Oilers Acquire Boone Jenner in Suggested Trade With Blue Jackets

The Edmonton Oilers are comfortably moving towards another playoff run, and after coming up short in the Stanley Cup Final for two straight seasons, they hope they will have more success this time around. One of the Oilers’ key issues this season has stemmed from their lack of offensive production from their depth forwards, and while Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have elevated, the Oilers could struggle as the season moves along if their bottom-six forward group isn’t strong.

One player that the Oilers could target, if they are looking to add a strong middle-six forward who can move anywhere in the lineup, is Columbus Blue Jackets’ forward Boone Jenner. The pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) could become a trade target for several teams if the Blue Jackets want to take advantage of his value closer to the 2026 Trade Deadline, and the Oilers should inquire.

Keep in mind, this is a hypothetical idea and is only a mock trade. David Pagnotta suggested the Oilers “would love to get their hands on” a player like Jenner, but other than that, there haven’t been any reports that the Oilers have inquired on Jenner, or that the Blue Jackets are gauging the market for him.

Oilers Land Jenner, Blue Jackets Get Prospect & Picks

There are a few things to keep in mind in any deal including Jenner. While he is a pending UFA, he is the captain of the Blue Jackets, and it would be tough to convince them to move on from him rather than re-sign him. His $3,750,000 cap hit is affordable for any team, making him even more valuable, and he has an 8-team no-trade list, making it likely that he would be open to a trade to the Oilers.

The Oilers don’t have a ton of cap space to work with and would have to move players out to make any deal like this work. They could trade Andrew Mangiapane, who has been involved in trade speculation recently, but they may also need the Blue Jackets to retain half of his salary to make a deal work. If they do that, the Blue Jackets could maximize a trade return.

Realistically, the Oilers acquire Jenner at 50% retained, which means the Oilers bring him in at a $1,875,000 cap hit, in exchange for Beau Akey, Mattias Janmark, the Oilers’ 2027 first-round pick, and a third-round pick. In this deal, I assume a short-term extension is attached.

I would safely assume the Blue Jackets would look to flip Janmark for draft picks, but for the sake of completing the deal with the Oilers, they would likely be willing to bring him in. They also add two solid draft picks and a good prospect in Akey, making it worth their while to move on from Jenner.

There will be several teams that have interest in Jenner if he ever becomes available, but he would be a fantastic upgrade down the middle for the Oilers, and they should be all over him. He gives the Oilers some flexibility with their lineup and allows them to move things around as they see fit, and with his 37 career playoff games, he has enough experience to be trusted as a solid contributor if the Oilers make a deep postseason run for a third straight season.

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