Are Edmonton Oilers really interested in Oliver Ekman-Larsson? How might that make sense?
Photo by Jason Franson / CP  Article content This in, a speculative talk on Oilers Now between Sportsnets Elliotte Friedman and host Bob Stauffer about the future of Arizona d-man Oliver Ekman-Larsson, where the possibility of the Oilers inquiring about trading for OEL came up. Stauffer suggested that with OELs value down, Arizona would have to take money back to move the d-man, who will be 30 next month, but would get back prospects and picks. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Back to video I think that is true, Friedman said, then wondered if Arizona was trying to hit a home run on the trade or if the team was just trying to move out OELs contract, which has six years left at $8.25 million per year. I think theres a lot of people out there who feel that Ekman-Larsson would benefit with a fresh start. As for Edmonton and OEL, Friedman said, Im sure you guys have kicked tires around that one again. Stauffer pushed back on that notion, noting that with OEL, the Oilers would have two $8-million per year left d-men in OEL and Nurse. Im sure the coaching staff would love it. Because they have got history with Ekman-Larsson. Both Tippett and Playfair have had him before. Edmonton is most likely going to have to replace Oscar Klefbom. But, again, theyre going to have to pay Darnell Nurse long term.  Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Friedman then wondered if the Oilers could make a deal where OEL was not an $8-million per year d-man. At Dailyfaceoff.com, reporter Frank Seravalli has written of a prospective OEL trade: That is a very difficult contract to move in a flat cap world and there are plenty of questions about Ekman-Larssons recent and noticeable drop-off in play. The Coyotes are believed to be looking for a Ryan OReilly (to St. Louis)-type deal: pick, prospect, roster player and are willing to maybe take a smaller, less desirable contract in return. And Craig Morgan, the azhockeyinsider, wrote of the player: Ekman-Larsson appears to understand that it is time to move on and get a fresh start. The ownership group has made it clear that it does not want him, he has struggled under the weight of the captaincy, and there were times last season where he looked lost in big moments for the team There are a number of possibilities with this trade. ).  Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content My take 1. I see little chance that OEL will end up as an Oiler. For such a trade to happen, OEL would have to approve it and Arizona would have to eat an enormous portion of OELs annual pay. Edmonton can afford to pay Darnell Nurse as much as $8 million per season over the long-term, but it cant afford to have two d-men on the left side earning that money. 2. A reasonable salary cap structure at left defence would be Nurse earning $8 million, then the second pairing d-man earning $3 or $4 million, and the third and fourth pairing d-men earning $1.0 million and the league minimum. I highly doubt that. Maybe Arizona would take on a bad contract from another team or maybe it would eat at few million each year on OELs deal (and Im just guessing here) but its almost a certainly some team that will value OEL as a No. 1 d-man. It will be willing to pay considerably more than the Oilers in term and average annual salary. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content 3. If you rank NHL d-men based on how their own coaches trusted them with icetime in key situations (overtime, short-handed and even strength) and also factor in power play and even strength points production, OEL is no longer a top-pairing d-man in the NHL and has not been one for two seasons. He played behind Jakob Chychrun this year in Arizona at left defence. By this standard he ranked 74th for NHL d-men, at the same level as Brandon Montour, Gustav Forsling, Rasmus Anderson, Chris Tanev, TJ Brodie, Ryan Suter, Derek Forbort and Shayne Gostisbehere. Some good NHL d-men are in that group but not one of them is worth $6 million per year, let alone $8.25 million per year. 4. Their player acquisition process had them believing that Kyle Turris could step in as a third-line centre this year, something Turris did not come remotely close to achieving. Whatever it was, they cant make the same mistake with OEL. They need to rate him based on his recent play, not on memories of the past, and on reasonable projections of what can be expected of such a player as he enters his 30s. A failure of judgement could end up with the Oilers overestimating OEL and paying too much for him. But, again, its highly unlikely OEL would end up an Oilers given the lack of an obvious space in the teams salary structure for another top left shot d-man. Edmonton needs its cap space to pay Nurse, to pay a top goalie and to pay a top winger or two. Toronto writers give us something to think about  Share this article in your social network        Latest National Stories Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Edmonton Journal Headline News Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Edmonton Journal, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Email Address There was an error, please provide a valid email address. 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