Earlier today on my daily live show, Oilersnation Everyday (streamed on our YouTube channel Monday through Friday at noon mountain time, must watch), Frank Seravalli stopped by to chat about what he’s been hearing. I listed the six defensemen he wrote that could be targets for the Toronto Maple Leafs and if they could possibly also be options for the Edmonton Oilers. The list included John Klingberg, Vladislav Gavrikov, Carson Soucy, Matt Roy, Dmitry Orlov and Nick Jensen. He was hesitant to link the Oilers to any of those defensemen and said adding a piece on the blueline might not be their highest priority. “Of the Oilers’ priorities, adding a defenseman at this exact time, while that may have previously been a mission or mandate for this team, is not. I think it starts in the middle. Ideally, they would like to add a very strong center. I think the second thing, when you look at the bottom six, find someone who is difficult to play against. Whether it’s old-school and gritty, not necessarily someone in that style, or someone who’s completely relentless in packs that make your team very difficult to play against.” Seravali said. He went on to add: “The Oilers in their bottom six have none of that and if they don’t score, what do you get from this group? That’s the big question. That’s what they focus on.” I think Holland and company would be wise to go out and get a player who can bring a little more intensity to this group. I think live players Devin Shore and Derek Ryan are good players in the bottom six, but they lack some intensity. I would love to have someone in one of those spots, probably the Shore spot, who skates really hard and can make life hell for the other team’s defensemen when it comes to puck recovery. A tough bottom-six projection leads to more turnovers, which leads to more zone time, which leads to more potential offensive zone starts for McDavid and Draisaitl. It’s hard to make a clear addition at this point in the season because so many teams still believe they have a shot at the playoffs. Also, the Oilers can’t go out and spend Evander Kane’s cap right now. Maybe at the deadline, they’ll have a better idea of what they can and can’t spend, but for now, they can basically only get players that make under $900k if they want to fit them when Kane is healthy. Not an ideal recipe for commerce. Bob Stauffer recently brought up Zack MacEwan, who the Flyers claimed off waivers last season. He is 26 years old, plays hard and only makes $950k. That’s the kind of player I’d like the Oilers to add. Klim Kostin has the potential to be that kind of player for them as well. I really liked what he brought to the table last night against the Kings and I think if he continues like this, he will be an important piece for this team for the rest of the season. His appearance could ease the need to make a deal for some cruelty. I also don’t think this front office can overlook the fact that this team needs an extra defenseman. Ryan Murray and Markus Nemailainen are an okay bandage solution right now, but this team needs an upgrade on the left side if they want to be legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. Also, the Oilers have been fortunate that their five established NHLers haven’t been injured yet. Their blue line has been healthy and if that changes, things could get even worse. Frank also said he is monitoring Jack Campbell’s situation and mentioned that if he doesn’t turn it around, maybe the Oilers should consider going out and looking for goaltending help. Personally, I think it’s too early to seriously worry about it. Frank had some other interesting nuggets, including some talking about a rule change where coaches could decide between a penalty kick or a powerplay in certain situations. Worth a watch! You can see the entire segment here: The show is also available as a podcast! You can get 30-45 minutes of Oilers talk with your favorite voices from around the Nation every day!
