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Roundtable: Which middle-six forward and ‘Ekholm Jr.’ defenceman should the Oilers target in trade?

3 42
16.12.2025
What a Friday it was for the NHL. You had the surprise Tristan Jarry trade early in the morning, only for it to be outdone later that night by Quinn Hughes getting dealt to the Minnesota Wild.There were certainly some smoke screens last week about a potential Jarry trade not happening due to the Penguins’ unwillingness to retain salary, couple with the fact that reports started to surface the Oilers were looking to address other areas of their team.Among those areas, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta’s suggested, was that the Oilers could be looking to acquire a physical, “Ekholm Jr.” type of defenceman, and another middle-six forward.I polled some of the Oilersnation crew about who could be the best target.

Who would be the best targets?

Tyler Yaremchuk: The first defenceman that comes to mind is Mario Ferraro from the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks have been a sneaky competitive team so far this season and have taken a big step forward, so it’s far from a guarantee that they sell but if the Sharks fall out and GM Mike Grier makes Ferraro available, then the Oilers should be all over it. Ferraro does a lot of things well and his $3.25m cap hit is very attractive. He can play both sides of the blueline as well, which the Oilers value. If the Sharks don’t want to move Ferraro and the Oilers need to check down… what about a reunion with John Klingberg? It wouldn’t cost a lot.There are way more forwards on the market then defenceman, as usual, which means the prices should be lower and the Oilers would have options. Alex Tuch is at #1 on my list. It would cost a lot but I think there’d be interest from both sides in signing a long-term extension this summer and he’s a legitimate play driving winger and would make the Oilers forward group even scarier. I also like the idea of Boone Jenner. Low cap hit, positional versatility, and the ability to kill penalties. His game translates well to the playoffs. Baggedmilk: I’m so bad at these games because I never know who is available unless they’re right in my face. That said, the defenceman I would love to see in an Oilers uniform is the one that will never actually happen. Of course, I’m talking about

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