Oilers Shouldn’t Trade Beau Akey for a Top-4 Defenceman – The Hockey Writers Oilers Prospects Latest News, Analysis & More

It’s no secret that the Edmonton Oilers are in the market for a right-shot, top-four defenceman ahead of the 2025 Trade Deadline. However, they should avoid trading prospect Beau Akey in that deal. He was the Oilers’ second-round pick (56th overall) in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, and currently plays for the Barrie Colts in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The Waterloo, Ontario native has played 166 games in the OHL, spanning four seasons, and has recorded 24 goals, and 91 points, including 47 points in 66 games during his draft year.

However, the 19-year-old prospect only played 14 games last season due to a season-ending shoulder surgery. But, he’s fully recovered, and has recorded 19 points in 25 games so far this season. As a result of his strong start, he’s been chosen to represent Canada at the World Junior Championship this holiday season.

Related: Oilers: Beau Akey Will Make Team By 2025-26 Season

Akey is a powerful skater, a great playmaker, and has the hockey IQ to thrive at the NHL level. Therefore, it would be a mistake to trade him, even with the Oilers in win-now mode. With that said, here’s why the Oilers should keep Akey in their pursuit of a top-four, right-shot defenceman.

Akey Plays a Premium Position

There’s nothing more coveted in today’s NHL than a right-shot defenceman. The Oilers are an aging team with limited depth on the right side of the blue line. Therefore, Akey is someone they should invest in, and someone who can potentially contribute within the next few seasons. Even though the Oilers are in their Stanley Cup window, they need to remain patient with their prospects, especially one with Akey’s upside. While Edmonton needs to add a top-four blueliner at some point this season, he may be an internal solution to that problem in a few years, and for many more years to follow. Management needs to prioritize the present while not jeopardizing the future.

The Oilers made a big mistake recently, by trading away a young right-shot defenceman in Michael Kesselring to the Arizona Coyotes during the 2023 Trade Deadline. They acquired two-way forward, and pending unrestricted free agent (UFA), Nick Bjugstad in the deal. They traded a promising young blueliner for a pure rental, who ironically re-signed with the Coyotes during that offseason. Since that trade, Kesselring has really taken off with his new organization. He has 39 points in 108 career games, averaging nearly 17 minutes a game in a top-four role, which is what the Oilers currently need. For a sixth-round pick, that’s impressive. The organization gave up on him too early, and hopefully, they don’t make that same mistake with Akey, despite their need to improve the blue line in their quest to win Lord Stanley.

Oilers Lack Prospects

The Oilers currently have three prospects with good trade value. Those players include Akey, Matthew Savoie, and Sam O’Reilly. That’s not a lot, and when they inevitably make a trade, a first-round pick will likely be included. If that’s the case, the Oilers won’t have a first-round pick in the next two drafts since they already dealt one in order to select O’Reilly earlier this year. So, their draft capital is extremely limited, which will impact their prospect pool over the coming years.

In the upcoming draft, Edmonton only has four draft picks including a second, third, sixth, and seventh. The following season, they have a selection in each round, but that’s likely to change by the trade deadline. If they trade all their prospects and picks, they won’t have the assets to make trades down the road to keep their Cup window open for as long as possible. At some point, they need to replenish their prospect pool and manage their assets better considering they lost two young players to offer sheets this past offseason. Having good, young prospects in your system is important, even for Cup contenders because they can contribute soon on very team-friendly contracts.

If they need to trade one of those three players to get a deal done, O’Reilly should likely be the casualty because he’s more easily replaced. Savoie will be a contributor next season at the latest, while still on his entry-level contract (ELC) which is invaluable for a team against the salary cap. Also, Akey is a skilled defenceman which is lacking on the organizational depth chart. Oilers general manager Stan Bowman needs to be smart in navigating this trade deadline. They are in a tricky spot because they need an upgrade, but can’t completely deplete their prospect pool in the process.

Would you trade Akey if it meant an immediate upgrade on the blue line?

You can see Akey and Team Canada in action when they kick off the World Junior Championship on Boxing Day against Finland. Continue following The Hockey Writers for all your news and rumours from around the NHL and the hockey world as we head into the new year.