The Edmonton Oilers will head into the All-Star break ten points back of the final playoff spot in the Pacific division. Essentially, folks, the push for the playoffs is dead, this team will miss the dance for a tenth straight season. It’s all fallen apart since that 3-2 OT victory in Boston back on December 14th. That win put the Oilers in a playoff spot, but it only lasted 24 hours. Since then, the team has won just five times and has fallen out of the race.
That means, if we are being honest, that the Oilers will be sellers at the trade deadline. The deadline will take place on February 29th, just over a month away from today.
The last time Peter Chiarelli was a seller? 2007, his first season as GM of the Boston Bruins.
Background Check!:
The Bruins missed the 2006 playoffs and picked fifth in the draft. Chiarelli’s Bruins picked Phil Kessel, a player who made the team out of camp but missed a handful of games due to a cancer scare. Chiarelli took over a bad Bruins team in the summer of 2006, but he did manage to add both Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard via free agency. They paid dividends, but the assembled team, mainly the defense, still was not good enough.
Chiarelli really started molding the team on February 1st, 2007. That process went from that day through the start of camp for the 2007-08 season, a year where the Bruins advanced to the playoffs unexpectedly.
The situations are eerily similar. That Bruins team faced injuries and had a solid young core, just like these Oilers. Both of the teams had questions in net that were solved in a lost season, and both teams had rotten defensive units.
Chiarelli is looking to follow the game plan that won him a cup in Boston, and it starts now.
The Deals:
(Feb. 1) Bruins trade D Milan Jurcina to Washington for a conditional 2008 draft pick: Milan Jurcina was a young depth defender for the Bruins. He wasn’t a substantial player, and while he stuck around the NHL for a while, he was nothing more than a depth guy. The Bruins ended up with the #114 pick in 2008. This deal is a comparable for a possible Eric Gryba deal, although Gryba may get more just based on the fact that he is established.
(Feb. 3) Bruins trade F Kris Versteeg + Conditional pick (Not exercised) to Chicago for F Brandon Bochenski: This is a clear loss for the Bruins. Versteeg had yet to really gain traction in the Bruin organization and was a smaller, skilled forward. The B’s exchanged him for a player who had a little more traction and who played a different, more physical style. This may be the kind of deal we see with Justin Schultz, for another player who plays a different style and is struggling.
(Feb. 10) Bruins trade F Wayne Primeau, D Brad Stuart and pick #114 in 2008 to Calgary for F Chuck Kobasew and D Andrew Ference: The Bruins traded a pending UFA they couldn’t sign in Stuart and a bottom six F in Primeau for two younger assets. Ference was a Chiarelli type player; tough, physical and young at the time. Kobasew was a decent scorer in Calgary who filled a role in Boston’s top six for a few years. This was a typical hockey trade. I’m not sure we see this at the deadline, but if Chiarelli decides to move a guy like Benoit Pouliot or Jordan Eberle this summer, a deal like this could make some sense.
(Feb. 27) Bruins trade D Paul Mara to New York (Rangers) for D Aaron Ward: This was all about Chiarelli building an identity. Ward was a tough, shut-down defender who was still playing really good hockey. He brought leadership to Boston and fit in better than Mara, a struggling puck mover, did. This could be another possible deal for Justin Schultz, shifting a puck mover for a tough guy that fits an identity. Again, a hockey trade that Chiarelli made to bring in a certain player type.
(Feb. 27) Bruins trade F Brad Boyes to St. Louis for D Dennis Wideman: Chiarelli moved a former 30 goal scorer to the Blues to acquire a legit top four defender who gave the Bruins a few years of solid puck moving and big time offensive production. Wideman was a big part of the Bruins PP for years and anchored the team’s second pairing for a few seasons before being shipped to Florida in 2010. This was a big hockey deal that addressed a big time need via a strength, goal scoring for defense. This would be the template for a Jordan Eberle deal, in my mind. However, I think this is more of a summer (draft, July 1) kind of deal now.
Final Thoughts:
Peter Chiarelli was a seller, but he only made one deal that shipped a player for a pick or picks, Milan Jurcina to Washington. By my count, he made two significant hockey deals (with Calgary and St. Louis), one prospect deal (with Chicago) and one minor hockey deal (with the Rangers).
Hindsight is 20/20, but the only deal the Bruins lost here was the Versteeg trade with the Blackhawks. The Bruins got great value in both their hockey deals, the players they got were key parts of playoff teams and the 2011 Stanley Cup winner. Their minor hockey deal was also a clear win, as Aaron Ward was a huge help the next three seasons for the Bruins, all playoff years.
Looking back at Chiarelli’s time in Boston, he made a big addition up front and on the back end in his first summer. They weren’t as big here, but he did the same thing in the summer of 2015. (Sekera and McDavid)
The 2007-08 Bruins, Chiarelli’s second year, made the postseason and began their climb to Stanley Cup winners. The building process truly picked up in February of his first year, after some serious evaluation.
Chiarelli may well sell guys like Teddy Purcell, Eric Gryba and Justin Schultz for picks, but I wouldn’t rule out a hockey trade or two. This is a creative GM who likes to use the deadline to build for the future just as much as the current season.
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