Friedman starts on the Oilers by saying that Ryan Whitney will be traded by this year’s deadline.  Set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, Whitney’s name has been circulating the rumor mill for the last couple of weeks.

After being a healthy scratch a handful of times this season, Whitney is a regular in the Oilers lineup lately, thanks to some injuries on the blue line and also due to his offensive contributions of late.  He has 3 goals and 4 assists in 18 games this season and despite some critics saying he’s lost his foot speed for the game, there appears to be a market shaping up for Whitney with multiple clubs looking for a puck-moving, big bodies d-man.

The Oilers also have Ladislav Smid who is set to become an UFA this summer and surprisingly to Friedman, there hasn’t been much chatter about extending the 27-year old.  The blue line is by far the Oilers Achilles heel and after doing very little to shore it up last off season, allowing a bruising defenseman like Smid to walk would be foolish.

There has been talk of trading Smid with the Detroit Red Wings showing interest.  GM Ken Holland has wanted to bring in a big name blue liner for months, but won’t pay the price for Keith Yandle or Jay Bouwmeester.  That’s where a guy like Smid might fit in.  Not a big name, but an effective defender.

Ales Hemsky was the subject of trade chatter at this time last season in Edmonton and his name is again coming up in the rumors this year.  Friedman points out that while Hemsky’s name will be floating around from now until April 3rd, he doesn’t think Edmonton will get much for him or any other potential unrestricted free-agent for that matter.  Why pay for a player now when you could potentially sign him in the summer and not have to surrender any prospects?

Friedman then mentions Shawn Horcoff and while it’s merely a random thought from the CBC hockey expert, he does bring up an interesting debate.

Horcoff is a solid centerman who is the Oilers best faceoff guy.  That’s a coveted asset for many clubs heading into the playoffs.  But Friedman wonders aloud if the Oilers would look at moving their captain.  Horcoff does have a no-trade clause through this season  and has two years remaining on his deal that carries a cap hit of $5.5 million. Friedman thinks that there could be a market for Horcoff despite his declining offensive production.

But would the Oilers give up the defensive edge and face-off ability of Horcoff? Not to mention the veteran leadership that Friedman writes about?  Or do the Oilers need a shakeup and need to trim some of the fat that has been hanging around for too many years.

Starting in Buffalo, Elliotte Friedman of CBC’s Hockey Night is hearing that the Sabres are getting serious about moving a defenseman.  With multiple clubs in need of help on the blue line the Sabres are one of only a few teams that have a stockpile of back end players.  Two names that will surely garner the most attention are veterans Jordan Leopold and Robyn Regehr, both of whom are set to become unrestricted free agents this summer.  Wisely Buffalo will try and receive something for them rather than losing them for nothing.

The Edmonton Oilers are without their top two centerman in Eric Belanger and most recently Shawn Horcoff who is said to be out a month with a broken knuckle.  Given the Oilers struggles to score even strength goals, the club is said to be looking to add some help up the middle.

They could look to the free-agent market where Jason Arnott has been cleared to play after having a scope on his injured knee according to Mark Spector via Twitter.  Daymond Langkow, Brendan Morrison, Dominic Moore and Blair Betts are a few other names mentioned by the Edmonton Journal as possible fits for the Oilers.

Bob Stauffer via Twitter mentions David Steckel as a potential target for the Oilers given he is inconsistently in the Maple Leafs lineup and could come relatively cheap.

Ryan O’Reilly who is the middle of a nasty contract dispute would be a perfect fit for the Oilers but given his ransom demand of $5 million per season and the fact the Colorado Avalanche are a division opponent, it’s unlikely they’d let him go to Edmonton.

Despite Florida Panthers GM, Dale Tallon calling any trade rumors involving Stephen Weiss “ridiculous” the skilled center’s name continues to surface as available.  Weiss is set to become a free agent this summer and there are reports that the Panthers won’t have the cash to re-sign him, forcing the club to trade him and get something in return.

Jimmy Murphy of ESPNBoston.com says he continues to hear that Weiss is available despite what Tallon is saying via Twitter.

Finally, in Pittsburgh the Penguins are said to be seeking a skilled winger to play alongside Evgeni Malkin reports TheFourthPeriod.com. One name that has come up is Nikolai Kulemin of the Maple Leafs who was of interest to the Penguins last season before Brian Burke reportedly turned down a first-round pick according to TheFourthPeriod.com.

Malkin and Kulemin played together in the KHL during the lockout and were said to have some chemistry together.

Stay tuned, the trade rumors are only heating up and as the season progresses, the chatter will intensify.

First, Horcoff took a shot off his hand that forced him to leave the game, in which he did not return.  Our editor at Oil on Whyte, reported this morning that the news from the Oilers camp is that Horcoff has a broken knuckle and will be out for an extended period of time.

The Oilers were already without their top faceoff man in Eric Belanger and while Horcoff may not be one of the team’s top six forwards, he does kill a lot of penalties and is a solid faceoff guy.

The second injury the Oilers were dealt last night was to defenseman Mark Fistric who left the game after running into the boards.  Jeff at Oil on Whyte relays the news from Gene Principe of Sportsnet that Fistric will be out day-to-day with the injury.

Ryan Whitney was a healthy scratch last night meaning he’ll likely get back into the lineup if Fistric misses any amount of time.

There have been rumors swirling that the Oilers are looking to deal for a top four d-man and with Whitney proving to be unreliable and Fistric potentially set to miss a few games, the need could intensify for Steve Tambellini to pull the trigger sooner rather than later.

Horcoff’s injury further depletes the Oilers center position and with it the lack of reliable faceoff men who can win a crucial draw late in the game.  With both Horcoff and Belanger out long-term, the Oilers could be forced to deal for a legit centerman to help bolster their third line.