The Edmonton Oilers would be wise to call the Pittsburgh Penguins for a trade over the next two months.
Oilers GM Stan Bowman will be busy working the phones as the NHL trade deadline approaches. The team sits third in the Western Conference and is once again expected to make a healthy run at the Stanley Cup.
Teams in this league don’t get a lot of shots at winning a championship, meaning that Bowman will have to do everything he can to maximize the Oilers’ chances. If he opts to do that through trade, the Penguins should be at the top of the list of teams that he should be calling.
The Athletic’s Josh Yohe recently reported that Penguins GM Kyle Dubas is open for business and is expected to be a seller at the upcoming deadline. Names like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are unlikely to move, but others could be traded.
That leaves a lot of interesting trade candidates for the Oilers. Let’s take a look at a few of them…
Marcus Pettersson
Position: LD/RD
2024/25 stats: 2 G, 15 A, 17 PTS, 43 GP
Cap hit: $4.025 million (UFA-2025)
If the Oilers want a “Mattias Ekholm-type addition” this season, their best bet will be 28-year-old Marcus Pettersson.
The Swedish rear-guard has been a stalwart on the Penguins’ blueline this season and may be the best defenceman up for grabs at the deadline. Contract talks have reportedly stalled with Pittsburgh, leaving a trade as the most likely scenario.
Pettersson is left-handed but has experience playing on his offside. In…