Earl Karlsson trade rumors: 5 teams that should make deal

1. Edmonton Oilers

This has been a difficult season for Peter Chiarelli. Although you can’t blame him for the numerous injuries the Edmonton Oilers have piled up, from Cam Talbot to Leon Draisaitl to Adam Larsson and Oscar Klefbom, his offseason moves are looking worse and worse by the day.

He may have felt vindicated for last year’s Taylor Hall trade when the Oilers made it to the Conference Semifinals while the Devils finished with the first overall pick. But this year, with the Oilers at 14-17-2 and near the bottom of the league in goals against, extending Kris Russell and swapping Jordan Eberle for Ryan Strome – who has 13 points in 33 games – makes even less sense now than it did in the summer.

One way Chiarelli can instantly redeem himself is by trading for Karlsson. The Oilers may not look like a contending team this year, but they’re not as bad as their record indicates and they aren’t that far off. Last year’s playoff team has been kept intact, for the most part, they still have Connor McDavid and if they can get healthy, they can turn a corner. Their record of 6-4 in their last 10 games is misleading, too, since both of their losses to the Leafs were complete flukes.

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Pairing the best forward in the world with the best defenseman in the world is exactly what the Oilers need to put their slow start behind them and to resemble last year’s team. Acquiring Karlsson would likely require the Oilers to part with Draisaitl as well as Jesse Puljujarvi and picks. But Karlsson is so good at scoring that he can practically offset the loss of Draisaitl.

This is a trade the Oilers need to pull off, for Chiarelli’s sake more than anything.