The Edmonton Oilers are in a bit of a rut. They are just 5-7-1 over their last 12 games, and haven’t picked up a regulation win since Jan. 27. They are still second in the Pacific Division thanks to a strong overall season, but fans are starting to get quite nervous by what they are seeing as of late.
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Their most recent stretch coming off the 4 Nations Face-Off break has particularly caused concern, as they’ve gone 0-3-0 while being outscored 17-7. They can’t get saves, can’t kill penalties, have a suspect blue line, and don’t have much scoring depth. It’s a scary realization given that this team was expected to compete for a Stanley Cup.
In order to keep their Cup aspirations alive, general manager Stan Bowman is going to need to get creative at the trade deadline. Doing so won’t be easy, as he doesn’t have a ton of room to work with. That said, he has a few players on his roster that he may be able to part ways with to clear up some room.
It may require some extra compensation to get teams to accept the contracts, but, as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures. Here are four players the Oilers could trade in order to open up some cap space.
Viktor Arvidsson
The Viktor Arvidsson experiment has been a disaster. The 31-year-old is giving it his all, but the results haven’t been there. Expected to come in and be roughly a 50-60 point guy, he’s instead managed just 19 through 43 outings. That is not the type of production the Oilers expected when they signed him to a two-year, $8 million deal last offseason.
The Oilers don’t have the ability to continue to sit around and hope Arvidsson can figure things out. This season has too much on the line, and for whatever reason, the pesky winger hasn’t been able to find his game. Working in the Oilers’ favour when it comes to trading him is that he has had plenty of success throughout his career, and his contract is by no means an anchor. He may be the most likely of the bunch to get traded.
Connor Brown
Connor Brown only makes $1 million, but in the salary cap world, every dollar counts. The 31-year-old has actually upped his scoring from a season ago, though it has still been far from elite. Through 58 games, he’s found the back of the net seven times while adding 15 helpers.
A big part of why Brown earned an extension in Edmonton was because of his outstanding work on the penalty kill during the playoffs. That part of his game has been lacking significantly in 2024-25, and has had a reason as to why the Oilers’ penalty kill sits at 74.1 percent this season. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) at season’s end, which makes him a moveable piece.
Adam Henrique
Oilers fans were overjoyed when they learned that Adam Henrique was re-signing this offseason. The 35-year-old took a discount to return to Edmonton. At the time, it seemed like a noble move that earned the respect of many fans. Now, many of those same fans are wishing he had chased the money.
Henrique has a lengthy track record of being a very solid secondary scorer. That hasn’t been the case at all in 2024-25, scoring just seven goals and 16 points in 56 games. He looks painfully slow, a true sign that father time has taken effect. He carries a $3 million cap hit through 2025-26, meaning moving him would free up some significant space for the Oilers. Based on his play, however, the Oilers would need to add some sort of incentive for a team to take on his deal.
Jeff Skinner
The reason Jeff Skinner comes in last on this list is because he has a no-movement clause. The 32-year-old has never played in the postseason, and may not be willing to accept a trade, knowing that he has a good opportunity to go on a playoff run in Edmonton.
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The reason Skinner may consider a move, though, is because of his extremely limited role in Edmonton. Most expected him to be a top-six option, but head coach Kris Knoblauch has had him most often in a bottom-six role. He’s also sat out numerous games as a healthy scratch. Should he stick with the Oilers, he will likely have to take another relatively cheap contract next offseason.
He may wind up deciding it’s better to accept a trade in hopes of putting up better stats to command some better money this coming free agency. That would be great news for the Oilers, as he too carries a $3 million cap hit.
Oilers a Poorly Constructed Team
For many years, the Oilers were criticized for not putting a well-balanced team around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. They had seemingly fixed that issue in 2023-24, but it’s become quite clear that their success a season ago was largely due to their dynamic duo. When one (currently McDavid) is struggling a bit, this team isn’t built well enough to win games. Bowman is going to need to try and come up with a way to fix that ahead of the deadline, and moving one of these four players may be part of that plan.
