Major statement by Pierre LeBrun regarding a possible trade involving the Canadiens and the Oilers: Ken Holland is looking for a defenseman
The Edmonton Oilers are currently in the last playoffs spot, and it's hard to say that their season has lived up to expectations. Despite having one of the best offenses in the NHL, the defense has been struggling for some time and the Oilers fans have started to get frustrated.
However, general manager Ken Holland has yet to make a trade for a defenseman that could fit the bill, but that could change very soon.
According to tipster Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, the Oilers are said to have a lot of interest in Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun and also Joel Edmundson of the Canadiens.
Holland has reportedly even been on the phone, and he's reportedly been talking outright to Montreal (to Kent Hughes) about Edmundson. Wow!
The Canadiens and the Oilers have recently talked about a trade involving Edmundson:
Will it happen before the deadline? Stay tuned.
Chychrun has 20 points in only 24 games this season and has been the subject of trade rumors for several months now.
As for the interest in the Habs' defenseman, it's not the first time it's been mentioned and he would fit in perfectly with a young team that has high playoff aspirations after reaching the Western Conference Finals last spring.
However, according to LeBrun, Holland would find the price too high at this time. He would not be ready to make a panic trade and will be patient in this matter.
Because if the price for Edmundson could well be a minimum first round pick, we dare not imagine that it would be even higher for Chychrun. As reported a few months ago, the Coyotes' asking price is very high.
We're talking about a top prospect as well as several high draft picks here. In fact, the trade value the Columbus Blue Jackets got when they traded defenseman Seth Jones to the Chicago Blackhawks in the summer of 2021.
Chychrun is still under contract for two more seasons with an annual salary of $4.6 million, which is a real bargain. It's a little easier to understand why the Coyotes organization is very demanding in its requests.
The Oilers still have some leeway if they want to acquire one of the two defensemen as the trade deadline is in just under two months, but Ken Holland will have to make sure he makes the right deal if he doesn't want to incur the wrath of hockey fans in Edmonton should his team miss the playoffs this season.
| POLL | ||
That current Oilers team will? | ||
| Make the playoffs | 549 | 69.5 % |
| Miss the playoffs | 148 | 18.7 % |
| Make them only if they acquire Chychrun or Eddy | 93 | 11.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
