The Oilers are facing the consequences of not matching the offer sheet for Philip Broberg by the Blues.
They’ve shown interest in Tyson Barrie for a tryout, and now, Frank Seravalli reports they’re also looking at Kevin Shattenkirk and Justin Schultz. These defensemen are right-handed and good at moving the puck. This interest likely existed before losing Broberg because he’s left-handed with little NHL experience. Behind Evan Bouchard, their only other right-side options are Josh Brown, Ty Emberson, or Troy Stecher. None of them can handle top-four minutes reliably, so it makes sense they’re exploring more options.
Shattenkirk recently played on a one-year deal with the Bruins but only averaged 15:47 minutes per game. Even so, he did well on power plays . In 61 games for Boston, he scored six goals and had 24 points—better than two out of his last three years with Anaheim Ducks. Schultz has similar stats over four years with Capitals and Kraken: 21 goals and 110 points in 263 games compared to Shattenkirk’s 20 goals and 101 points in 273 games. Schultz has a career shooting percentage of 6.2%, higher than Shattenkirk’s 5.5%. If Schultz kept his success rate from last year in Edmonton, he’d be second among their defensemen.
Oilers’ Defense Options:
The Oilers have several choices to consider now. Any of these defensemen would be solid additions to the team that just won the Western Conference championship last season.
Fans might think this is a smart move given their current roster needs.
With enough cap space available, Edmonton can sign any of these players from free agency while still having room for upgrades during next year’s trade deadline.
What do you think? Should they go for Shattenkirk or Schultz?
