Oilers in the market for a veteran right-shot defenseman after losing Ceci, Broberg

The Edmonton Oilers are in the market for a veteran right-handed defender after losing both Cody Ceci and Philip Broberg earlier this week, according to a new report from Daily Faceoff hockey insider Frank Seravalli.

Among the players believed to be on the Oilers’ radar are Justin Schultz and Tyson Barrie, both of whom played for the club under previous management regimes during the Connor McDavid era. Seravalli also listed Kevin Shattenkirk as a potential target for Edmonton.

The Oilers traded veteran defender Cody Ceci to the San Jose Sharks on Sunday, seemingly in preparation to match the two-year offer sheet the St. Louis Blues had tendered to 23-year-old Philip Broberg earlier this month. However, the Oilers surprised many onlookers by allowing both Broberg and Dylan Holloway to leave for St. Louis, creating more cap space for themselves in the process but also opening up a hole in their defensive alignment.

Barrie, 33, has already proven he can mesh with this current iteration of the Oilers, having skated almost exclusively on the club’s No. 1 power-play unit from 2020-21 until he was sent to the Nashville Predators in the Mattias Ekholm trade midway through the 2022-23 season.

Although he struggled to provide much offense in Nashville, Barrie reached undeniably impressive offensive heights over his three seasons in Edmonton, collecting 25 goals and 132 points while averaging 19:44 of ice time in 190 games. However, it’s unclear whether he’d be able to return to his previous form now that Evan Bouchard has taken his spot as the Oilers’ top power-play quarterback.

Schultz, 34, first joined the Oilers way back in 2012 as a top NCAA free agent. He spent parts of four seasons in Edmonton to begin his NHL career but never lived up to his billing as a potential star offensive defenseman, instead topping out with 11 goals and 33 points in 74 games with the Oilers in the 2013-14 season.

After being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016, Schultz found his groove as a puck-mover on the team’s third pairing and top PP unit and helped the team win the Stanley Cup that spring. The following year, he filled the void left by Kris Letang, who missed half of the 2016-17 regular season and all of the playoffs, and collected 64 points over 99 total games to help the Penguins repeat as champions. Schultz never reached that level again but has been a capable two-way defender in the years since with Pittsburgh, Washington, and Seattle.

Shattenkirk, 35, has spent his entire career playing with United States-based teams and reportedly rejected a trade to the Oilers in 2016, back when he was at the top of his game with the St. Louis Blues. The New Rochelle, New York product won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and has also played with the Colorado Avalanche, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Anaheim Ducks, and Boston Bruins during his 952-game NHL career.

The Oilers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers this past spring, ultimately battling back from a 3-0 series deficit before falling by a 2-1 score in Game 7. Both Broberg and Ceci played regular roles for the club in the second half of its playoff run, with the latter missing just one game and primarily skating on a pairing with Darnell Nurse.