Earlier today on his radio show Oilers Now, host Bob Stauffer subtly hinted that three Eastern Conference teams could potentially look to trade for Edmonton Oilers winger and functional tough guy, Zack Kassian.
“I’m going to tell you this right now, for the fans that are down on Zack Kassian, and he’s had a quiet time since signing that 4yr contract extension, it would not surprise me depending on what happens here if Pittsburgh or the Rangers or even Boston, who have extra LWers (especially if they re-sign Taylor Hall) and a short on the right-side. I could see all three of those organizations getting in on Kassian.”
Now, I’m not going to go into the Rangers/Capitals fiasco again and what my feelings are there, but I will say this. Teams have been trying to combat Tom Wilson for YEARS in the Metropolitan Division and have yet to find any success in that regard and as much as I love Zack Kassian, he’s not in Wilson’s weight division. That said, he won’t back down when he feels that a statement needs to be made.
From a team-building perspective, Edmonton could surely use the cap space and Kass has three more seasons left after this one at $3.2M/yr. I think we can all agree that he’s overpaid in this NHL economy and if there are up to three teams that are looking to procure his services that tells me those clubs would be willing to pay close to fair value, if not more than, to acquire him.
The one thing that gives me pause when thinking about Ken Holland moving Kass is that it would leave the Oilers without their own functional tough guy and even though he has indeed been quiet on the scoresheet, we’ve been witness to the peak of his potential. He’s capable of playing anywhere in the lineup and with a plethora of different styles of player and it’s my belief that that is a very rare find.
On the other hand, if the Oilers can put out a third line that does have some size but also some skill, wouldn’t that be more beneficial night in, night out? There’s a chance we could see Tyler Benson or Dylan Holloway, Ryan McLeod, and somebody like Josh Archibald on Coach Tippett’s third line next year.
Also, I see that Brett Ritchie and Kurtis Gabriel are free agents this summer and those gentlemen would be more than able at providing a few minutes a night on the 4th line (or higher in the case of Ritchie).
So, if we put on our GMs caps and look at an actual trade, what might the Oilers be looking for in return for a Zack Kassian?
- Draft Pick(s)?
- Backup Goalie?
- Grit and Sandpaper?
It’s possible all three or a combination, right? There’s one exception that I’ll speak to further down that might have Oilers fans, like myself, salivating at the possibility.
So getting back to the three teams that Stauffer mentioned, will those organizations be in a position financially to be able to make a trade for Kassian?
Boston Bruins
They’ll have about $32M in space to spend but only 14 roster players signed. They’d like to re-sign Hall and David Krejci and bring back Tuukka Rask and/or Jaro Halak but they also need to do something about their defense. If the plan is to contend again next season they can’t go into it with McAvoy, Clifton, Carlo, Lauzon, Zboril, and Grzelcyk as their six full-timers on the blue line. Lucky for them they are a winning organization and it shouldn’t take too much persuasion to get a free agent or two to sign for reasonable dollars.
Reckon Don Sweeney is looking to add some toughness that was lost when Zdeno Chara was allowed to leave?
What Would the Oilers Want: Jake DeBrusk. If the Bruins re-sign Hall, that means DeBrusk will be on the move and I believe very strongly that the Oilers would have great interest in bringing Jake home. He’s age relevant with Edmonton’s roster and it’s SO apparent that Bruce Cassidy has no more time for Louie’s boy.
New York Rangers
New York has 17 roster players signed through next season and close to $29M in cap room available to work with. Ryan Lindgren, Libor Hajek, Pavel Buchnevich, Filip Chytil, and Igor Shesterkin are their main RFAs that need to be signed.
Who knows what they’ll do in the off-season though if they have their eyes on Jack Eichel…
What Would the Oilers Want: The mandate is in, New York need to get tougher and are willing to pay the price to do so. I imagine Edmonton would go after draft picks in this scenario. The Rangers have two third rounders and three fourth rounders in the upcoming 2021 NHL entry draft and the Oilers are void of picks in the second, third, and fifth. They’ve got more than enough room under the cap to fit Kassian in.
Let’s say Ken Holland wants prospects though. New York have a couple of very good defensemen coming up in Matthew Robertson (Edmonton Oil Kings) and Nils Lundqvist. Robertson, a lefty, is more of a two-way shutdown type whereas Lundqvist, a righty, has some more offensive to his game.
On forward, I reckon players like Karl Henriksson, Leevi Aaltonen, Lauri Pajuniemi, and Brett Berard could be of interest to Edmonton. They are all highly skilled playmakers but are very undersized. Pajuniemi is the “giant” of the trio coming in at six feet tall.
Pittsburgh Penguins
I don’t think there’s a match here unless the Oilers were willing to take on money because the Pens have 17 roster players signed through next year and only a shade over $3M to fill their roster.
With that in mind, the Penguins have showed interest in Kassian in the past.
What Would the Oilers Want: It’s a tough call because I think Edmonton would want someone like Bryan Rust who is paid $3.2M for one more year but I can’t see Pittsburgh having any sort of appetite to move him as he’s one of their best players. There’s Brandon Tanev but is that really a contract the Oilers want to take on? Maybe Brian Dumoulin would tickle Ken Holland’s fancy if Oscar Klefbom can’t go next year. He only makes $4.1M for another pair of years after next.
Zach Ashton-Reese is an interesting name to keep in mind. He’s extremely good two-way and plays an old-school brand of hockey to boot… The blue collar fans would really like him.
The cupboards are bare in Pittsburgh so there might be a rare opportunity to win the trade in terms of players involved in exchange for cap room for Edmonton
So there you have it. I’m sure there are many more variable to consider and other players that I haven’t considered but just looking at the whole thing from a general point of view, Mr. Holland might have a golden opportunity to move another contract that was once deemed unmovable…
Cap figures courtesy or capfriendly.com
