This Friday at 9:00 p.m. CET is the end: NHL clubs can still exchange and acquire players and strengthen themselves for the play-offs up until the so-called “Trade Deadline”. There’s a lot going on right now. Leon Draisaitl’s Edmonton Oilers also got active on Tuesday.
New to the Oilers team: Mattias Ekholm comes from Nashville.
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Defense is the major weakness of the Oilers, whose offense is the best in the NHL with the best power play. They responded on Tuesday. First, the western Canadians gave the hapless Finnish striker Jesse Puljujärvi to the Carolina Hurricanes in order to get his three million euro salary free. They then brought in Swedish defenseman Mattias Ekholm from the Nashville Predators and a sixth-round draft pick in 2024. They lost their best attacking defenseman in Tyson Barrie, forward talent in Reid Schaefer, and their 2023 first-round draft pick and 2024 fourth-round pick.
The 32-year-old Ekholm is considered an excellent defender in the best sense of the word, actually plays on the left flank but can also switch to the right. Good for the Oilers: Ekholm’s contract runs for another three years following this season, costing them six million euros per season. That’s also why they had to take the pill and give up Barrie, who earns 4.5 million euros per season. Barrie’s position as power-play quarterback is likely to be taken over by young Evan Bouchard in Edmonton. Ekholm, in turn, announced that he wanted to make his debut in the prestige duel with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the Oilers on Thursday night (CET). But it is also true that not all defensive problems should have been solved with Ekholm. There are also problems in goal, where Jack Campbell, who was signed last summer, is an element of uncertainty and as a result there is too much responsibility on the young Stuart Skinner.
Edmonton is currently seventh in the Western Conference. They are only four points behind first place (Las Vegas), but also only five on Calgary, which would currently miss the play-offs. Will the Oilers make more trades through Friday? A right winger with a nose for goals and a center that is good at face-offs would do the team good.
Rangers bring in Blackhawks legend – quick transfer
There’s a lot going on outside of Edmonton, too. The teams from the Eastern Conference, who are upgrading powerfully, made the start recently. Currently the New York Rangers, who secured the services of Chicago legend Patrick Kane on the night. They had previously signed Vladimir Tarasenko from St. Louis.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Kings parted ways with longtime goaltender Jonathan Quick, who played a big part in winning the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014. Quick went to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who sent goalie Joonas Korpisalo and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to Los Angeles. The Oilers were also considered interested in the latter. But they chose Ekholm.
