The Edmonton Oilers have had defensive depth issues for a while now, and it has become clear over the past few seasons that fans have no problem voicing their concerns on social media. While all signs point to the team finding success as the 2024-25 season rolls along, there is a possibility their defensive depth issues may come back to haunt them come playoff time. While upgrading Cody Ceci for Ty Emberson last offseason was a strong move that helped the blue line, the team didn’t take a swing for any big-name defenders during free agency.
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With the unfortunate slow start at both ends of the ice for Evan Bouchard, it seems as though the Oilers might need to bring someone in sooner rather than later. Considering the defensive side of the game has been their biggest weakness, they should aim for a defensive-minded defender, and New York Rangers’ Jacob Trouba, who may be available, does not fit the bill. In a recent article from fellow The Hockey Writers’ journalist Brett Slawson, he argued the Oilers should trade for Trouba and mentioned it could benefit both teams and make the Oilers a more intimidating team to play against. In this article, we are going to take the opposite approach.
Trouba’s Cap Hit Should Turn Oilers Away
Trouba has an $8 million cap hit that takes him through the 2025-26 season. With the Oilers already tight with their cap space, pulling off a trade for Trouba seems close to impossible, and he would also have to be open to accepting a trade to go to Edmonton, considering his trade protection in his contract. While the Rangers could be open to retaining some of his salary in hopes of making a deal happen, they would still have to take on close to $4 million in return. As mentioned by Slawson, Evander Kane could be an attractive asset and doing a swap between those two players could make some sense as it would bolster the Oilers’ defensive depth while it would bolster the Rangers’ offensive depth.
The main issue with this deal is that Trouba’s defensive game isn’t strong, and the Oilers would benefit from targeting more of a shutdown defender. Trouba’s physical play could be an attractive asset for plenty of teams looking to become tougher to play against, which the Oilers could benefit from, but it isn’t something they should value over playing more defensive hockey.
While Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard both haven’t played well between the pipes this season, it wouldn’t make sense to put someone who has been viewed as a defensive liability in front of them. Trouba’s analytics aren’t great defensively, and he hasn’t had much love from Rangers fans over the past few seasons considering that. His offensive game is alright, but the Oilers don’t need another offensive-minded defender.
Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba might be on the trade block as the Rangers look to shake things up. #NYR pic.twitter.com/0f2mo0Eivv
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) November 25, 2024
The Rangers’ fire sale comes as a bit of a surprise to some fans around the league considering they’ve been doing well enough to maintain a playoff spot, but the Oilers shouldn’t overpay for a guy like Trouba. They have some attractive assets who could be helpful to a playoff run like Chris Kreider or Kaapo Kakko, but there are better options around the league they should target instead. At the end of the day, it seems as though the Rangers will be moving on from Trouba at some point and while he still has some value as a depth offensive defender, the Oilers should avoid him.
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