The Edmonton Oilers are in a difficult spot when it comes to their salary cap this year and beyond. That means, despite some contracts ending after this season, the team will have to trade some players that make too much and just don’t contribute as much as they should.
This season, players like Tyson Barrie, Mikko Koskinen, Zack Kassian, and a few less notable names have been brought up. But with the emergence of Evan Bouchard to play on the first defence pairing and on the power play, it allows the Oilers to make an easy decision to trade Barrie.
In just the first year of his three-year, $13.5 million deal, the Oilers don’t require the services of Barrie anymore, especially not with how much he makes to essentially be a third-pairing defenceman with offensive abilities. He’s not the same player he was last season in leading all defencemen in points, while the power play has also fallen flat.
A deal may not be struck mid-season, but expect something to get done before the beginning of next season, so the Oilers can have the cap space to fill their lineup effectively and put themselves in a position to be a more sound team defensively. Here are some teams that may require the services Barrie brings and could be a trade partner for the Oilers by the 2022-23 season.
Winnipeg Jets
The first of the three possible destinations is the Winnipeg Jets. They are still feeling the effects of the sudden departure of Dustin Byfuglien years ago and lack a true power-play specialist on the back end. That’s where the Oilers and Barrie come in. The Jets have played three different defencemen on the power play, which indicates there’s no No. 1 guy.
Neal Pionk, Nate Schmidt, and Josh Morrissey have all spent significant time on the power play. Pionk has played 116 minutes, been on the ice for 12 power-play goals for and two against while scoring one goal and assisting on six.
Schmidt has never recorded more than one goal and 11 power-play points in one season with 36 points being his career high. He has spent 97 minutes on the power play, and was a part of 11 of the 13 goals he’s been on the ice for. There hasn’t been a shorthanded goal against while he has been on the ice, and he has his career high in power-play goals and points this season.