Report: Oilers' Bowman making preliminary calls to upgrade blue line

The March 7 trade deadline may be two months away, but Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman is already making calls about upgrading his blue line, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported during Thursday's segment of "Insider Trading."

"They had their pro scouting meetings this week," LeBrun said. "They came out of it very much so with the idea of casting a wide net in their search of the D market. ... It's very preliminary, but they do want to upgrade."

He added, "They're going into this trade season with an open mind, a long list."

The Oilers' defense corps underwent major changes last summer after their run to the Stanley Cup Final.

Only one of those arrivals, Emberson, is a regular fixture in the Oilers' lineup. Brown has only played in five games with the big club so far this season, while Dermott got into 10 contests before he was claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Wild in December.

Ceci was a staple in the top four next to Darnell Nurse during his three seasons in Edmonton, and the 23-year-old Broberg showed promise during the team's playoff run. The 6-foot-7 Desharnais played in 78 regular-season games for the Oilers last campaign.

Despite the changes, the Oilers are solid defensively this season and entering Thursday's action eighth in goals against per game (2.73). Their most-utilized pairings are as follows:

Brown replaced Stecher in the lineup the past two games.

The Oilers' blue line hasn't had to contend with too many injuries, but LeBrun noted the team's brass is aware that trend may not continue.

"There's a recognition within the Oilers' front office that they've been relatively healthy on their back end and maybe they don't have enough depth in case injuries start to pile up in the second half," he said.

Edmonton came into Thursday in second place in the Pacific Division with a 25-12-3 record.