The Edmonton Oilers are looking to make it back to the Stanley Cup Final and have more success after coming up short to the Florida Panthers last season. One of the team’s biggest criticisms from fans was their defensive depth in the postseason, which was decent but could’ve been better. With that in mind, the team decided to trade Cody Ceci to the San Jose Sharks and improved defensively with the return of Ty Emberson in the deal. They also lost Philip Broberg to an offer sheet from the St. Louis Blues, depleting their depth even more. Fortunately, Emberson has played extremely well, while Darnell Nurse and Brett Kulak have had phenomenal defensive seasons. However, it seems they’re still interested in bolstering their blue line for a deep playoff run.
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The Oilers recently signed John Klingberg, who is returning from a major injury to a one-year deal that takes him through the remainder of the 2024-25 season. There is no official timeline for his return to play, but he will eventually step into their lineup and try to provide consistency at both ends of the ice. While fans are split down the middle on the opinion of the new signing, they could still look at making more additions before the 2025 Trade Deadline comes around if they’re not satisfied with the consistency of their defensive depth, and one name could make perfect sense.
The Hockey Writers’ Daniel Amoia recently discussed in an article that New Jersey Devils’ Simon Nemec feels he has not been getting the opportunity he believes he deserves in the NHL. In a recently translated interview with Slovak reporter Tomáš Prokop of Denník Šport, Prokop brought up the David Jiricek situation with the Columbus Blue Jackets before he was traded to the Minnesota Wild and how he was unhappy in the American Hockey League (AHL) before asking if Nemec felt the same way. Nemec replied, “It’s hard to say, it’s still too early to request a trade. If this situation continues, it will have to be addressed, but for now, this is how it stands.”
This has sparked trade conversations online, as fans begin to wonder if the Devils will consider moving Nemec for the right price. With big names like J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson also involved in trade rumours, it would make sense for them to dangle Nemec as trade bait to bring in a superstar-caliber player. However, if that isn’t the Devils’ plan and they’d rather trade Nemec for a larger trade package, the Oilers should inquire and consider bringing him in.
Nemec Could Get More Opportunities With Oilers
Nemec, who is 20 years old, is a right-shot defender from Liptovsky Mikulas, Slovakia. He was the second overall pick to the Devils in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft after a strong season with HK Nitra in Slovakia where he scored one goal and added 25 assists for 26 points through 39 games. He joined the AHL’s Utica Comets in the 2022-23 season and did well scoring 12 goals and adding 22 assists for 34 points through 65 games. He also represented Slovakia at the U20 World Junior Championship as the captain, scoring one goal and adding four assists for five points in five games.
The 2023-24 season saw Nemec get his first taste of NHL action, as he played 60 games with the Devils scoring three goals and adding 16 assists for 19 points. This season, he has only played nine games with the Devils notching one assist, but has played 25 games in the AHL scoring five goals and adding 13 assists for 18 points. His comments from his recent interview indicate he could be growing angry with the Devils and the way they’re handling his development, and a trade could come at some point.
The Oilers need to bolster the right side of their blue line, and Nemec seems like a good fit. His two-way game is solid, he provides offensive production, and he plays well enough defensively to earn a third-pairing role consistently. The asking price might be high for a player with such high potential, but they should be willing to pay the price for a player who could turn into a top-four defender in the right situation, especially considering how hard it is to find an elite right-handed defender in the NHL.
It would be a risky acquisition for sure, but it’s something they should consider. It would likely cost them something similar to what the Blue Jackets received in exchange for Jiricek, which was a first-round pick, a second-round pick, a third-round pick, a fourth-round pick, and a defender. Realistically, the Oilers have the future assets to make that deal work, they would just have to move their 2026 first-round pick and give up selecting in the first round until 2027, considering they traded their 2025 first-round selection. If Klingberg doesn’t work out as a top-four defender, the Oilers will almost surely look to continue adding to their blue line at the deadline, and Nemec should be near the top of their list.
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