Elliotte Friedman Has Revealed Stan Bowman And The Oilers Are Targeting Big Name Defensemen

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman has revealed on his 32 Thoughts podcast that the Oilers aren't done making moves, and GM Stan Bowman is looking at some defensemen.

As noted by the NHL's Elliotte Friedman, adding Alec Regula probably won't be the only move the Edmonton Oilers make on the backend this season.

Friedman added Edmonton is "looking at both sides" when it comes to left and right defense, and if that's the case, more additions would likely still be on tap.

The Oilers left side is very thin, with Cam Dineen the lone listed left-shot defenseman in the AHL pipeline. Meanwhile, Edmonton claimed the right-shot defender Alec Regula off of waivers from the Boston Bruins just the other day.

The addition continues to clog an already crowded depth chart on the right side as the Oilers NHL roster currently boasts Evan Bouchard, Troy Stecher, and Ty Emberson while the AHL's Bakersfield Condors boast Phil Kemp, Josh Brown, and Connor Carrick.

It's not certain where Regula will fit into the lineup at this juncture. The 24-year-old Michigan native doesn't boast much in the way of NHL experience and projects to be at best a bottom-pairing defenseman this season.

And with this trade, Edmonton does face the same questions regarding the general strategy to fix their defensive ills, especially with Travis Dermott's uninspiring play of late, who has become a regular healthy scratch a lot in the last few games.

With Dermott now on waivers, his departure would leave Edmonton with just six NHL defensemen, and open up a potential door for Regula.

But Friedman hedged that perhaps the Oilers understand they'll need to deal some bodies if they're serious about changing out their blue line.

While maybe Regula doesn't change a thing in the here and now, it speaks to the effort of the Edmonton club to firm up depth and provide flexibility while continuing to tinker with the roster.

Whether they stick with Regula or look to do something bigger, the Oilers' lineup on defense remains very much a work in progress.

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