Backcheck
Roster needs · candidate fits
As of Sun, Sep 20

The Trade Board

The model measures each club's roster gaps against the league, then ranks outside players on how well they'd plug the biggest one — on-ice value, style fit, and how gettable the seller looks. On-ice fit only; nothing here is cap-validated.

How to read this

First the diagnosis: we compare this club's impact in every roster bucket — top-six scoring, defensive D, and so on — against the league average, and rank the shortfalls. The biggest gap becomes the shopping brief.

Then the shortlist: outside players are scored on how well they'd plug that hole — their on-ice value (), their with how this club creates offense, and an that assumes struggling clubs sell and contenders don't. Know what this board is not: it has no salary data, no cap math, no term, and no idea whether a GM would return the call. It's a scouting shortlist built purely from on-ice fit — the phone call is your job.

NEED
roster bucket where the club trails league average, ranked by the gap
WAR*
on-ice value — a model proxy, not official WAR
STYLE
0–100: does the candidate score the way this club scores?
ACQ†
0–100: how gettable the seller looks, from points pace alone
FIT
value × need × style × acquirability — the shortlist order
Fine print · verbatim from the model
  • on-ice fit only; not cap-validated
  • acquirability is a PROXY (team points pace), not real availability; no contract/cap/AAV/term data exists.
  • No real contract data (PuckPedia/CapWages are paid). Contract phase is an age/experience estimate; market visibility proxies what contracts pay for.
EDMEdmonton Oilers
Biggest need

Bottom-6 forward depth

-42team 40.0 vs league 81.9 · high
All needs · ranked
4 flagged
01
Bottom-6 forward depthhigh
-42
02
Depth defensehigh
-38
03
Top-6 forwardhigh
-20
04
Top-pair defensemanhigh
-13
Best value fits
8 ranked · league board →
#FromPlayer
1UTA
Lawson CrouseL · +2.29Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, plays this club's style almost exactly (93/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
70+21.4UFA (est.)
79/100 · model-est.
2CAR
Eric RobinsonL · +1.06Coming off a solid contributor season, plays this club's style almost exactly (97/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
69+21.4UFA (est.)
78/100 · model-est.
3CAR
Mark JankowskiL · +1.35Coming off a solid contributor season, brings a different stylistic profile (64/100) — and comes badly underpriced by the market.
63+27.5UFA (est.)
78/100 · model-est.
4COL
Parker KellyC · +1.93Coming off a solid contributor season, plays this club's style almost exactly (97/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
69+20.9UFA (est.)
78/100 · model-est.
5CBJstats: COL
Valeri NichushkinR · +2.57Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, fits the style well (74/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
68+21.7UFA (est.)
78/100 · model-est.
6CAR
Sebastian AhoC · +3.70Coming off an all-star level season, plays this club's style almost exactly (97/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
71+18.0UFA (est.)
78/100 · model-est.
7PHIstats: PIT
Noel AcciariC · +1.32Coming off a solid contributor season, plays this club's style almost exactly (89/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
69+20.1UFA (est.)
78/100 · model-est.
8CAR
Taylor HallL · +2.33Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, plays this club's style almost exactly (89/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
68+22.0UFA (est.)
78/100 · model-est.

◆ Value basis · No real contract data (PuckPedia/CapWages are paid). Contract phase is an age/experience estimate; market visibility proxies what contracts pay for.

Candidate fits · Bottom-6 forward depth
15 ranked
#FromPlayer
1MIN
Matt BoldyL · 80.5Coming off an all-star level season, plays this club's style almost exactly (89/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
+4.338947
STRONG FIT73/100 · model-est.
2ANA
Cutter GauthierL · 76.5Coming off an all-star level season, plays this club's style almost exactly (89/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
+3.558952
STRONG FIT73/100 · model-est.
3BUF
Tage ThompsonC · 73.7Coming off an all-star level season, plays this club's style almost exactly (97/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
+3.799746
STRONG FIT72/100 · model-est.
4SJS
Pavol RegendaL · 67.4Coming off a depth season, plays this club's style almost exactly (97/100).
+0.549754
STRONG FIT72/100 · model-est.
5UTA
Dylan GuentherR · 74.5Coming off an all-star level season, plays this club's style almost exactly (93/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
+3.679347
STRONG FIT72/100 · model-est.
6STL
Jimmy SnuggerudR · 66.8Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, plays this club's style almost exactly (97/100).
+2.259752
STRONG FIT72/100 · model-est.
7PIT
Justin BrazeauR · 71.0Coming off a solid contributor season, plays this club's style almost exactly (97/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
+1.669747
STRONG FIT72/100 · model-est.
8NYI
Bo HorvatC · 67.9Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, plays this club's style almost exactly (97/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
+2.729751
STRONG FIT71/100 · model-est.
9FLA
Sam BennettC · 71.9Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, plays this club's style almost exactly (89/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
+2.688953
STRONG FIT71/100 · model-est.
10DETstats: BOS
Viktor ArvidssonL · 78.6Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, fits the style well (81/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
+2.608152
STRONG FIT71/100 · model-est.
11CAR
Sebastian AhoC · 71.6Coming off an all-star level season, plays this club's style almost exactly (97/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
+3.709745
STRONG FIT71/100 · model-est.
12TOR
Auston MatthewsC · 64.1Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, plays this club's style almost exactly (97/100).
+2.289754
STRONG FIT71/100 · model-est.
13TBL
Jake GuentzelC · 74.2Coming off an all-star level season, plays this club's style almost exactly (93/100) — and comes underpriced by the market.
+4.079344
STRONG FIT71/100 · model-est.
14CHI
Connor BedardC · 62.7Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, plays this club's style almost exactly (97/100).
+2.839756
STRONG FIT71/100 · model-est.
15SJS
Will SmithC · 63.4Coming off a clear top-of-the-lineup season, plays this club's style almost exactly (97/100).
+2.489754
STRONG FIT71/100 · model-est.
◆ The Modelon-ice fit only; not cap-validated* WAR is a model-estimated proxy, not official WAR

acquirability is a PROXY (team points pace), not real availability; no contract/cap/AAV/term data exists.

Fit score blends on-ice value, positional need, style match and the acquirability proxy. It says nothing about contracts, cap space, term, or whether a seller would pick up the phone — read it as a scouting shortlist, not a trade machine.