Sasha Barkov already in Oilers colors
Edmonton GM Craig MacTavish has expressed interest in moving up at this year’s draft. The Oilers currently hold the 7th overall pick which is just outside where they need to be in order to draft a player they covet. I’m sure they’d like to move up to select Nathan MacKinnon or Seth Jones (who wouldn’t), but the odds of that happening are slim to none. Unless they’re willing to move one of their young core players plus other assets which is highly unlikely at this time.
So, who would the Oilers trade up for? My guess is they’re very interested in Sasha Barkov who is likely to be the 4th or 5th pick. The Hurricanes currently have the 5th pick and are set at Center with the Staal brothers and Jeff Skinner. If Carolina’s interested in defenseman Darnell Nurse, and there’s every reason to believe they are, there could be a deal with Edmonton. A few things need to happen for this scenario to work:
- Tampa Bay need to draft Russian left winger Valeri Nichushkin.
- Nashville takes highly skilled winger Jonathan Drouin instead of Barkov.
- Assume Calgary drafts a Centre with the 6th pick.
I’m not sure what Edmonton need to include for a deal to make sense for Carolina. Maybe Martin Marincin? Or the Oilers #37 pick? Ales Hemsky? I really don’t know. But, if Sasha Barkov is available at #5, MacTavish better make a call. Of course this is just a hypothetical scenario. It’s more likely Edmonton will trade their pick for immediate help on the blue-line or a later pick.
LVD Hockey 