Sportsnet’s Mark Spector reports that while the Edmonton Oilers continue to look for an answer this season, “at least one team” is showing interest in defenseman Matt Benning in trade talks—though there is certainly no hurry to move him. Spector writes that the team likely would however be willing to give up Anton Slepyshev or Ryan Strome in potential deals.
Edmonton is off to a terrible start for a club that was expected to contend for the Stanley Cup this season, riding a 3-6-1 record into Wednesday’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Connor McDavid clearly can’t carry the team all on his own, and they’ve received little offensive help beyond the top line. Slepyshev has been held scoreless thus far, while Strome has just three points on the season. That’s while Jordan Eberle starts to thrive in New York with nine points through 11 games.
The Oilers need help, and they need it soon if they’re going to turn around this ship. The team ranks dead last in the NHL in goals for, and both special teams rank in the bottom three. Spector does suggest that Chris Kelly will sign if Kailer Yamamoto is sent back to junior, which should help their penalty kill but do little for their offensive woes. The answer to those isn’t quite so simple.
Moving Benning would certainly bring back something of value, as the 23-year old defenseman has shown at least an ability to play a full-time role in the NHL. Though he doesn’t have a ton of offensive upside, some might see him as a solid answer to shore up a bottom pairing. Dealing him would mean opening one hole to fill another however, as the Oilers would need a replacement for his 16-odd minutes a night. Benning is a restricted free agent this summer though, and with money locked up in four defensemen already and a new deal looming for Darnell Nurse, he could be on the outside looking in anyway. The Oilers will obviously have to be very careful with their cap space once McDavid’s league-leading contract extension kicks in.
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The Oilers would be really stupid if they were to trade Benning. Benning is a young, high potential defenseman with an ability to play defensivly and a little offensively. I’m sure they could get a good return, but I don’t think it is worth it. In the future Benning will likely be a top 4 defenseman, so just giving up on him now would be foolish. Strome is having a rough start this season, and sure, the Eberle trade looks one-sided (it is) but give Strome a chance. It has been 10 games. Although, I can’t understand why MacLellan has not tried Strome as McDavid’s RW. They played amazingly together in the Preseason and I think Strome needs that opportunity to play with 97, and see from there. And with Slepyshev, I think he needs either a demotion to the AHL, to give him some extra experience, or play him in the top-6. It can’t hurt to play him there, and he performed well alongside Draisaitl and Lucic in the playoffs last year. I can’t see the Oilers trading a roster player at this time, I think they would rather wait for development from within, or trade picks for some depth. Some potential options on Forward is Vadim Shipachyov from VGK, Grabner from NYR, or (This is unlikely to happen, it would be an off-season deal most likely) Max Pacioretty or Alex Galchenyuk from MTL. Some defensive options could be Garrison or Merrill from VGK, or Green from DET
If the Oilers can get a top six foward for Benning (or atleast a foward who is more offensive minded) they should make that trade. I don’t know much about Benning, but if his ceiling is a top 4 defensemen, then that is a player who could be replaced. Replacing him midseason would be a little tough, but thats a relatively easy hole to fill during the offseason.
I doubt Pacioretty gets traded at all unless Montreal decides to tear it down. Scoring is a huge issue for Montreal so trading Pacioretty would only make that issue worse. Galchenyuk could be a real option both now and in the offseason, but I don’t see Montreal selling so low on him. His trade value is terrible right now but Montreal can’t afford to sell him at his current value.
The Red Wings would not even think about trading Green until somewhere around the deadline. And I think by then it would be too late for the Oilers to try to get back in it. But, with the talent that Edmonton has in their lineup, they will get things turned around. They do have one of the most dominant players in the league.