The Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks could be suitable trade partners. While the Oilers look for solutions to cure their current woes and the Blackhawks deal with news that Taylor Hall is done for the season and Corey Perry has gone missing in action, there are pieces on both sides that have the potential to solve some respective problems for each organization.
The deal would center around the goaltending and the Oilers landing a player with some grit and playoff experience. For the Blackhawks, it would be about taking on a bad contract, ridding themselves of a potential problem, and getting a couple of sweeteners in the move.
The Proposed Trade Between The Blackhawks and the Oilers
While I was already thinking these two teams could be a fit, a special thanks goes to @AdamsOnHockey for laying out the specific pieces and showing how the math works. Essentially, the Oilers would dump Jack Campbell, and send Xavier Bourgault, along with Philip Broberg and Ryan McLeod to Chicago, in exchange for Corey Perry, Petr Mrazek, and Taylor Raddysh. For the Oilers, it’s $8.88 million going out, with $8.558 million coming in.
To be fair, @AdamsOnHockey didn’t necessarily say he liked the idea of this trade. But, considering news that the Oilers are looking at making a move and could do something desperate, if the Oilers are going to lose a deal, maybe this is the lesser of two evils. He wrote, “I smashed my head in a car door half a dozen times to really get myself in the Ken Holland headspace.”
What the Oilers Get in the Deal
For Edmonton, this would be a trade to move Campbell’s contract and pick up a suitable goalie in return. Mrazek isn’t necessarily a huge upgrade, but he’s not locked into a contract beyond this season. Neither is Perry, who admittedly, would add some skill, grit, and playoff experience to the Oilers roster. Perry is overpaid, but there is value in what he brings and he might be exactly the kind of “energy” this team needs.
Related: Beyond Two, “All Oilers Assets In Play” to Find a Trade Fix [Report]
While not a primary offensive force, Raddysh can play in the top-six and contributes to the second power-play unit, facilitating occasional scoring surges.
In essence, the Oilers get some cap flexibility beyond this season and potentially the “spark” they are looking for to wake up this typically talented roster.
What the Blackhawks Get in the Deal
Chicago has all sorts of cap room (especially with news of Taylor Hall heading to LTIR). They could easily absorb Campbell’s contract and then choose to buy it out later or not. Chicago would get a speedy center who has underperformed in McLeod and two solid prospects in Bourgault and Broberg — both of which were slated to be part of the Oilers’ future but haven’t taken that next step yet.
The Blackhawks also move what looks to be a bit of an organizational issue in Perry. Granted, the details of why he was scratched and wasn’t at practice on Thursday are being kept under wraps by the Blackhawks, but there’s a lot of speculation that something is going on behind the scenes. Perry is the kind of player you hate to play against, but love to have on your roster.
Is This The Kind of Trade The Oilers Need?
On paper, it works. In theory, it gives the Oilers a few elements that TSN’s Ryan Rishaug noted GM Ken Holland was looking for. That doesn’t make this a slum dunk kind of deal by any stretch. Mrazek is not a proven starter and neither Perry nor Raddysh are sure things. At the same time, the Oilers are giving up a few tradable assets, meaning they no longer have those pieces to trade if something else comes along that makes more sense.
It’s a risk. But, the Blackhawks are one of the few teams that has so much cap room they can talk about a variety of options. And, if the Perry thing is a real problem, it might be worth Holland at least making a phone call.