The Oilers had one major need this offseason which was an update in net, which they did with signing UFA goalie Jack Campbell on opening day of free agency. They also wanted to resign veteran scorer Evander Kane, which they also did to a very team friendly deal.
While we thought the Oilers would have been done after this, it appears that they are aggressively still trying to improve their top 6 even further.
According to NHL Insider Frank Seravelli of the Daily Faceoff, and also Gene Principe of Sportsnet, the Edmonton Oilers are looking to add a three time Stanley Cup champion to their team. Who might that be do you ask? That would be one of the best American born players of all time, Patrick Kane.
Kane is currently 33 and scored 92 points in 78 games last season on a very poor Chicago Blackhawks team. He is in the final year of a contract that has a $10,500,000 cap hit, but his actual salary is only $2,900,000.
If the Blackhawks retain salary for Kane, this is a very realistic option for the Oilers to further improve their top 6.
While the addition to Kane on any team would drastically improve them, I fear that the Oilers are continuing to follow the Maple Leafs system of just improving the top 6, instead of adding scoring depth with the bottom lines of the roster.
POLL | ||
19 AOUT | 1185 ANSWERS REPORT: Edmonton Oilers looking to make BLOCKBUSTER trade before the season Should the Oilers trade for Kane? | ||
yes | 765 | 64.6 % |
no | 420 | 35.4 % |
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