In what has become a yearly reality for the NHL and its fans, the Edmonton Oilers are once again one of the worst teams in hockey. To the surprise of no one, Edmonton and its dreadful defense rank near the bottom of the league in goals against per game. The Oilers being terrible is rapidly becoming ingrained into the NHL culture as if it is perpetual fact; it is almost unfathomable to imagine that this same organization was the most dominant franchise in professional sports in the 1980s. It’s clear that this year’s Edmonton squad is going nowhere, and it’s about time that the Oilers seriously consider making a drastic change. Trading Jordan Eberle for some defensive talent would be a good start.

Eberle’s not necessarily part of the problem; he’s actually one of Edmonton’s better defensive forwards, although that speaks more to the ineptitude of the rest of the roster than anything else. Still, he’s the one truly expendable player on the Oilers’ roster that has enough trade value to return something significant. Edmonton has needed defensive help for years.

The team has long been one of the least attractive free agent destinations in the league, so trades and the draft are probably the only means that the Oilers have to address this problem. Even that may be too generous, since Edmonton management appears to be acting under an organizational directive to draft nothing but forwards in the first round until the end of time.

Eberle is an unnecessary luxury. Young offensive talent is the one thing that the Oilers have plenty of; Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov and Taylor Hall are a solid forward core to build around. Trading Eberle for some help on defense may be just what it takes to finally get Edmonton started on the path toward respectability.

Sean Sarcu is a Chicago Blackhawks writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter or add him to your network on Google.