Mike Babcock wants Stan Bowman to trade for this exact player from the Bruins

The Edmonton Oilers have Matthew Poitras on their radar this Wednesday, and his loudest backer reportedly sits behind their bench.

Frank Seravalli reported that Edmonton has kept tabs on the Boston Bruins forward in its search for a right-shooting centre to anchor the fourth line.

The kicker? Seravalli named Mike Babcock as the young forward's biggest supporter inside the organization.

Babcock took over Edmonton's bench on June 23. Little more than three months into the job, he's already shaping who the front office chases.

And there's recent precedent. Seravalli noted that the same internal support worked out for Alex Formenton in September.

The 27-year-old forward has delivered so far, with two assists and a +4 rating through Edmonton's first three games.

Here's the detail Stan Bowman will like. Formenton carries an $850,000 cap hit, and Poitras sits at the exact same number.

Devon Levi and Tristan Jarry are the Oilers' real problem

In Boston, the 22-year-old has mostly been on the outside looking in. He's dressed for one of the Bruins' four games, going +1 without a point.

Marco Sturm hasn't needed him much, and the results haven't exactly rewarded that call. Boston has dropped two straight and sits at 2-2-0.

Monday's 4-1 home loss to Ottawa extended the skid. The Bruins have managed nine goals in four games.

So why would Don Sweeney move a young centre in the middle of a scoring drought?

Because the competition for minutes is brutal. Elias Lindholm, Casey Mittelstadt, Pavel Zacha, Fraser Minten and 19-year-old James Hagens have all dressed in every game.

Edmonton has a more pressing issue than its fourth-line centre. The Oilers are 2-0-1, but they've allowed 14 goals in three games.

Levi owns a .810 save percentage. Jarry sits at .739, numbers that would get a beer-league goalie moved to defence by the second period.

Chasing a fourth-line centre while the crease leaks like this is the wrong priority. Bowman should be working the goalie market first, and hard.

The offence is papering over it for now. Edmonton is scoring 5.7 goals per game, and Connor McDavid already has nine points.

The bottom six is another story. Max Jones and Colton Dach have both gone minus-4, which is exactly the hole Poitras would be asked to plug.

Tonight the Oilers open a three-game road trip in Anaheim, with stops in San Jose and Los Angeles to follow.

Babcock already got his guy once this fall. Now Boston has to decide whether it's holding a kid worth protecting, or a chip worth cashing before his value slips.

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