The Edmonton Oilers are expected to be buyers at the 2024 Trade Deadline, but that will come with having to part with some players as well. Since their atrocious start to their 2023-24 campaign, the Oilers have bounced back in a big way and find themselves near the top of the Pacific Division standings. Their record-setting 16-game winning streak helped catapult them near the top, so hopefully, they prove they’re willing to go all-in at the deadline and make some moves to help win their first Stanley Cup since 1990. With plenty of names on the board, the Oilers have plenty of options heading into the March 8 deadline.
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With plenty of names coming up in trade bait lists around the NHL, the Oilers have a few players who may be of interest to some rebuilding teams who have rental pieces the Oilers may try to acquire. Warren Foegele, Philip Broberg, Brett Kulak, and Cody Ceci’s names have all come up at different times and could be used in a trade package for an improvement to fill a need heading into the postseason. However, here we will take a look at which Oilers players are considered untouchable and won’t be traded this season.
The Core Four
The Oilers will surely consider moving almost anyone if it comes to bringing in a star player, but their core four of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, and Darnell Nurse will not be going anywhere. They have helped lead the Oilers to success over the past several seasons and will continue to be huge parts of this organization moving forward. The Oilers may be forced to revisit if upcoming contract extension negotiations go sideways with superstar forward Draisaitl, but there haven’t been any indications the two sides won’t get something worked out.
McDavid continues to be one of the most dominant players in the NHL having scored 21 goals and adding 70 assists for 91 points through 54 games this season, and is on pace for another insane offensive season while leading the Oilers in points. Draisaitl is second on the team to McDavid with 73 points through 56 games, while Hyman is behind him with 57. Hyman’s goal-scoring ability this season has been immaculate, as he leads the Oilers with 38 goals and is on pace to break the 50-goal mark for the first time in his career. Nurse has been the leader on the Oilers’ blue line for what feels like forever, and he is likely an Oiler for life, so Nurse ever being moved is highly unlikely.
Rest of Oilers’ Core Players
Aside from the core four players, the rest of the core lineup will also not be moved. That includes Evan Bouchard, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Stuart Skinner, and Mattias Ekholm. Bouchard has exploded offensively this season and improved defensively under new assistant coach Paul Coffey. Through 56 games, Bouchard has maintained a point-per-game pace, scoring 15 goals and adding 41 assists for 56 points and putting him fourth on the Oilers in points at the time of this article. Nugent-Hopkins has slowed down a bit compared to last season, but he still has 52 points through 55 games and has been a huge part of the Oilers’ power play success as he has 20 points on the man advantage.
While he had a slow start to the season, starting goaltender Skinner will also not be going anywhere. The Oilers may try to find a stable backup for him, but he won’t be moved to upgrade between the pipes. Lastly, Ekholm has been a huge part of the Oilers’ defensive corps since joining the team via trade last season from the Nashville Predators, and he continues to be a strong back-end asset.
On The Fence
While nobody can predict with certainty what trades will be made, there are some players who for sure won’t be included in trade deals. At the same time, some players may, or may not be on the roster after the trade deadline, and nobody will know for sure until the deadline comes and goes. Evander Kane, Foegele, Ceci, Kulak, Mattias Janmark, Dylan Holloway, Connor Brown, and Ryan McLeod are all players who aren’t guaranteed to stay, but also might not be moved. I think the only way the Oilers choose to part with Holloway or McLeod is for a star player who extends with them past this season, such as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Jake Guentzel, but that seems unlikely.
Prospects Xavier Bourgault, Beau Akey, Raphael Lavoie, and Broberg could also be included in trade packages, but likely only for a player with term on their contract who the Oilers know can help them for more than one season. At the end of the day, there are no guarantees whether these players will stay or go.
The Oilers are back in action tonight (Feb. 28) in a matchup against the St. Louis Blues, where they will be hoping to continue to ride momentum after a win against the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 26. Regardless of who stays and goes, hopefully, the Oilers make the right moves and give themselves the best opportunity to win a Stanley Cup this season.
