Doubt surfaces on possible trade in Edmonton…

Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland has been getting a lot of heat in past seasons for missing out on top deals and making more than questionable trades at the helm of the team. When the season got underway and trouble was written all over the posts in Edmonton, Holland’s only move was to put Jack Campbell on waivers and claiming to be looking at goaltending options on the trade market.

Recently though, Stuart Skinner has been doing great for the Oilers and hard-working backup like Calvin Pickard has been the support he needed. Which now has Holland re-think his entire approach to the March 8 trade deadline. This is what the GM told Pierre LeBrun of the Athletic:

“What I would say to any question is we are having our pro scouting meetings in a couple of weeks. Just like every other team, you’re going to go through your own team and see where you’re at,” Holland said. “You’re going to come out of those meetings, and in late January or early February, you going to determine if you’re a buyer or a seller or do you need to see more games because you’re on the bubble and you want to see what direction you’re going to go.”

“We’ll make an assessment. In the meantime, I’ll keep watching to see. Certainly Stuart Skinner is playing really good, Calvin Pickard has been a really good backup. There’s great chemistry between them. Pickard’s an unreal team player; he really supports Stuart Skinner.”

After 2-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night, the Oilers are now holding on to the last Wild Card playoff spot in the Western conference at this time. And if it keeps going up from there, it sounds like Holland could revisit - once again - his trade plan and see how he believes he can improve his roster for a long playoff run.

And it may not include an upgrade in between the pipes as it remains to be seen what will happen with Jack Campbell still down in the minors, and prospect Olivier Rodrigue, who looks more ready than the veteran to enter the big league if needed.

However if there is one thing for sure, is that GM Holland will always surprise Oilers’ fans and keep them on their toes until the deadline is over.

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