Over the last two seasons, a number of defenders have been moved via trade and free agency. The Oilers, for the most part, have been left without a seat when it comes to this game of musical chairs. From Craig MacTavish mistakenly waiting around to Peter Chiarelli listening to him this summer, the Oilers have missed the boat far too much.
Move Along:
Off the top of my head, here are some top four defenders that were moved and that the Oilers weren’t really in on. Some of these misses are the fault of the Oilers, but some of these situations can’t be blamed on Edmonton.
Nick Leddy was sent to the Islanders for picks and prospects, Oilers were never mentioned. Johnny Boychuk went from Boston to the Islanders for picks, again Oilers weren’t really mentioned.
Tyler Myers and Zach Bogosian were traded for each other in a blockbuster deal, so not much the Oilers could do there. Jeff Petry was traded for picks by the Oilers, a disaster decision. Edmonton never got in on Cody Franson, Paul Martin or Francois Beauchemin this past summer. All three could have helped.
Dougie Hamilton? Edmonton wasn’t willing to go the price of Darnell Nurse. Tough to truly blame them but if they wanted the player they could have had him.
Meanwhile, currently, Jacob Trouba and Travis Hamonic are in the rumor mill, but many believe they’ll be traded for each other. If that happens, and I have a feeling it will, then that’s two more gone.
What HAS Edmonton Done?:
The Oilers got one thing right, they signed Andrej Sekera. Sekera is a legit top four defender and has been good for the Oilers this season. He’ll be back next season and he’s part of the solution. Re-signing Oscar Klefbom to a great contract was a very solid move too.
Outside of that? Well, instead of the names above, the Oilers plugged in Nikita Nikitin and Mark Fayne as top four defenders. That’s not on Peter Chiarelli, he wasn’t the GM, but it’s an issue and should be brought up.
Nikitin was a complete disaster, he’s not an NHL player, while Fayne has mostly faltered as a top four option and even spent time in the AHL this season. The Oilers swung and missed HARD on their two plays while other teams walked away with solid top four defenders for pennies on the dollar.
There Is Some Hope:
Trouba for Hamonic has not happened yet, and honestly it may not happen. There is a chance that the Oilers could wake up and make a move for one of those rearguards. Hamonic will eventually be traded out west while Trouba’s contract situation is going to be an issue for the Jets this summer.
The St. Louis Blues, should they decide they need offense, could finally move Kevin Shattenkirk this summer, another player that would help the Oilers and play in their top four. Don’t forget Sami Vatanen, who is more of a second pairing guy but would still represent an upgrade for the club.
Vatanen, Shattenkirk, Hamonic, Trouba and possibly even more could be available to the Oilers this coming summer.
Final Thoughts:
The point of this post is to show that the Oilers have swung and missed on bad bets and as a result missed some real good value on the blue line. That’s why this team has been and remains so bad. Defense wins championships and the Oilers have failed to build even a respectable defensive group.
That said, the Oilers can right some wrongs here. The team has missed the boat on so many great players that moved for pennies on the dollar. Can the new, veteran GM make right on those mistakes?
My point here is this: If Peter Chiarelli is willing to get bold, the options will be there. He has the pieces, Eberle, RNH, the 1st round pick, even Hall, to get the kind of player he needs on the back-end. The assets are in the bank and the pieces needed could be for sale.
Will Edmonton miss out yet again on the top four defenders in the market? Will they finally pay the price to change this organization up? That’s the question, folks.
The answer to that question might tell the tale of the 2016-17 Edmonton Oilers.
Balance, folks. We need balance.
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