Insider links Edmonton Oilers to trio of free agent defencemen

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Cooper Godin
August 24, 2024 (9:48)

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NHL insider Frank Seravalli has linked the Edmonton Oilers to a trio of unrestricted free agent defenceman.

Earlier this week, the Edmonton Oilers decided not to match St. Louis' offer sheets for Dylan Holloway as well as defenceman Philip Broberg.

They also cleared out some cap space in a deal with the San Jose Sharks that saw the Northern California team acquire defenceman Cody Ceci, along with a third-round pick in 2025 in exchange for Ty Emberson.

With two of Edmonton's blueliners no longer with the organization, it appears that Stan Bowman is looking at veteran options on the free agent market to fill the holes left by Broberg and Ceci's departures.

In a post on X on Friday afternoon, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff shared that Edmonton Oilers are exploring the market for a right-shot defenceman and linked them to a trio of players - Tyson Barrie, Justin Schultz and Kevin Shattenkirk.

The Oilers organization is quite familiar with two of those names, Tyson Barrie and Justin Schultz. Barrie spent parts of three seasons with the Edmonton Oilers after being signed as a free agent in 2020, but was traded to the Nashville Predators in early 2023 in a deal that saw them acquire Mattias Ekholm.

As for Justin Schultz, who was a second-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2008, he joined the Edmonton Oilers organization in 2012, signing an entry-level contract as a college free agent. He appeared in 248 games for the Oilers between the 2012-13 and 2015-16 seasons before being dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins in February 2016.

Kevin Shattenkirk would be an interesting third pairing option for the Edmonton Oilers and could provide them with some time on their penalty killing units as well. The 35-year-old appeared in 61 games last season for the Boston Bruins where he had 24 points and averaged 15:47 time-on-ice per night.

With training camps set to begin in less than a month, the Oilers will have to make a decision pretty quickly on who they want to add before another team swoops in and signs these veterans to professional tryout contracts.