Edmonton Oilers reportedly getting trade interest on two expensive veterans

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Tom Banks
August 16, 2024 (1:26 PM)

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The Edmonton Oilers need to make some big decisions in a hurry, and now they may have the interest they need in veteran blue-liners Cody Ceci and Brett Kulak.

After months of waiting, the St. Louis Blues finally pulled the trigger on not one but two offer sheets to the Edmonton Oilers, giving new GM Stan Bowman seven days to decide whether he wants to match offers to Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. In the wake of that, they've now potentially had to expedite the trades of Brett Kulak and/or Cody Ceci, who could be kept moving forward if the team are able to move one or both of the veterans.

In good news, PostMedia's Bruce Garrioch is now reporting that there is significant interest in both defensemen around the league, although it's not going to be cheap for the Oilers.

Unfortunately for the reigning Western Conference Champions, everyone around the league now knows that they are desperate to move players, and according to Garrioch, no teams around the league will take on Ceci or Kulak without the addition of a first or second-round pick. In more bad news, the Oilers don't have one of those in 2025, so will need to part ways with a 2026 pick, and with Ceci ($3.25M) and Kulak ($2.75M) not coming cheap to take on, the Oilers will need to send out significant assets to make it happen.

There are only a few days left for the Oilers to make their decisions on Holloway and Broberg, and whether they match the offers or not, they'd be wise to try and move either defenseman to give them flexibility ahead of the deadline, giving new GM Stan Bowman even more headaches in his first few months in the role.

Source: Pro Hockey Rumors
Oilers Have Received Some Interest In Cody Ceci And Brett Kulak