Which Prospect Will Oilers Trade Next?

CEO of Hockey Operations for the Edmonton Oilers, Jeff Jackson, has done an incredible job filling in as the general manager while the position is vacant. After the great free agency, he has made two rather interesting trades involving prospects in the last 10 days.

The first trade the Oilers made was to acquire Matthew Savoie from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Ryan Mcleod and Tyler Tullio. After so much hype surrounding Savoie and him being ranked as the top prospect in Edmonton, the Oilers just traded away former first-round pick Xavier Bourgault and Jake Chaisson to the Ottawa Senators and received Roby Jarventie and a fourth-round pick in 2025.

Soon after former general manager Ken Holland parted with the Oilers after his contract expired, Jackson has been correcting some past mistakes and upgrading the farm system, so what can he pull from his bag of tricks next as there doesn't seem to be any slowing down in the making of great moves.

I think new additions Savoie and Jarventie are safe for next season. Both can crack the NHL roster, but both are also exempt from waivers next season as well.

No team picked up Raphael Lavoie when he was put on waivers in training camp and that was a big win for the Oilers. Lavoie had a strong AHL campaign and appeared in seven games for the Oilers. He is NHL-ready if there is a spot for him. I don't see teams trading for a player who might become available on waivers again in the fall.

Considering right-shot d-men are hard to come by, Beau Akey and Max Wanner should be safe for now. Both could fit into the Oilers' lineup down the line.

The Oilers need to see more from Matvei Petrov, but also have to play him in a role to succeed in the AHL. He put up consecutive 90-point seasons in the OHL, but had just 14 last season as a rookie in the AHL. I could see him being moved this summer, but I would see it as unwise considering he could have a much better second season pro.

I want to also bring attention to Maksim Berezkin and Sam O'Reilly, both unsigned by the Oilers thus far. Berezkin is doing very well in the KHL and will hopefully come over soon and want to play in Edmonton. Unless he says he wants to play elsewhere and not sign with the Oilers, the team has to hold him. As for O'Reilly, he was just drafted and the Oilers moved up in order to grab him. He won't be moved yet, but if he has a D1 season like Reid Schaefer did, O'Reilly could very well be a trade deadline piece used for an upgrade.

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