Edmonton Oilers Trade Rumors: NHL Trade Deadline Sellers

Edmonton Oilers Trade Rumors: Chiarelli Expects Oilers to be Sellers at NHL Trade Deadline

General Manager Peter Chiarelli responded to recent Edmonton Oilers trade rumors. Based on reports from NHL.com, the Oilers GM told media Tuesday morning that he expects the organization to be sellers leading up to/on February 29th.

Chiarelli never mentioned specific player names, although latest speculation is suggesting that F Teddy Purcell (Pending Unrestricted Free Agent) and D Justin Schultz (Pending Restricted Free Agent) are most likely to be traded.

NHL.com correspondent Derek Van Diest also suggested that Edmonton Oilers trade rumors should include F Nail Yakupov. He expects Edmonton will receive calls regarding the availability of the 22-year-old Russian winger.

via NHL.com,

The Oilers (22-32-6) are last in the NHL standings and likely to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 10th consecutive season.

“I’m disappointed where we are in the standings,” Chiarelli said Tuesday. “Just in this last little stretch, I thought our energy level and our work ethic is waning a little bit. Leading into this stretch, I was generally satisfied with the progress we were making on some levels. Obviously, our defense is a work in progress, it is well-documented by you guys [media] and rightfully so, and something that we have to improve.”

“We have some players that have underachieved, we have some players that may need a different venue,” Chiarelli said. “Those are the determinations we’ll make between now and trade deadline. If certain players are still around, it’s because the deal wasn’t right or we felt that there was a future for them with us, and we may revisit that situation in the summer.”

Chiarelli said it is unlikely he will trade a young core member of his team before the deadline, such as left wing Taylor Hall, right wing Jordan Eberle or center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who is out of the lineup with a broken hand. A major trade, however, may not be out of the question this offseason.

“Anything is possible, for me, but major deals are less likely at this time,” Chiarelli said. “What happens is that there is more global planning that takes place postseason prior to the draft. And then of course, you have the proximity of those draft picks that teams are aware of and there is just more activity that way. Anything is possible, but I can tell you that I’m not thinking about that type of deal now. It doesn’t mean I won’t be looking at that in the spring and summer.”