Hockey Trade Rumours: Pittsburgh Penguins Star Defenseman Linked to Western Powerhouse
Photo credit: Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire
A recent report has linked the Edmonton Oilers to a possible upgrade in a trade with the Penguins after the team once again began the season with defensive issues.
After their thrilling run to the Stanley Cup Finals the previous season, the Edmonton Oilers were hoping to get off to a great start this year. That hasn't been the case thus far, as a number of the Oilers' top players have had difficulty performing up to par. Jim Matheson, a reporter for the Edmonton Journal, has discovered a possible way for the Oilers to improve their defense since the team was eliminated from the playoffs early in the season.
Jim Matheson talked about the Edmonton Oilers' options for acquiring a top defenseman on the trade market in a recent piece that covered a number of topics pertaining to the team. Given their weakness, the Edmonton Oilers would undoubtedly prefer a right-handed defenseman, but Jim Matheson currently feels that market is too small to investigate.
With so few right-shot D available at the trade deadline, we suspect the Oilers are casting a wider net, including the lefty defensive top 4 defenders, and maybe rejigging their pairs.
Rather, he recommended that the Oilers attempt to sign Marcus Pettersson, a defenseman for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Another team that is having major trouble is the Penguins, who may want to sell some players soon. Marcus Pettersson, whose contract is about to expire, would probably be the defenseman they would offload.
And, yes, Penguins UFA Marcus Pettersson, 28, would fit here. Contract talks on an extension for him have been put on hold. He's probably in the $5.025 million AAV range of Dallas's Esa Lindell on the open market next July.
Fans of the Edmonton Oilers should be familiar with Marcus Pettersson. He dropped the gloves with Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse just a couple of nights ago.
Marcus Pettersson is a good two-way defenseman who doesn't contribute much offensively on his own, but he could be a fantastic partner for Mattias Ekholm or Evan Bouchard, giving them more offensive opportunities.
The Penguins can also use this opportunity to offload players and restructure their team. The Edmonton Oilers would need to free up about $4 million in salary cap space in order to make this move. They wouldn't lose much production if they traded a player like Adam Henrique or Viktor Arvidsson to the Penguins in exchange. The Oilers would probably need to give up a top prospect or a few draft picks in order to make this work.
| POLL | ||
27 OCTOBRE | 51 ANSWERS Hockey Trade Rumours: Pittsburgh Penguins Star Defenseman Linked to Western Powerhouse Would this trade benefit both teams? | ||
| Yes | 33 | 64.7 % |
| No | 18 | 35.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
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