No sense in Oilers trading for Bouwmeester TheFourthPeriod.com
The Calgary Herald is questioning the rumor that the Oilers have been after Flames defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, especially when they had a similar veteran blueliner on their roster last season.
According to the Herald, the Oilers already had a strong-skating, strong-passing player like Bouwmeester in Tom Gilbert last season, before he was sent off to the Minnesota Wild.
It would be hard to believe that the Oilers would be willing to make a trade with their division-rivals, especially when they should be looking to land a superstar on their blueline; a defender that resembles Nashville Predators captain Shea Weber or Ottawa Senators young phenom Erik Karlsson.
The Herald also points out that the Oilers could trade for Bouwmeester, but only he had Gilbert's salary as well. At $6.7 million a season, GM Steve Tambellini should be satisfied in his current roster that includes Justin Schultz, Jeff Petry and Ryan Whitney to carry the puck up the ice.
In 82 games with the Flames last season, Bouwmeester collected five goals and 24 assists for 29 points, and a minus-21 rating.
