It's the most wonderful time of the year

Oilers F Ales Hemsky is one guy expected to be on the move

It's no surprise that this year at the deadline the Oilers are expected to be one of the more active teams on the market. It may be a strange year for the Oilers because at this years deadline we are just as big of buyers as we are sellers. To no surprise, the Oilers have a plethora of guys that could be on the moves. The likes of Ales Hemsky, Sam Gagner, Ryan Jones, Nick Schultz and others could be on the move.

Moving on out

"It's business, it's business time." - Business Time, Flight of the Conchords

Today, Oilers GM Craig MacTavish spoke to the media regarding the so called blueprint going into this years deadline. He spoke to much surprise about the Oilers being interested in re-acquiring 2nd and 3rd round picks that the Oilers had used to gain the likes of David Perron and Ben Scrivens. The Oilers fan reaction was exactly what you'd expect upon hearing this, "Oh great, we're still rebuilding."

This deadline may actually be the opposite of showing we're still rebuilding as players mentioned just don't quite fit into the Oilers long term plan.

MacTavish said it himself earlier that "We've got a number of guys that are UFAs that are veteran players that are going to illicit attention around the league from teams that are preparing for a playoff run that will be in all of those conversations." Most of these playoff bound teams looking to acquire some veteran talent will look to the Hemsky's, the Nick Schultz's and the Sam Gagner's.

These pending UFAs will easily be able to bring back 2nd and 3rd round picks from almost any team looking to add veteran help. Since this draft has been considered to be a "weak" draft, don't be surprised to see the Oilers try and package up those draft picks (or even UFAs) and make a move for a Top flight NHL Defenseman.

Who might the Top flight NHL defenseman be?

Blink and you'll miss it

While I do think it will be a long shot, there has been many talks of the Oilers pursuing Nashville Predators stud defenseman Shea Weber. The value of the Sicamous, BC native is something that is known to be very high and the needs of the Predators are well seen. The Predators have needs that the Oilers could potentially be able to fill. While I'm sure Polie and company may ask for more, I wouldn't be surprised to see a trade of Gagner, Hemsky, our 1st round pick and a top-end prospect. 

Historically speaking, when the Oilers traded for Chris Pronger who was just entering the prime of his NHL career, they gave up the Eric Brewer, Jeff Woywitka and Doug Lynch. Brewer turned into a journeyman NHLer playing for the Blues and the lighting while Woywitka has spent time between the NHL and AHL. Lynch went on to never play another NHL game.

Mini-Subban

Subban while representing Canada at the 2013 World Junior Championship

It should be made note that the Boston Herald reported on Saturday that the B's may be dangling Canadian Goaltender Malcom Subban. 

"The Bruins shouldn't be in need of a new No. 1 goaltender for sometime, but Subban appears to be a viable candidate. Or, perhaps, a very valuable chip in a possible trade. 

The B's no doubt would hate the idea of parting with a young talent such as Subban - especially if it were just to acquire a "rental" defenseman before the March 5th trade deadline.

But this is going to be a tight trade market, with far more buyers than sellers. And if the B's did add a key piece that helped them win another Stanley Cup, losing Subban might not seem so bad." - The Boston Herald

While by no means am I saying this would happen, I would hope that the Oilers would look into a possible trade for the AHL backup. Subban is ranked No. 8 in the AHL posting a 9-6-3 record, a 2.28 GAA and a .922 save percentage.

Yours Truly,

Loweded.

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