Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli confirmed today that his team will be sellers by the trade deadline. The Oilers have not been playing well, and it seems to be a trend that happens every year. They have been looking better under new head coach Todd McLellan, but a lot of their woes are coming from losing games by a goal, which they have done 16 times, according to the Edmonton Journal's Jim Matheson. Despite this, a loss is a loss, and it is most likely deflating for the young team.
"We haven't been good enough, so there will be changes," Chiarelli told reporters, confirming the team would be sellers, according to the official Edmonton Oilers' Twitter. "We've got some players who have underachieved and may need a new venue," he added.
With this news, there is speculation as to who could be on the trading block. The GM claims that he is not willing to trade a core player as of yet. Injuries to Connor McDavid, who is averaging over a point per game and missed 37 games earlier in the season, along with the absences of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Oscar Klefbom and Andrew Ference have made it difficult for Chiarelli to "assess" his team, so he is refraining from making any moves of his core players.
GM Chiarelli says major #Oilers injuries throughout the season "hurts my ability to assess our group, but we have to figure it out".
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 23, 2016
"I’m not really looking at (trading a core player) now, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be looking at that in the summer.” - Chiarelli — Rob Tychkowski (@Sun_Tychkowski) February 23, 2016
It was reported earlier in the month that the Oilers would be sellers and that Teddy Purcell would be up for trade, as he is a pending unrestricted free agent and has a $4.5 million cap hit. Justin Schultz has also been speculated to be on the trading block.
Anything can happen with the team in the upcoming days, as the only untouchable players are "Connor McDavid and maybe Leon Draisaitl and defenceman Darnell Nurse," according to Matheson.
The Oilers are last place in the league, but tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs in points, each with 50. Edmonton is in a similar situation each season, and things only seem to be getting worse.
