The 2017 NHL Trade Deadline passed by today with a rather bland result for the Edmonton Oilers. Only completing two deals this year, acquiring David Desharnais and Justin Fontaine, Peter Chiarelli was aiming to address the team’s depth at the forward position.
So, with these two deals being completed before the deadline, Chiarelli met with the media in a post-deadline conference to provide a few thoughts and answer questions about the team.
The Conference:
Chiarelli was able to answer a variety of different questions and provide insight on the team’s strategy heading into this year’s deadline, as well as giving his thoughts on some of the newest Edmonton Oilers. His responses are in italics:
On Oilers activity during today’s trade festivities:
Chiarelli did admit to having some traction on some things today but, as evidenced at the deadline’s conclusion, nothing came fruition:
“We had discussions today with a few teams, kind of the tailing end of conversations and discussions that I’ve had over the last week. We had a couple of things that were in play today that involved Andrew Ference’s cap-hit. He had waived his NMC, so we were able to open some things up…and this happened a few days ago so we were in on a couple of things within the last few days. [However], we felt after making the move yesterday [Brandon Davidson for David Desharnais] that we weren’t overly active. We kind of targeted a few areas and they didn’t happen” -PC
On the acquisition of Justin Fontaine:
He considered the Taylor Beck for Justin Fontaine trade as a depth move:
“I would consider him a depth player. We felt that the move was necessary from that perspective probably because he brings more depth [than Taylor Beck]. He has a more two-way component to his game. Minor move, it’ll continue to help our minor league team and gives us legitimate depth” -PC
On where he sees David Desharnais fitting in on the current roster:
“I see him on the third line, that’s why we got him. He’s a versatile player, plays well above the puck, ice smarts, he competes. I know he is small but, he is strong and has a low center of gravity. I saw him for a lot of years playing us [The Bruins] in Boston. He’s a good player, this year hasn’t been as good for him, he hurt his knee earlier on and has been in and out of the lineup prior to us [The Oilers] acquiring him but, as I said last night, he’s a veteran player whose had playoff experience and is high on character. These are the little adds that can help you along the way and I expect [Desharnais] to help us along the way. So he brings a lot of what we need. I know it’s not a real sexy add and it brings the coaches flexibility [with Leon and possibly Puljujarvi]” -PC
He also went on to describe Desharnais’ ability in the faceoff circle:
“Situationally, he has got some strong faceoff numbers. Although he hasn’t had great numbers this year, faceoff success comes with confidence and repetition. In the past [Desharnais] takes the faceoff with a low center of gravity” -PC
On the Oilers rumoured attempts at acquiring a goaltender:
“We had a little bit of traction on some things today. No, not a goalie…we decided that we are going to go with the goalies that we have. Part of our overriding philosophy here was we wanted to give the guys that got us here a chance, and that includes Laurent Brossoit. We feel that [Brossoit’s] practices have been getting better and that his effort and his performances in games have been good and we see improvement. So we are confident him behind Cam [Talbot]. We were not after a goalie today” – PC
He was then asked a follow-up question about whether the decision to put confidence in Brossoit was partly due to the lack of available goaltenders on the trade market:
“There were goalies out there today [on the trade market]. It was a decision we made over time and when we made the switch between [Jonas Gustavsson] and [Laurent Brossoit], Brossoit wasn’t exactly lighting up the AHL but, we wanted to get him up here and work with him. We have been happy with it, he’s a big strong kid who has potential and maybe we brought him up to early last year. I’ve liked what I have seen and we are going to continue to go with it” – PC
On how he feels about the roster as a whole heading into the latter parts of the season and the playoffs:
“I feel pretty good. It’s well-rounded with a little bit of youth in it and experience. I think we have good depth, on D and forward. When we activate [Benoit] Pouliot we will have 3 extra forwards. We’ve got 2 or 3 D in Bakersfield that will provide depth to us. Numbers wise I’m ok. As I said before, this is a team that I think has come together as team over time this year and I think they deserve to see what they can do. We traded Brandon [Davidson] but, we felt that we added to a position that we needed to add in. We’ll see where it goes but I feel pretty good about it” – PC
On newly signed junior free-agent Ryan Mantha:
“Ryan is a big right-shot Dman that is a little bit of a late-bloomer. He plays on Niagara [IceDogs] in the OHL and was a former draft pick of the [New York] Rangers. We scouted him, he has really had a strong year and he’s a good prospect. We are happy that he signed with us, he liked what we did with our young guys this year, how we were willing to promote the [Matt] Bennings and [Drake] Caggiulas. Kelly Buchberger, Craig MacTavish, and Keith Gretzky did a good job in being in front of him and recruiting him because he was a free agent, because of not signing with the [New York] Rangers. He’ll probably be playing in Bakersfield at the end of the year and, obviously, next year too” – PC
On whether or not the worry of disrupting team chemistry kept him away from making bigger roster moves:
“I think it is more of me not willing to get into that true market to just add a bunch of players for, your first reason, the chemistry. And we have a number of players here, the market was thin, and I felt that these guys deserve a chance. I think the chemistry is good, you have to be careful when you’re adding, we still have to make the playoffs, we got a long way to go. These guys have showed us that they are up to the challenge to this point so let them take it the rest of the way. I never went in thinking we were going to add a bunch of players” – PC
On the team’s mindset coming into this year’s Trade Deadline and the decision to go ‘for it’ like that of the Minnesota Wild and Washington Capitals :
“We are a little bit ahead of where I thought we would be. I had in mind an area of where we would be this year and we are a little ahead. What Chuck [Fletcher] has done I have done before, and there is time to do it and, as a manager, you have to find when that time is. You have to look at the bigger picture of where your prospects are and where the evolution of your players are. That is what Chuck [Fletcher] did and he has a great team there [in Minnesota]. So, we [The Oilers] aren’t there yet, we are starting to stockpile our prospects, we’ve got some good young D coming including Ryan Mantha. We have got to get our forwards up and running from the prospect level. So we are getting there, just not there yet. We are certainly climbing up [the arc]” – PC
Conclusion:
I won’t go into too much depth of what was said by the Oilers GM in his post-deadline press conference here. It is obvious that Chiarelli trusts the current group of players enough that he didn’t feel the need to dabble in the rental market all too much. With the team opting to not acquire a backup goaltender for Cam Talbot, the team’s management has put a lot of faith into an inexperienced Laurent Brossoit. They have been happy with his development this year but, even the most optimistic of Oiler fans should see the worries that come with not having a proven backup goaltender as the team enters the stretch.
Also worth noting is Chiarelli’s confidence in the newly acquired David Desharnais. Targetted specifically to become the Edmonton Oilers newest third-line center, it will be interesting to see how Desharnais performs with the team in this role. This obviously means that the team intends to either move Drake Caggiula to the wing or down to Bakersfield to develop.
One last thing of intrigue in Chiarelli’s mention of flexibility when it comes to Jesse Puljujarvi. With JP tearing up the AHL with the Condors, is it possible we see the Oilers call him up to provide reinforcements on the right-wing? Only time will tell I suppose.
Anyways, that does it for the 2017 NHL Trade Deadline!
How do you think the Oilers did at this year’s deadline?
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