The NHL trade deadline is less than two weeks away, and there's nothing more fun this time of year than arguing over hypothetical swaps.

Here's how this exercise went down: Each of theScore's five NHL news editors (Kyle Cushman, Kayla Douglas, Josh Gold-Smith, Sean O'Leary, and Josh Wegman) submitted a trade to have the other four editors vote on which team they think would say no in that scenario. "Both" and "good deal" were options, too.

Remember, these deals are hypothetical. Editors were encouraged to think outside the box.

Below, I dive into the trades and analyze which aspects make sense and which don't.

Note: There were initially five trades in this exercise, but the one submitted by Douglas – which involved Timo Meier to Toronto – became moot after the Maple Leafs acquired Ryan O'Reilly from the St. Louis Blues late Friday night.

Oilers land Karlsson in blockbuster

Oilers receive: Erik Karlsson (30% retained)
Sharks receive: 2023 1st-round pick, Jesse Puljujarvi, Tyson Barrie, Dylan Holloway

Why it could work: Wouldn't this be fun? Imagine Karlsson sharing the ice with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on a power play. That would be lethal.

The Western Conference is wide-open, and the Oilers have been playing excellent hockey lately, so this would be an ideal year to go for it. Karlsson is the Norris Trophy favorite amid a resurgent campaign and could be the missing ingredient on the back end. Getting him at $8.08 million is palatable, too.

Puljujarvi is in dire need of a fresh start, and Barrie's role would be vastly diminished with the addition of Karlsson, so both players are expendable. Their inclusion is also necessary from a cap perspective.

For the Sharks, it's a prime opportunity to sell high on Karlsson and rid themselves of most of his mammoth contract. A first-round pick and Holloway, the 14th selection in 2020, would help the rebuild.

Why it might not: Even with the inclusion of Barrie, Puljujarvi, and Holloway, the Oilers are unable to put forth a cap-compliant roster consisting of 18 skaters in this scenario. So they'd either need the Sharks to retain more than 30%, get a third team to retain a portion, or shed money elsewhere. All three options would be difficult to accomplish in season, making an offseason deal more realistic.

It's also possible the Sharks might not be comfortable retaining $3.45 million annually through 2027, especially when they're already retaining $2.72 million through 2025 for Brent Burns. New general manager Mike Grier seems content to rebuild, but he might think his team can compete again before 2027. And if he's going to retain salary, he might want another asset in return.