Two or three unrestricted free agents.

One or two new players through trades.

When Edmonton Oilers G.M. Craig MacTavish completed the Father’s Day Walk/Run at Laurier Park Sunday, that was the shopping list in his back pocket as hunting season officially opens today in the NHL.

Between now and the July 1 beginning of free agent frenzy the second year general manager, like the rest of his brethren, can do more to determine the fate of his team than in the other 49 weeks of the year combined.

And with the Oilers now possessing the longest out-of-the-playoffs streak of any NHL team at eight straight after finishing 28th overall and patience having pretty much reached its expiry date, there’s some urgency involved.

“I’d like to add four or five players — one or two through trades and two or three unrestricted free agents,” said MacTavish.

Trades are the first priority.

“It would be nice to get something in place before free agency,” said the general manager.

Getting something done before the June 27-28 draft would be nicer and he’ll get a feel for that this week.

“The managers meeting at the final really gets everybody talking a little bit more. This week will be a busy week for everybody to see what the fits are out there.

“We had our pro scouts meeting Thursday and Friday. We had some good discussions there.

“This year there are not so many top free agents available. The guys who would normally be secondary targets are now the primary targets. It’s a good year to be a UFA.”

MacTavish isn’t playing his cards close to his vest at this point. You could consider this advertising.

“We need help on defence. We’re looking for a puck-moving defenceman, a guy who can carry the puck north and continue into open ice.”

This acquisition, he admits, is almost certainly going to have to come through trade.

“We also need a defending defenceman. We’re not going to compromise our young prospects on defence,” he said of forcing the likes of Darnell Nurse, Oscar Klefbom, Martin Marincin, etc. into the line-up until they are ready.

“We’d rather they played in the American Hockey League or junior.”

MacTavish said he expects the salary cap to be about $70 million.

“We’ll be in good cap position,” he said.

Excellent cap position might be more accurate.

That’s where the trades will likely be made by the general manager who so far has managed to add the likes of David Perron (for Magnus Paajarvi and a second round pick), Ben Scrivens (for third round pick), Viktor Fasth (for fourth round and fifth round picks) and Matt Hendricks (for Devan Dubnyk).

Andrew Ference and Boyd Gordon were July 1 free agent acquisitions. Luke Gazdic was picked up on waivers.

“We’re a team which can take on some salary,” said MacTavish.

Already there’s rumors out there mentioning the Philadelphia Flyers as a likely trading partner when it comes to cap considerations and the Oilers immediate needs on defence.

The Flyers have the most expensive top trio of pairings in the league ($27 million and change). Braydon Coburn’s name has been mentioned.

But there are other teams seeking cap relief and MacTavish said he’s not just making all the calls, he’s getting his fair share from the other managers as well.

“They know our situation,” he said.

MacTavish seems to keep having to repeat this, but his core players, Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Justin Schultz, are not going anywhere.

“They’re the toughest kind of players to get,” he said of the high end skill.”

Those emerging defencemen are likely not in the discussions either.

It’s been no secret what the Oilers need.

“We’re trying to get bigger up front,” he said of adding size to the first two lines and the combination of size and more skill with the third and fourth lines.

There will be no subtraction this time. Compliance buyout season begins 48 hours after the Stanley Cup final ends but the Oilers will not be involved there.

As usual, despite a movement to get it away from Canada Day, free agent frenzy will be held on July 1.

What’s different is this year there will be a free agent interview window from June 25-30.

It’s not new this year. It was introduced last year. But it really didn’t come into play.

“The season went so late because of the lockout, it was a little tenuous,” said MacTavish.

The UFA interview window should help the Oilers.

“We think it does. It gives us a chance to make a more convincing case. We’re getting decent at communicating our situation,” he said of that part of the business where MacTavish took the lead before he became general manager landing free agent college defenceman Schultz.

It includes selling the Alberta Advantage.

“It’s significant. It’s 10% more take home dollars than any other location. That’s a pretty significant thing over time. It’s probably not the premier deciding factor, but it’s a significant factor.”

There’s also that big hole in the ground in downtown Edmonton and the eye-popping plans for the $601.6 million best arena in the NHL to sell.

MacTavish was hoping to also have a team which had taken steps to show it was on the ‘up’ escalator to convince free agents there was winning in the future here as well. But that will have to wait.