they could crush it.

Sure, they need some D improvements, but due to timing just being bad this year on D development and injuries. Bouchard, Jones and Lagesson are all just breaking into the league while Klef is out. If Klef comes back next year with Bouch as the other top 4 pair with Nurse and Bear, the D should be just fine. Koski is not a starter, but he can platoon just fine, like last season. Oil will have the cap in the offseason to get another 3-5 mil dollar platoon goalie and be just fine IMO. If they do go for a starter with big salary and can't offload Koski and get a cheaper backup, resigning a cheaper winger than Nuge would be the cap casualty, not offloading a 100+ point centerman. Any team that gets rid of Draisaitl as their 2C automatically goes from top heavy to having a depleted second line. He scores as many points as two average top 6 forwards in this league.

Very fair. They will have to do something to balance the cap too. That might be a big mess for them with two guys taking up 25%. Edmonton doesn’t have a very deep balanced team like Tampa Bay or Boston. Just doesn’t seem like they have a lot to trade plus any cap room. The goalie spot is an issue.

But let’s also be honest all this great talent and only 2 playoffs appearances in the last 6 years. IMO something has to change. They should make the playoffs every year.

Yeah, they need some improvements. But change to improve for the Oilers does not mean get rid of the reigning MVP. It means trading away a 1st overall and some other pieces for a goalie.

When you say "all this great talent" really you mean Drai and McD. Getting rid of either of those guys means giving up on trying to win any time soon. Just not going to be a better team in the immediate after a trade where Drai leaves.

Drai's contract is a bargain now. McDavid's is where it should be. Their contracts aren't the issue - it's the 13.5ish mil taken up by Neal/Russell/Kassian that makes cap balance hard right now. Luckily the first of those bulky annoyance contracts comes off the books next season in KRussell. Many options to shed deadweight cap through buyouts/incentive trades before ever thinking Drai or McD's hits are at all why the team is having a hard time....

Don't forget the $4.533M in dead cap (buyouts/retention) this year that drops to $2.25M next year. Cap isn't an issue going forward.

In regards to the d, remember klefbom is hurt and broberg and Bouchard will be slotted into roles in the next few years.