Stan Bowman has more trade options than many fans realize, and a popular post from The Mug NHL this week brought the Edmonton Oilers into the offseason discussion again.
The post was shared on Wednesday night and quickly got 29K views in just a few hours. The point is straightforward. Edmonton has valuable players. Multiple players.
The players mentioned are Isaac Howard, Quinn Hutson, Joshua Samanski, Spencer Stastney, Colton Dach, Matthew Savoie, and Ty Emberson. They also have plenty of draft picks.
According to the post, they have eight first or second-round picks in the next four drafts. That shows they have resources. That’s a lot of potential.
The tweet shows a clear comparison, uses straightforward language, and ends with a sharp comment. It struck a chord because the discussion has been weak for a while.
So, why do people keep saying, “Oilers have nothing”? It’s likely because their top salaries are overwhelming. McDavid makes $12.5 million. Draisaitl makes $14 million. Bouchard takes up $10.5 million. Just these three alone take up $37 million of the budget.
Why the lesser-known players on the Oilers are more important now than ever.
But the real assets aren’t in the top salaries. They are in the lower ranks. Savoie scored 37 points in 82 games when he was 22 years old. Emberson played 72 games while making $1.3 million. They are helpful, affordable, and can easily be traded.
Howard and Hutson are like lottery tickets. Both are 22 or 24 years old and are on entry-level contracts under $1 million. Bowman can easily bundle one of them in a trade.
The Oilers ended the season with a record of 41-30-11, totaling 93 points, and they went 6-2-2 in their last ten games. Then they faced Anaheim in the first playoff round and lost the series in six games.
That’s the situation Bowman is dealing with. A core group in their prime, a playoff failure that needs solutions, and a defense that allowed 269 goals during the season.
Tristan Jarry had a save percentage of . 882 after playing in 33 games. Connor Ingram had a save percentage of . 898 in 32 games. Just looking at the goalkeeping could take away two of those picks.
The idea that the team had no valuable players was never accurate. It was simply simpler than looking at the depth list.
It’s a different question if Bowman will make the right trade. Last summer, he made trades for Walman and Frederic. He’s showing a lot of boldness. The time to act is shorter than it seems.
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