Who Else Joins Nugent-Hopkins in Top-Six For Oilers?
With the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins eight-year extension out of the way, Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland took care of a major piece of business heading into the offseason. It was either find two top-six left-wingers or one, and because Holland got the Nugent-Hopkins deal done, he can breathe a little easier. That said, Hollands work is certainly not over and the top-six for Edmonton needs another piece. With a $5.125 million tag attached to Nugent-Hopkinss new deal, the Oilers have left themselves a little room to go looking. Here are a few ways the Oilers might lean when deciding how to fill that one left wing spot. Oilers Can Shoot For a Big Free Agent  Nugent-Hopkins in at just over $5 million means the Oilers have another $4$6 million to spend on a left-winger, should they choose to. That gives them plenty of options in a flat salary cap marketplace and some of the names that pop out immediately are Zach Hyman, Tomas Tatar, Jaden Schwartz, Mike Hoffman, and Taylor Hall. Toronto Maple Leafs Zach Hyman (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young)  Edmonton is one of the few teams with money to spend, so they could be an attractive option for all of these players. The risk is that the Oilers have to overpay to get someone and thats probably not the ideal strategy, especially after the club worked so hard to get Nuges number to an affordable AAV. It might not matter. There is already talk that many of the above-mentioned names are interested in staying with their respective teams. Related: Oilers News & Rumors: Nugent-Hopkins, Kassian, Neal, Kahun, Klefbom, More  Oilers Can Look for a Bargain Player  Instead of trying to find a big-ticket left-winger, the Oilers could do what they did last offseason which was add a couple of players at low-cost deals and hope that they find a diamond in the rough. The idea here is to sign someone that simply needs a change on environment to break out. Among the list of targets: Anthony Duclair, Ryan Dzingel, Mattias Janmark, Alex Galchenyuk. The nice thing about this strategy is that the Oilers save money for other needs and dont need to commit to a player long-term. This could allow them to spend more on a left-shot defenseman or improve their goaltending. The downside is that theres no real history to show these players will produce and you dont want to take up a roster spot or plug someone in that cant do the job. Oilers Could Make a Trade  There are a lot of teams that are stuck. They either have players who are interested in a fresh start elsewhere, or hockey clubs are forced to clear cap space. The Oilers could make a trade to take advantage of these teams uncomfortable position. Who knows, they might even be able to shed a poor contract in the process. Jake Debrusk, Boston Bruins (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)  Among the names that stand out here, Vladimir Tarasenko just informed the Blues hed be open to moving to a few teams (he is a RW though, so not ideal). The Tampa Bay Lighting will have no choice but to move money and a player like Yanni Gourde or Andrej Palat could be scooped up if they are willing to waive their no-trade clauses. Jake DeBrusk of the Boston Bruins is always in the rumor mill and the Arizona Coyotes might be open to moving Conor Garland. The Most Likely Scenario for the Oilers  My prediction is that Edmonton keys in on a couple of free agent options and sets a line in the sand. They make a pitch, hope they get one at their comfortable offer and focus on other parts of the lineup if successful. If that doesnt pan out, look to teams who are stuck on contracts and make a trade. In fact, the Oilers might be able to do both. If the deals are there and the money situation is right, theres no reason Edmonton cant still target a couple of left-wingers and take both deals if they are too good to pass up. After that, play with your lineup as you need to and move out a piece or two to give you the depth you want. At the same time, leave the window open a crack for a player like Dylan Holloway to prove he should get a long look and a shot to make next seasons roster. I like the idea of offering $5.5 million by five years for Hyman (a little higher AAV than Nugent-Hopkins because of the shorter term). If Hyman doesnt bite, he doesnt bite. Plan B would be to go after Jake DeBrusk and have him compete with Holloway for a third-line or second-line spot.