Back the late 1980s, no team dominated the NHL like the Edmonton Oilers. Led by Wayne Gretzky, the Oilers won four Stanley Cups in five years, then won another in the 1989-1990 season even after The Great One had departed for the Los Angeles Kings.
Fast-forward three decades, and Edmonton has yet to add to their total of five Cups â but they are now poised to start a new dynasty as they enter the 2025-2026 season coming off back to back trips to the Stanley Cup Finals. What they have not done is win it, losing both times to the Florida Panthers.
So what can Edmonton do to “finish the job,” as Jesse Courville-Lynch of The Hockey Writers put it?
Top-Six Forward on the Agenda in Edmonton
According to recent statements by NHL insiders, including Chris Johnston of TSN and David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, a certified top-six forward with a proven track record of points-production is likely to be on the market. And Courville-Lynch says that the Oilers should be aggressive in putting together a trade for him.
“After coming up short in the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season, they seem poised to finish the job next time around,” the Hockey Writers scribe wrote on Saturday. “On top of some coaching changes as well, the Oilers seem close to finished this offseason, but one player has become available that they should be all-in on, if the Seattle Kraken are truly willing to move him.”
Of course, Courville-Lynch was talking about 29-year-old Jared McCann, picked off the Toronto Maple Leafs roster by Seattle in the 2021 expansion draft. McCann never played for Toronto, having just been dealt there by Florida four days earlier.
McCann, a native of Stratford, Ontario, was originally taken by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2014 entry draft, going in the first round with the 24th pick â one slot ahead of where the Boston Bruins took David PastrÅák.
Top Prospects to Seattle for Team-Best Goal Scorer
McCann’s career hasn’t gone quite as well as that of the four-time All-Star and 2019-2020 Maurice Richard Trophy winner PastrÅák. But the left-shot center/winger finally blossomed when he came to Seattle. In his four seasons as a member of the Kraken, McCann has put at least 20 past the goalie each year â topping out at 40 in 2022-2023.
“McCann … scored 22 goals and added 39 assists for 61 points through 82 games with the Kraken last season, which comes out to a 0.74 points-per-game average,” Courville-Lynch recounted. “Throughout his career, he has scored 184 goals and added 214 assists for 398 points through 668 games, which comes out to a 0.60 points-per-game average. His two-way game is solid, and his offensive production is enough to consider him an elite top-six contributor for any contending team.”
By dealing McCann, the Kraken would be entering a full rebuild. He was the team’s leading scorer last season â as he has been in all four of his Seattle seasons.
Oilers Must Free Up Cap Space to Nab McCann
But he comes with a $5 million cap hit and two seasons remaining on his five-year, $25 million contract with the Kraken.
“The Oilers have a few ways to clear up cap space,” Courville-Lynch wrote. “They may circle back to Adam Henrique and see if he wants to waive his trade protection for a move elsewhere, and they could also look to trade Mattias Janmark, which would give them $4,675,834 to work with if they can clear both deals fully.”
And who would the Oilers have to send Seattle’s way to bring in McCann, in order to “finish the job.”
“Realistically, the Kraken are probably more enticed to look for a first-round pick in 2026, which could give another team interested in McCann the upper hand,” Courville-Lynch wrote, noting that the Oilers do not own their first-round selection until 2027. “However, if the Oilers made an offer of Beau Akey, Maxim Berezkin, their 2027 first-round pick, and their 2028 second-round pick, the Kraken are going to have to consider it.”
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