The Oilers have been linked by NHL insider Allan Mitchell of 'The Athletic' to defensive Maple Leafs gem William Villeneuve as a low-risk, high-reward trade option. NHL offseasons always create rumors, <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/edmonton-oilers/edmonton-oilers-linked-to-shocking-reunion-with-former-30-goal-scorer-on-pto' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>and for the Edmonton Oilers, there is yet another rumor that has emerged</a>: the possibility that right-handed defenseman William Villeneuve is available from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Right-shot defensemen are hockey's most valuable and scarce commodities, and they are sometimes called unicorns for their scarcity in the league and the value they bring to Cup contenders. The Athletic's Allan Mitchell suggests William Villeneuve could be the type of under-the-radar player Edmonton should be after. Stalled on Toronto's depth logjam, the 22-year-old may have more space to create an opportunity elsewhere. For the Oilers, who continue to look for surefire defensive depth, <a href='https://www.profootballnetwork.com/nhl/nhl-edmonton-oilers-d-man-toronto-maple-leafs/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>it could be a low-risk, high-reward play.</a> Villeneuve has also quietly built himself with the AHL Toronto Marlies over the past three years. Not flashy, he's gotten progressively better, particularly in getting the puck moving and generating offense from the blue line. As Josh Kloke also wrote for The Athletic earlier this summer, Villeneuve has had three seasons of steady production with the Marlies, with some improvement in his breakouts and offence creation. Yet he hasn't made himself impossible to ignore. Toronto's pursuit of bigger-name acquisitions, though, leaves little room for him. His new one-year extension was more of a placeholder than anything else, and even a qualifying offer next summer is in doubt. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1952759024341979563'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> <h3>The Oilers Need More Right-Shot Defensemen Like Evan Bouchard</h3> That is where Edmonton can get better. The Oilers have used Evan Bouchard as their top-scoring threat coming off the blue line, and yet they still lack balance behind him. To have Darnell Nurse, Mattias Ekholm, and Brett Kulak all as left-shot defensemen, not having a second right-handed puck mover is hurting them. Villeneuve may not be NHL-ready yet, but his size, age, and steady development make him a good developmental bet, and one that Edmonton can probably acquire for a bargain.