Keep up to date on the latest rumours and speculation around the NHL beat with TSN.ca's Rumour Mill.

Blueline Help Wanted

The Edmonton Oilers dropped to 7-12-2 with their blowout loss to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night and Peter Chiarelli has decided where he believes the team needs an upgrade - the blueline.

TSN Hockey Insiders Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger both reported on Insider Trading on Tuesday that Chiarelli is looking to add a defenceman as he tries to right the ship in Edmonton.

LeBrun added Chiarelli attended the Columbus Blue Jackets game against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night as he looks for a fit on defence. 

The Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers are also the subject of trade speculation, as both teams may have defencemen in play.

TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie reported Tuesday that Blue Jackets defenceman Ryan Murray's name has been bandied as the team looks to acquire a centre, while Panthers defenceman Alex Petrovic has been he's frustrated with his role in Florida.

Murray, 24, has a goal and four points in 21 games with the Blue Jackets this season. Petrovic, 25, has appeared in 11 of the Panthers' 20 games this season and has two assists with a minus-1 rating.

If the Oilers were hoping their blueline issues would solve themselves, they got little encouragment on Tuesday night. Oscar Klefbom was a team-worst minus-4  in 17:32 of ice time in St. Louis, while Adam Larsson was a minus-3.

The Oilers are expected to get defenceman Andrej Sekera back next month after he tore his ACL during the playoffs in May. 


Calling the Canucks?

The Vancouver Canucks are off to a surprising 10-8-3 start this season after they were expected to be a deadline seller this year.

If the Canucks do decide to become sellers, one player who will draw interest is Erik Gudbranson.

TSN Radio 1040 Vancouver's Jason Brough reported Tuesday that the Florida Panthers like Gudbranson, who spent five seasons with the team, and are not the only ones.

The 25-year-old blueliner carries a $3.5 milllion cap hit this season is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July.

When Gudbranson was traded to the Canucks in 2016, the Panthers received forward Jared McCann, a second-round and a fourth-round draft pick in return.

He has no points and is plus-2 with 27 penalty minutes in 20 games this season.


Capped Out

The Dallas Stars will reportedly stay in-house as they look to replace Marc Methot in their lineup for the next four-to-six weeks.

Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News writes the Stars will move forward with Julius Honka taking Methot's spot on the 23-man roster, but the Stars had few other options.

Heika notes the team does not have the cap space to make a trade to bring in a defenceman or any other player for that matter. According to CapFriendly, the Stars are just $120,563 under the $75 million cap ceiling.

Honka, selected 14th overall in 2014, is without a point in six games with the Stars this season.