Insider links the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks to a trade
The Canucks and Oilers are arch-rivals on the ice but off the ice their respective managements could broker trades that hurt the other team.
The Oilers and Canucks are both looking to make a push for the 2025 Stanley Cup Championship. With this, their current rosters will likely see shakeups with both teams looking to add defenseman for a Cup run.
Recently, insider Pierre LeBrun shared an update on what the Oilers and Canucks are looking to do before the 2025 trade deadline.
«Tuesday's insider trading, you said the Canucks are looking for a top-four defenseman, and last week on the show, you had just chatted with Oilers President Jeff Jackson. Jeff Jackson mentioned they might be looking for a top-four defenseman.
Pierre, we about to see two Pacific Division arch-rivals duke it out over who gets the best top-four defenseman?"
Pierre LeBrun: "Yeah. I mean, they're both going to try to add on the blue line, Jay, that is correct. What I would say is I'm feeling more urgency from the Canucks. My sense from talking to teams around the league is that Vancouver is poking around and looking at top-four D options. Obviously, the injury to Filip Hronek has really been impactful. And so I think there's a little more urgency on the part of the Canucks.
And second of all, Jim Rutherford, Patrick Allvin, the Rutherford-esque tradition has been continued by Allvin, who last year in January, traded for Elias Lindholm. They don't need to wait until the trade deadline. We know that from Jim Rutherford.
Whereas I think the Oilers listen, I do think they end up adding to their blue line before March 7th, but I don't feel the same level of urgency. In the sense that I think that they feel, their defense, which was much malignant pre-season because of the losses, has actually been better than what people anticipated.
So I don't think they feel, you know, they're in a situation where it has to happen now. But all things being equal, yes, that is where the Oilers are determined to, to add before March 7th as well."
Pierre, we about to see two Pacific Division arch-rivals duke it out over who gets the best top-four defenseman?"
Pierre LeBrun: "Yeah. I mean, they're both going to try to add on the blue line, Jay, that is correct. What I would say is I'm feeling more urgency from the Canucks. My sense from talking to teams around the league is that Vancouver is poking around and looking at top-four D options. Obviously, the injury to Filip Hronek has really been impactful. And so I think there's a little more urgency on the part of the Canucks.
And second of all, Jim Rutherford, Patrick Allvin, the Rutherford-esque tradition has been continued by Allvin, who last year in January, traded for Elias Lindholm. They don't need to wait until the trade deadline. We know that from Jim Rutherford.
Whereas I think the Oilers listen, I do think they end up adding to their blue line before March 7th, but I don't feel the same level of urgency. In the sense that I think that they feel, their defense, which was much malignant pre-season because of the losses, has actually been better than what people anticipated.
So I don't think they feel, you know, they're in a situation where it has to happen now. But all things being equal, yes, that is where the Oilers are determined to, to add before March 7th as well."
With the defensive market being quite limited, the two teams could likely find themselves implicated in a bidding war with the team willing to give up more picks and prospects likely being the one that ends up on top.
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