The Edmonton Oilers have been a busy bee in the NHL rumor mill. After making the “lateral move” happen on Wednesday, the attention now turns to the “mystery center” Darren Dreger talked about.
In an earlier piece here on Heavy, the comments by Dreger regarding the Oilers’ search for a young, Eastern Conference center have set off all sorts of speculation.
In that piece, two potential names were proposed: Marco Kasper of the Detroit Red Wings and Dawson Mercer of the New Jersey Devils.
But according to David Staples of the Edmonton Journal, the target could be Boston Bruins forward Matthew Poitras.
“One player who has been mentioned as a possibility to come over from Boston is 22-year-old Matthew Poitras. Poitras is a right shot centre, a positional need for the Oilers. Poitras has had two solid seasons in the AHL, but he’s stuck behind a log jam of centres in Boston including Elias Lindholm, Pavel Zacha, Sean Kuraly, Fraser Minten, and Mark Kastelic.”
Poitras was in a bit of a pickle as the Bruins didn’t seem too keen on keeping him around. But since he has to clear waivers, the Boston opted to place Mikey Eyssimont on waivers in order to avoid losing Poitras for nothing.
And so, he could be the young center looking for a fresh start. The Bruins haven’t given their prospects much of a fair shake. That’s why there’s reason to believe that Poitras could be the beneficiary of a rest in Edmonton.
Why Poitras Makes Sense for the Oilers
All told, Matthew Poitras actually makes sense for the Oilers. Edmonton lacks a high-end prospect who could come up and take over a meaningful role in the team’s forward group. Poitras is a former second-round pick, but quickly rose through the ranks after torching the OHL to the tune of 95 points in 63 games during the 2022-23 season.
The 22-year-old actually played well in his first go-around with the Bruins, tallying 11 points in 33 games. Despite the evident progression in the AHL, the Bruins just don’t feel he’s good enough to replace incumbents like Elias Lindholm or Pavel Zacha.
That’s why the Bruins would be compelled to ship him off to another club willing to pay up.
Just How Much Would Poitras Cost?
The biggest question in this entire equation is how much Poitras would cost the Oilers.
The Bruins can’t have a high price tag on Poitras as his stock is pretty low at this point. He was one step away from waivers, and, well, the Bruins didn’t want to risk losing him for nothing.
That said, the only reasonable package the Oilers could put together is something revolving around draft picks and depth pieces. Edmonton lacks any sort of mid-tier prospects that could move the needle for Boston. So, that’s where the holdup may be.
Still, one has to think that the Oilers may have something else up their sleeves. If it’s Poitras they’re looking at, he could come with a modest price tag, making him an affordable piece for the injury-riddled organization.
Oilers ‘Mystery Center’ Potentially Identified