Oilers Rumors: Edmonton Scouting Blue Jackets & Canadiens Goalies

The Edmonton Oilers continue to search the trade market for some goaltending help and it sounds like GM Ken Holland and his staff have zeroed in on two teams of interest.

Three scouts from Edmonton at tonight's MTL-CBJ game.

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) November 29, 2023

The Oilers appear willing to include Jack Campbell in any trade along with two sweeteners to entice other clubs as Campbell is owed $5 million per year through the 2026-27 season. As far as trade targets go, Samuel Montembeault of the Canadiens and Elvis Merzlikins of the Blue Jackets remain of interest to Holland who is trying to get his staff to dig a little bit deeper into their games.

Montembeault is a pending unrestricted free agent who is owed $1 million against the cap this season. He's a much different target than Merzlikins, who is under contract through the 2026-27 season at $5.4 million annually and does hold trade protection against 10 teams.

The Oilers may need to part with a future first-round pick and third-round pick if they want a team to bite on taking on Campbell, meanwhile they also have prospect Xavier Bourgault who is generating a ton of interest from other teams now that the trade talks have picked up across the league.

There's no doubt Holland and the Oilers will make a move, it's just going to be a question of how significant the move is based on how much Edmonton is willing to part with to clean up their crease. 

Photo credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports