Rumor: Ken Holland may look to trade Matt Benning.

It sounds like at least one National Hockey League analyst believes that the Edmonton Oilers still have more changes to make to their roster before the start of the regular season. In fact in a recent piece for The Athletic, Alan Mitchell revealed his belief that Edmonton Oilers veteran defenseman Matt Benning is "vulnerable to a trade" given the way the offseason has played out under new Oilers head coach Dave Tippett.

Mitchell writes that he believes the Oilers, as currently constructed, have an "overload" on defense with too many qualified players at the position to fit under the 23 man roster limit. Interestingly enough he points to a strong preseason from undrafted prospect Joel Persson, a 25 year old defenseman out of Sweden, as one of the potential reason that a player like Benning would become expendable to the organization. Both Benning and Persson play on the same side of the ice, but Persson has quickly shown some natural chemistry with fellow Oilers defenseman Oscar Klefbom which could be a very valuable asset to Tippett in his first season as head coach.

Additionally the Oilers also have Ethan Bear, a 22 year old defenseman and former Oilers 5th round pick (124th overall) at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, and Evan Bouchard, the Oilers 1st round draft selection (10th overall) at the 2018 draft that they can also deploy this season. Mitchell believes that both men have played well enough to earn themselves a spot in the lineup, once again further adding to the narrative that Benning may be expendable.

Although Mitchell acknowledges that Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland has often been a very patient and prudent man when it comes to trades during his career as an NHL GM, you can see why the Oilers would give serious consideration to such a move. Benning does have value, at a cap hit of $1.9 million per season he comes at a very reasonable price and he will be a restricted free agent at the end of that deal, so teams would be getting plenty of control. The Oilers are still in need of a reliable and consistent third line center, if Mitchell is correct Matt Benning may be the trading chip that Ken Holland deals to fill that need.