Could former Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland be looking to bring aboard a key defensive forward to the Edmonton Oilers?
According to one TSN analyst, that’s the case.
Senior hockey reporter Frank Seravalli stated yesterday that the Edmonton Oilers, who need help in the face-off circle and with penalty killing, could attempt to trade for Red Wings defensive forward Luke Glendening.
He stated:
“It might not be splashy but I think the Edmonton Oilers have their eye on a very specific piece at a very specific price. That’s a right shot centre who can take faceoffs, and win them on the penalty kill where they’ve struggled this year, just 42 per cent shorthanded that can help their kill,” Seravalli said on Insider Trading Thursday. “So who fits that bill? Well how about Luke Glendening who’s not coming back to the Detroit Red Wings.
“He’s the guy that leads the league in faceoff percentage this season, can also kill penalties and has a cheap cap hit. There’s two other guys that don’t require a seven-day quarantine and that would be Vancouver’s Brandon Sutter and Calgary’s Derek Ryan, although they have higher caps hits, more cap gymnastics there.
“And the price? Well the Oilers have traded their second, third and fifth-round picks, so they’d like to do all that for a fourth-round pick if they can. We’ll see what kind of magic Ken Holland has up his sleeve.”
Glendening was signed as an undrafted free-agent by Holland out of the University of Michigan in 2012, and he’s established himself as one of the more underrated defensive forwards in the NHL today. He’s a pending free-agent, and has scored three goals with six assists this season.
