Dreger: "Good chance" Eberle could be in play

Darren Dreger was on Edmonton’s TSN 1260 on Tuesday morning.

On the Oilers:

“When we talk about Craig MacTavish scouring the NHL market, he’s not looking for a goaltender per say, but he is looking for a centre as he’s been looking for a centre for the past several months now, if not the past year-plus. And that market’s a difficult one to dive into because the type of centre that the Oilers would need – a No. 2, No. 3 – those guys aren’t moving for cheap. And everyone knows the situation that the Oilers are in. So when MacTavish calls, he has to dangle some bigger names – which Oilers fans can appreciate – just to get a dialog going.

Related: The Frustration Tracker: NHL Insiders on the Edmonton Oilers

On what David Perron might fetch via trade:

“Well, and see that’s the problem. The ask is for a top line centre and top line can be No. 2. We know that’s what the Oilers need. They’re not going to move Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and he’s been terrific for the most part. David Perron is not bringing back a No. 2 centre. He’s not. So you’ve got to sweeten that pot considerably. Time left on contract can be problematic. All of those things.

“Perron is one of the names that is out there, and we know that his name is out there, but maybe because of how devastating the loss to the Chicago Blackhawks was, that forced MacTavish to open things up a little bit. And that’s why I suggested via Twitter yesterday that almost no one is untouchable. But I think that 140 characters, that can be a little misleading as well. Does anyone honestly think that Taylor Hall is getting traded? No. No. Can you try and imagine the type of deal that would be required to move Taylor Hall? It would be mammoth. It would be blockbuster. It would be every other adjective you could throw because of his level of importance to the Oilers.

“But then you move down another rung on the ladder and you find names like Jordan Eberle. I think that there’s a good chance that Jordan Eberle could be in play, but what is the rate of return? And then you go to maybe Justin Schultz or a Nail Yakupov. What is the level of return? That is the problem area for Craig MacTavish. Because the return that he’s getting, at least in conversation, isn’t going to be substantive enough for him to go, ‘Okay, I’m going to move Jordan Eberle.’ Or ‘I’m going to move Justin Schultz just because I need a centre.’ He’s going to get quality back if he’s giving quality, so this may take some time.”

Source: TSN 1260/ Transcript: Nichols on Hockey