March 22, 2022 by Ryan Lotsberg

The Edmonton Oilers’ perfect five-game homestand sent a message to General Manager Ken Holland that this team is ready to go on a deep playoff run.

Holland heard the message loud and clear, and made two trades before Monday’s deadline to bolster the Oilers’ lineup. First, the Oilers acquired defenceman Brett Kulak from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for William Lagesson, a conditional second-round pick in 2022 and a seventh-round pick.

Per TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, the second-round pick shifts to 2023 if the Oilers reach the 2022 Stanley Cup Final, because of the conditions of the Duncan Keith trade on July 12, 2021. Rishaug also reported that the Canadiens will retain half of Kulak’s cap hit for the remainder of the season.

On the surface, the price seems a little bit high for Kulak, but the fact that the Canadiens retained salary in the deal makes the price more palatable. Kulak is being brought in to upgrade the third pairing left defence position, which is where Lagesson would typically slot in when he was in the lineup.

Lagesson’s future with the organization was been in doubt ever since the emergence of Markus Niemelainen. At age 26, Lagesson had yet to become a permanent roster player. And with several defensive prospects ahead of him on the depth chart going forward, it made sense to include him in this deal.

Kulak is an upgrade on both Lagesson and Kris Russell on the third pairing. He has consistently played top-four minutes with Jeff Petry in Montreal this season. The 28-year-old defends well, makes a good first-pass and is surprisingly mobile. His goal share of 43.21% is concerning, but keep in mind he’s playing on a weaker team in Montreal.

His expected goal share is 49.38%. In other words, he’s allowing more goals than is expected based on his play. His other advanced stats are all hovering a little under the magical 50% mark, which isn’t terrible. Those numbers could go up playing for a better team like the Oilers.

Another positive about Kulak is that he can play on either side, which is important in case of injuries on the blueline. He’s viewed as a rental, but there’s always a chance that Kulak could re-sign here in the summer. If Holland can move out Tyson Barrie and sign Kulak for a lower cap hit than Barrie’s in the summer, then that could open up some cap space to allow Holland to add in other areas for next season. The Spruce Grove product is a solid addition by Holland.

Later in the day, the Oilers acquired centre Derick Brassard from the Philadelphia Flyers for a fourth-round pick in 2023. Rishaug reported that the Flyers will also retain half of Brassard’s salary for the remainder of the season. Brassard had six goals and 16 points in 31 games for the Flyers this season.

Perhaps more important, Brassard has 68 points in 117 career playoff games. He’s been to the Stanley Cup Final with the New York Rangers in 2014 and the conference final on three occasions.

Brassard has been traded at or before the deadline five times in four seasons during his career. That’s likely because he’s a skilled player that always produces well enough to have value to playoff teams. He should provide the depth scoring that the Oilers have needed for ages.

The 34-year-old becomes the most productive bottom-six centre that the Oilers currently have, with the exception of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (depending on where he plays). Brassard has a .52 points-per-game average this season, while Nugent-Hopkins is at .50 this year.

Head Coach Jay Woodcroft could even play Brassard on Nugent-Hopkins’s wing. Either way, the Oilers have two options at third line centre that will produce a sufficient amount of offence. Ryan McLeod has shown tremendous improvement recently, but the offensive production still isn’t there. He can have a bigger impact on a trustworthy fourth line this season.

McLeod is trending towards becoming the third line centre of the future in Edmonton. Brassard’s presence here now won’t impede that progression at all.

Make no mistake about it, this is the deepest group of forwards that the Oilers have had in the Connor McDavid era. They can now have three lines that I would expect to be able to score at even-strength consistently, and the potential for a fourth line that won’t get caved in every night.

Here’s a look at the potential line combinations and defensive pairings for a fully healthy Oilers roster:

Kane – McDavid – Yamamoto

Nugent-Hopkins – Draisaitl – Hyman

Foegele – Brassard – Puljujarvi

McLeod – Ryan – Kassian

Shore, Archibald

Nurse – Ceci

Keith – Bouchard

Kulak – Barrie

Russell

There are so many possible forward line combinations that would all result in depth scoring. If Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi can bring some offence consistently, this is a potent group. Kulak rounds out the defence group nicely.

I’m also encouraged by what I saw other teams in the Western conference do today. The top teams in the conference got stronger, which doesn’t impact the Oilers’ chances of making the playoffs. The Colorado Avalanche acquired Artturi Lehkonen and Andrew Cogliano today in addition to Josh Manson and Nico Sturm last week.

Should the Oilers finish in one of the top three spots in the Pacific division, the Oilers wouldn’t face the Avalanche until the Western Conference Finals at the earliest. The Calgary Flames added Ryan Carpenter, which is a depth move. They did their work earlier when they added Tyler Toffoli and Calle Jarnkrok. The Flames have lots of depth and they defend well, but they don’t have the high-end offence that the Oilers have.

The Kings added Troy Stecher, which is a depth addition that will slightly soften the blow of Drew Doughty being out for the next while, but it doesn’t make the Kings a scarier first round playoff opponent. The Vegas Golden Knights traded Evgeni Dadonov to Anaheim, so their injury plagued team just got weaker. Those are the two teams competing for the two open Pacific division playoff spots with the Oilers. The Oilers improved the most out of those three teams today.

The Winnipeg Jets traded Andrew Copp away. The Dallas Stars traded for Scott Wedgewood yesterday, and for Vladislav Namestinikov today. I like that Namestnikov deal for Dallas, but they didn’t do as much to improve their team as the Oilers did today. Those are the two teams that could push the Oilers out of a playoff spot if LA and Vegas were to finish ahead of them. I don’t see either team passing Edmonton down the stretch.

I like the Oilers to make the playoffs. I also like the additions they made today. They have better top end talent than anybody in the league, and they have competitive depth for the first time in the McDavid era. Their defence is mobile, and they don’t have anyone playing over their head. The goaltending remains a question mark, but Mike Smith was Calgary’s best player in the 2019 playoffs after having an .895 save percentage during that regular season. Mikko Koskinen has been solid under Woodcroft and has shown he can play well as long as his workload isn’t too heavy.

No one should be sleeping on the Oilers in the playoffs this year.