After countless servings of turkey and stuffing on Thursday, I settled in for some reading before bed and came across this little piece from Lowetide over on OilersNation. In it, we discover that Mark Fayne was back on the ice for the Oilers on Thursday, skating at the team’s optional practice in Arizona. While he won’t play tonight, his skating signals that Fayne is getting closer to a return.
After a tough preseason, the Oilers relegated Fayne to the 7th defender position on this team, drawing into action for only one game. Of course Fayne was injured in under three minutes of ice time and hadn’t been seen until yesterday’s practice. For all intents and purposes, Fayne’s 2016-17 season really hasn’t started yet.
The thing is, as LT pointed out in his piece, it may never get started with the Edmonton Oilers. Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson are firmly entrenched as the team’s top pairing, while Andrej Sekera and Kris Russell are both comfortably set on the team’s second pairing.
Todd McLellan isn’t going to pull Darnell Nurse out of the lineup, nor should he, and both Matt Benning and Eric Gryba have shown well on Edmonton’s third pairing with the sophomore Nurse. There really isn’t a clear spot in the lineup for Fayne.
Edmonton could assign Benning to the AHL for some development time and insert Fayne into the lineup, but the rookie has actually played really well and has earned all the ice time he has received. The easiest option, and to me the most likely, is waiving Eric Gryba and allowing Fayne to stick around as the seventh defender. I’m just not sure Gryba would clear now.
The Third Option:
There is a third option that isn’t getting a lot of play at the moment, and that’s trading Mark Fayne. It would be awfully hard to get full value for the defender, but moving on from Fayne and his large contract may just be the best case scenario for Edmonton at this time.
Over the summer, I was all for keeping Fayne around and playing him with Andrej Sekera. I wasn’t alone in that regard either, as many smarter than I and those I respect shared that opinion with me. Through 21 games this season however, Edmonton really hasn’t missed Fayne.
The Klefbom-Larsson pairing has gotten better as the season has gone on and they seem to fit each other perfectly, while Sekera-Russell has been an effective group in terms of preventing goals, regardless what the possession numbers say. Darnell Nurse has taken strides this year, while Matt Benning and Eric Gryba have both been serviceable as 6th defenders.
No one has sat back and said “Man, these Oilers miss Mark Fayne” this season. There just hasn’t been a need. I’m not saying Fayne is a bad defender, I like him, but I’m just not sure where he fits at this point in time.
That’s why I suggest trading him.
What Would a Fayne Deal Look Like:
Fayne has one season left after this with a cap hit of $3.625 M per season. He’d be an extended rental and requires protecting in the upcoming expansion draft in June. It’s not a small dollar amount and a team would have to shoehorn it in next season as well. That, without doubt, impacts that player’s value.
If Edmonton were to move him, they’d have to take another contract back. I’d imagine the Oilers move Fayne’s overpriced contract for an overpriced forward, preferably a winger. If the Oilers have a weakness, it’s on the wing.
I could see a few teams being interested too. Toronto needs defenders and GM Lou Lamoriello had Fayne in New Jersey. The Leafs may be inclined to move big forward Peter Holland, who also doesn’t seem to fit in with their plans.
Colorado badly needs defenders and pending UFA forward Jarome Iginla is looking to play in the playoffs this season. Iginla would fit a huge need in Edmonton, but I’d imagine the Oilers would need to include a second asset in that deal.
Boston (Jimmy Hayes), Buffalo (Brian Gionta) and Montreal (Charles Hudon) are all looking for defenders as well and might consider looking at Fayne.
The Oilers won’t get a sexy piece back in a one-for-one trade, but they could move out a big contract that isn’t helping them for one that will help them. It’s a third option worth considering for Peter Chiarelli.
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