Trade brewing in Edmonton that will push out several players out the door!

There is a strong feeling that changes are coming to the Oilers this summer as the expectations were that Edmonton could win the Stanley Cup this year, but they fell out in Round 2. Hence, general manager Ken Holland is seeking upgrades on the defense corps and bottom-six forwards if the Oilers can find a willing trade partner.

On Thursday’s Insider Trading on TSN, Pierre LeBrun explained how the Carolina Hurricanes could be forced to listen to trade offers on blue liner Brett Pesce if they cannot extend him. This prompted his colleague Darren Dreger to revealed that the Oilers are interested in acquiring Pesce, though they would need to move pieces to create the cap space, on top of leaving room to add up front.

“Yeah, I think the Edmonton Oilers have interest in Pesce as well. We know that the Edmonton Oilers are one of those teams in the market also looking to add another top-four defenseman, but in Edmonton it’s about loosening up the money strings and creating cap space, so this isn’t going to be easy for Kenny Holland. He would like to also add a competitive forward, a bargain forward like Connor Brown. So, maybe you’re looking at Cody Ceci getting moved, Warren Foegele being on the move, Kailer Yamamoto and maybe others. So the Oilers could do more than just tweak.”

Pesce, who has spent his entire career in Carolina, will carry a cap hit of $4.025 million in the final year of his contract next season. He posted five goals and 30 points in 82 games this season, adding two goals and six points in 15 playoff games. 

On Tuesday, the Oilers signed forward Derek Ryan to a two-year deal worth $900,000 per year, which means they have only $5.07 million in salary cap space with 18 players under contract for next season, per CapFriendly.

Money is tight, but it is clear that upgrades need to happen in Toronto as captain Connor McDavid said in his exit interview last month: “It’s Cup or bust.”

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