Edmonton Oilers General Manager working on a potential blockbuster trade for former top 10 pick
The Edmonton Oilers have been in existence for forty-three years and in that time have made the playoffs twenty-four times while winning the Stanley Cup five times. Ken Holland and the Oilers had hopes of building off of last year's Conference Finals appearance.
The Oilers currently sit tied for the final Wild Card spot due to a significant lack of defense and goaltending this season. For a team that has arguably the greatest player in the world and one of the best Europeans that plays in the National Hockey League, this just isn't acceptable.
Peter Chiarelli tried righting the ship after taking the Boston Bruins to the 2011 Stanley Cup but failed, the Oilers placed Keith Gretzky in charge on an interim basis. Ken Holland was hired on May 7th of that year and while Holland has a history of overpaying for talent, the hope in Oil Town is that this year is when they break the glass ceiling.
With a mix of veteran leadership and young talent, the Oilers have been looking to bolster their back end, insert Ivan Provorov. According to Bob Stauffer the Oilers and Flyers have been involved in significant conversations about Provorov. This deal becomes much more difficult to complete for the Oilers with the potential return of Evander Kane to the lineup, because the cap space for the Oilers is extremely tough.
Provorov has been rumored to be unhappy in Philadelphia, but can he be part of the solution in Edmonton? The 26-year-old who hails from Yaroslavl, Russia has two goals and fifteen points in forty-three games played this season, in 493 career games, the 6'1 201 lbs. rearguard has 61 goals and 205 points.
| POLL | ||
Which defender do you think the Oilers will end up acquiring? | ||
| Joel Edmundson | 37 | 38.1 % |
| Ivan Provorov | 21 | 21.6 % |
| John Klingberg | 16 | 16.5 % |
| Other | 23 | 23.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
