Oilers Trade Bryzgalov, Acquire Fasth

Breaking News coming out of Edmonton, the Oilers trade deadline is underway. With just over 24 hours until the annual trade freeze begins, the Oilers got what is expected to be a busy 24 hours underway with a pair of deals.

The Oilers started off by trading veteran goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to the Minnesota Wild for a 4th round draft pick. The Oilers signed Bryzgalov back in November, and he was average for the team. Bryz was 5-8-5 with a 3.01 GAA and .908 SV % in twenty games with the team this season. He is slated to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and it sounded like the Oilers were going to move forward.

Edmonton gets a 4th round pick here, which is more than most thought Bryzgalov would fetch in a trade at this point. The Oilers will now have two fourth rounders in the draft this coming June. It’s a smart move, considering Ilya likely would not have re-signed after the season. Score this one as a good deal for both Edmonton and Minnesota.

Viktor Fasth:

The Oilers also swung a deal with the Anaheim Ducks to bring in a goalie, but not the one we all heard rumblings about earlier this year. The Oilers acquired the 31-year old Fasth in exchange for a 5th round pick in this June’s draft, and a 3rd round pick in the 2015 NHL entry draft. Fasth played 25 games for the Ducks last year, and had a solid 2.18 GAA and .921 SV%.

He struggled a little bit this season, only playing five games and posting a 2.95 GAA and .885 SV%, and suffered an injury. Fasth was very good in the AHL for the Norfolk Admirals this season while recovering, and is now healthy and ready to go.

The Ducks already have veteran Jonas Hiller, and star youngsters John Gibson and Frederik Anderson in the system, making Fasth expendable. Viktor will join the Oilers and likely serve as Ben Scrivens’ backup goalie.

Personally, I really like this deal for Edmonton. To me, losing a 3rd and 5th rounder for a decent goalie is a good move. Fasth and Scrivens as a tandem is a solid group that, while slightly inexperienced, have a lot of good potential. I think MacT was smart to go out and take care of his goalie tandem for next year now, so he can focus on other things moving forward.

I consider this a smart deal by MacT, and one that I can look at as a win for the Oilers.

Stay tuned, it is getting fun.