NHL Rumors: Oilers Showing Serious Interest In Coyotes Defenceman

Despite really strong play defensively over the last number of games for the Edmonton Oilers, they are in search of a defensive upgrade as they continue to inch closer to first in their division. The team happens to be 7-0-1 since the arrival of Vincent Desharnais, but the Oilers have also been running with seven defencemen.

They have talked somewhat seriously with the Arizona Coyotes about Shayne Gostisbehere and are interested, per Elliotte Friedman. Gostisbehere would give the Oilers the option of utilizing their newly acquired defenceman on both sides of the ice and would add yet another layer of offence. Last season the Colorado Avalanche showed that defence doesn't always win championships and the Oilers already have one of the most potent offensive teams in the NHL.

Evan Bouchard isn't having the same season offensively as he did in 2021-22, so acquiring someone like Gostisbehere as a rental could be Ken Holland trying to help that. Tyson Barrie and Darnell Nurse are having strong offensive seasons though. Gostisbehere is a power play specialist like Barrie, so I wonder if the Oilers are potentially looking to the future with a Gostisbehere add. If Barrie is still on the team, that means one of the best things Gostisbehere brings to the table is mostly meaningless on the Oilers. The second power play doesn't get very much time on the ice.

Gostisbehere is 29 years old, is a UFA at the end of the season, and has a cap hit of $4.5 million for the rest of the season. The Coyotes would have to retain some of his cap to make any deal work, but Gostisbehere could be worth the cost considering he has nine goals and 29 points on the season for the low-scoring Coyotes.