Oilers officially open trade market with GM Holland pushing target on the block

Since being eliminated from the postseason in four short games by the Colorado Avalanche, the Edmonton Oilers are shifting their attention to the offseason and the moves to make in order to be a better contender in 2022-23.

General manager Ken Holland has made it clear that he is focused on finding a No.1 goalie, but he also needs to find a way to re-sign or replace Evander Kane, get a boost up front with another top-six forward, adding some depth on the bottom-six and getting better on the back end. That’s a lot to do, especially with the little available cash the Oilers have in their pockets at the moment…

The Oilers have just over $7.1 million in salary cap space and will need to clear out more money to make significant changes in order to get help via trade or the free agency market.

This prompted The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta to report that the Oilers will look to move blue liner Tyson Barrie this summer during his Thursday spot on NHL Tonight on NHL Network.

“A lot of holes that need to be filled (in Edmonton) and they don’t have a ton of cap space, either. A little over $7 million in cap space right now. One player we’re likely to hear about over the next several weeks: Tyson Barrie. With the emergence of Evan Bouchard on the right side, it looks like Barrie has fallen down the totem pole a little bit.”

Barrie still has two years remaining on his contract and comes with a $4.5 million salary cap hit. He does not own any no-trade protection.

“They’re going to look, by the sounds of things, see what the market is for this particular player,” Pagnotta added.

The 30-year-old defenseman has spent the past two seasons in Edmonton where he signed as a free agent in the summer of 2020. He tallied seven goals and 41 points in 73 games this year with the Oilers.

It remains to be seen whom the Oilers may look to bring in on defence this summer. The focus is especially on the goaltending situation as Pagnotta reports that the Oilers will take a close look at pending UFA goalie Ville Husso, who is not expected to re-sign with the St. Louis Blues.