NHL Trade Rumors: Should Oilers try to acquire Brian Boyle?
By Dave Holcomb
Should the Edmonton Oilers go out and acquire Brian Boyle to bail out their issues winning face-offs this season?
The Edmonton Oilers signed left wing Milan Lucic to a massive deal last summer for three major reasons. While the first two have to do with providing Oilers captain Connor McDavid some scoring assistant and a physical presence on his line, the third reason would be his playoff experience. Lucic has played 101 playoff games in his career and won the Stanley Cup in 2011.
The same traits can be found in Tampa Bay Lightning center Brian Boyle, who the Oilers are reportedly targeting in trade talks. It isn’t at all hard to see why.
He isn’t the same scoring threat as Lucic, as he’s scored more than 20 goals just once in his career. But over the last three seasons, Boyle has averaged 0.89 goals per 60 minutes, which is right on par with the best fourth-line centers in the NHL. Just to compare, Lucic scored 0.86 goals per 60 minutes last season with the Kings.
Furthermore, the Oilers aren’t going to find a fourth-line player with more playoff experience than Boyle. He’s been to the Eastern Conference Finals four times, including each of the last three seasons. Although Boyle has never won the Stanley Cup, he’s also been to the Finals twice – in 2014 with the Rangers and 2015 with the Lightning.
And when the moment gets bigger, Boyle is usually at his best. In 17 postseason games last season, he scored five goals, including one game-winner.
Tampa Bay has been surprisingly disappointing this season, but Boyle has continued to play well. He has recorded 13 goals and 22 points with a plus-6 rating in 52 games. Boyle has also won 53.4 percent of his faceoffs and posted a 53.9 Corsi For Percentage. And at 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, Boyle never shies away from physical contact.
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Although every team is looking for depth scoring for the postseason run, it’s other aspects like his defense and faceoff win percentage that make Boyle a great addition so many teams. Then throw on his playoff success and physicality, and he’s a perfect match for the young, inexperienced Oilers.