This from TSN’s Darren Treger: “It’s interesting to see how big or small the next Nashville trade will be. Oilers and Brets continue discussions about veteran Dimon Mattias Ekholm, sources say Ken Holland is mulling options as the deadline approaches.
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On Oilers Now, team member Bob Stauffer discussed the rumor with John Shannon, saying that Draeger had “excellent sources” and later addressed the trade rumour.
“I don’t want to be overconfident and underdeliver, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Edmonton Oilers add a D left jab.”
Nashville is in the midst of rebuilding, Shannon said. “Besides Erik Karlsson, Mattias Ekholm is probably the most wanted defender in this class of trade right now. He is big. He has offensive potential. He is nasty. If a team is trying to get over the hump, they can do a lot of things.” things.
Nashville liked Oilers winger Kailer Yamamoto in his draft year, Stauffer noted, and the Oilers have a shot at big, tough and talented junior winger Reid Schaefer, who is closer in style to Tanner Jeannot, a tough end that Nashville just traded.
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After the 24th, first-round picks have a 2 percent chance of becoming NHL stars, Stauffer said.
my take
1. I’m not going to tell you whether or not the Oilers should make a big move for Ekholm because that’s outside my area of expertise. I study the Oilers closely, but no other team. To arrive at a reliable assessment of Ecolm, I didn’t bother to watch Ecolm live and in a video game after the game. Also, I will warn you once again not to put any weight on the ratings of those who rely on publicly available stats and a few views to judge a player now. This is not a reliable way to test hockey players.
2. It’s safe to say that Ekholm presents some risk to the Oilers given his age (he turns 33 in May), salary cap ($6.25 million per year) and seniority (three more years on his contract after this season). Players tend to slow down at age 33, 34, or 35, often significantly, often catastrophically. Ekholm has cut his ice time by a minute or two per game this year, and Nashville brought in Ryan McDonagh. He’s been playing a little less with even force and penalties, but he’s still averaging 21:44 per game on a very good Brets team.
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3. Ekholm ranks 83rd among NHL regular d-men in even-strength spare time and 99th in overall strength-point scoring. Those rankings put him firmly in the second pair D-man category.
4. The Oilers aren’t sold on taking Ekholm or a second left-handed D-man like him to go to the playoffs with Brett Kulak in that spot. Gulag played well until the end. He takes on the role of him at the top of the lineup, playing tough and very consistent defensive hockey. Philipp Broberg has stood out in his brief stint as the left-shooting D-man of the third pair, but he’s had some tough matches in a row. Kulak’s contract is for three more years at $2.75 million.
5. For this to work, Edmonton would have to pass along a big salary to Nashville, $6.25 million. Nashville may be asked to withhold salary, which is paid at the expense of draft picks. A three-year retention is not cheap.
