Trade Rumor: Edmonton Oilers Targeting Tampa Bay Lightning Forwards

The Edmonton Oilers are in for some roster changes this summer as their forward group has shown they aren't capable winning when it matters most. The dynamic duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl aren't going anywhere of course, but their wingers could be changing, and a couple wingers could be coming in from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Once general manager Ken Holland sorts out his internal free-agent decisions, look for the Oilers to contact the Lightning to gauge the market on a few of their forwards. The Lightning have to make moves before next season as they were so pressed up against the salary cap this season, they kept players out of the lineup until the players to circumvent the cap.....cough* cough* Nikita Kucherov. 

Regardless of where you stand on that, you can expect the Oilers to have interest in Alex Killorn, Ondrej Palat and Yanni Gourde. They each have their own no-trade protection, however skating with Connor McDavid is normally good for your pocket book so the decision should be an easy one. Killorn is signed for two more seasons at $4.45 million, Palat has one year left at $5.3m and Gourde is signed long-term for another four years at $5.16m.

The Oilers have some young defensive depth that could entice the Lightning, and won't cost a ton on the salary cap which for Tampa Bay, may be the most important thing. Look for the Oilers top-six forwards to have a couple new names penciled in next season, and some current Lightning forwards could be included.

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