Report: Oilers, Lightning Nearly Made Blockbuster Trade

An abandoned trade between the Edmonton Oilers and Tampa Bay Lightning could've turned the NHL upside down.

Feb 5, 2018; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (86) and Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (29) battle for a loose puck during the second period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images / Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

There are countless trades talks throughout NHL history that never came to fruition, but it's hard to imagine one that would've been as impactful as what the Edmonton Oilers and Tampa Bay Lightning discussed in 2019.

According to NHL insider Jeff Marek, the two teams discussed a trade that would've sent Nikita Kucherov to Edmonton and Leon Draisaitl to Tampa Bay. Two Hart Trophy winners being traded for each other, doesn't get much bigger than that.

“That year, there were conversations — and I’ve had this confirmed — there were conversations between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Edmonton Oilers and the two primaries changing were Nikita Kucherov for Leon Draisatil," Marek said on his show, "The Sheet." "That was the conversation… I’m not sure how close they got. I think Edmonton may have also wanted Anthony Cirelli and that’s when things kinda ‘Mehhh well that’s not going to happen.’ It’s not as if they didn’t consider massive change, because that was the conversation between those two teams.

“As a hockey fan, forget being an Oilers fan… Just imagine Kucherov playing with McDavid for a second. Draisaitl is an incredible player. I think Tampa was thinking ‘We go up the gut with Stamkos and Draisaitl, yeah that looks pretty nice thank you very much.’ But the thought of about Kucherov playing beside Connor McDavid, that’s juicy.”

At the time, both teams were likely considering some kind of major shakeup. The Lightning had just lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a humiliating first-round sweep after posting one of the best regular seasons in NHL history. The Oilers, on the other hand, had missed the playoffs for the second-straight season, an extremely disappointing result given the hope McDavid and later Draisaitl brought to the franchise.

If the trade had gone through, it would've completely turned the league upside down.

Tampa Bay would of course go on to win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021, but with Draisaitl in place of Kucherov, it's very possible that they don't win those championships. Meanwhile, Edmonton would have a completely different dynamic with the McDavid-Kucherov partnership, radically changing its future as well.

It's impossible to know exactly what would've happened if the trade had actually happened, but boy if it isn't fascinating to think about.

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