The Edmonton Oilers are playing strong hockey at this point in the season and seem poised to make a return to the playoffs after just missing out on their first Stanley Cup since 1990 losing to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final last season.
Related: Oilers Pundit Speaks Truth About Evan Bouchard’s Lacklustre Defence
With the Oilers likely looking to bolster their roster before the 2025 Trade Deadline, there have been some rumours surrounding the team in the past week or so. In this edition of the Oilers’ News & Rumours column, we take a look at Brad Marchand and Mikko Rantanen being connected to the team, as well as how John Klingberg has played in his first couple of games.
Oilers Listed as Potential Fit for Brad Marchand
Boston Bruins Brad Marchand has commonly been one of the league’s players that fans love to hate, but fans would love him if he was on their team. He plays a gritty style of hockey while being able to produce offensively and maintain a sound defensive game making him one of the most consistent Bruins forwards on a nightly basis. In a recent article from The Athletic, it seems as though the Oilers could be a fit for him if the Bruins decide they’re willing to trade him.
Acquiring Marchand at the deadline would be something close to a perfect fit for the Oilers. If he does become available, Bowman and Edmonton should be aggressive in pursuing Marchand.
source – ‘Why the Oilers and Bruins make great trade partners ahead of 2025 deadline – Allan Mitchell – The Athletic – 01/29/25
Marchand’s $6,125,000 cap hit could be tough for the Oilers to fit in, but if the Bruins are willing to retain some money on his deal to make a trade work, it’s something they should consider doing to bring in a strong depth addition. The Oilers have around $5 million to spend at the trade deadline if they dip into their LTIR money, but Evander Kane may still try to return before the playoffs and if he does, they may end up with an issue if they also end up bringing in Marchand.
Oilers Linked to Mikko Rantanen
One of the most interesting connections for the Oilers, was when Andy Strickland mentioned that they could be in on superstar forward Mikko Rantanen if he becomes available in the upcoming offseason. It seems as though many pundits and analysts are on the same page in believing that they could pull it off, despite his rumoured asking price for a new contract sitting north of $12.5 million annually.
The Colorado Avalanche shockingly traded Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes recently as it seemed like a new contract couldn’t be agreed to. Rantanen hasn’t signed an extension with the Hurricanes as of now, so if he hits the open market after the 2024-25 season, almost every team in the NHL would be interested in signing him.
Bringing in Rantanen at all would be difficult considering the Oilers need to extend Evan Bouchard and have to save money to eventually extend Connor McDavid, but it’s interesting to think about how dangerous a team of McDavid, Rantanen, and Leon Draisaitl would be.
Klingberg Makes Oilers Debut
After signing him to a one-year contract for the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign, Klingberg made his debut for the Oilers on Friday (Jan. 30) against the Detroit Red Wings, finishing the night with no points and -1 in 16:39.
He also played against his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, on Saturday (Feb. 1) where he was held pointless again but had a slight increase in ice time with 20:46. Fans have been split down the middle as to how he looked, but it’s still early in his tenure with the team and it seems as though he has recovered well from the massive injury that sidelined him for over a year.
The Oilers play the St. Louis Blues tonight (Feb. 4) and Klingberg is expected to play alongside Darnell Nurse on the second-pairing, with Troy Stecher sitting out.
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