Sure, today was a bit anti climatic considering the whirlwind of activity leading up to the day of the Trade Deadline. In truth, there were under 20 trades today and the biggest name to move was either Mikkel Boedker or Kris Russell.
Yikes. Not exactly thrilling stuff.
That said, Peter Chiarelli was active leading up to the trade deadline and the day itself. In this post, I look into each trade and assign a grade based on the value. Sure, it’s early to tell who will pan out and who will bust, but it’s worth an effort. I will also be including activity leading up to Monday’s Trade Deadline, including trades that happen prior and re-signings.
Edmonton Oilers Trade Philip Larsen to the Vancouver Canucks for a 2016 5th Round Draft Pick
My Take: Larsen, who last played for the Edmonton Oilers in 2013-14, has been playing in the KHL for the past two seasons. Larsen was a number 6/7 guy while in Edmonton and was not anything really special. To get anything of value for a guy who was deemed a castaway, is a solid trade.
Grade: B. It wasn’t a huge name, but it was some value for nothing.
Edmonton Oilers Trade Goaltender Anders Nilsson to the St. Louis Blues for a 2016 5th rounder and goaltending prospect, Niklas Lundstrom.
My Take: Nilsson, besides a solid run in November, had fallen hard since then constantly posting sub .900 Save percentages. Peter Chiarelli seems to be sold on Laurent Brossoit to come to the show, and that made Nilsson expendable. Nilsson is slated to be an RFA this offseason and with the injury to Brian Elliot, the Blues were desperate for a goaltender, although you’d have to wonder why they didn’t pull the trigger with James Reimer and the Maple Leafs. A 5th round pick is nice, considering Nilsson was traded for Liam Coughlin, a 5th round pick, while adding a goaltending prospect in Niklas Lundstrom, who is currently playing in the ECHL level.
Grade: B+ Chiarelli was able to get the same value and then some by trading a struggling Nilsson to a desperate Blues team. It’s a clear positive trade.
The Edmonton Oilers Trade Right Winger Teddy Purcell to the Florida Panthers for a 3rd Round Draft Pick in 2016.
My Take: Purcell was an upcoming UFA and this is a classic rental player trade. That said, even though the writing was on the wall, I liked Purcell as an Oiler. Sure, he was much maligned for not using his size as a dominating power forward, but that wasn’t his game. He looked great with Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl, but slowed down like his former line mates. Edmonton frees up some cap space by moving Purcell (his cap hit was 4.5 Million), but I was expecting a second rounder for Purcell. A slightly underwhelming return, but I really can’t complain too much about it.
Final Grade: C+ or B-. I wanted a Second Rounder for Purcell but a Third Rounder is nothing to slouch at. Keep in mind that it will most likely be the Panthers Third rounder, so it will not be as high as hoped (the Panthers are good.)
The Edmonton Oilers Trade Defenseman Justin Schultz to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2016 3rd Round Draft Pick. The Oilers retain 50% of Schultz’s Salary.
My Take: Justin Schultz finally got dealt. It was a sad end for Schultz who became the fanbase’s whipping boy. Some of it was rightfully earned: his apparent indifference to the defensive side of the game, low offensive production and ghastly power play totals was the nail in the coffin for the fan base. The Oilers miraculously got a third rounder, where most were expecting a fourth or fifth rounder with salary retention.
Final Grade: A. This was a necessary trade and Chiarelli got the same value as Purcell. An addition by subtraction.
The Edmonton Oilers Re-sign Brandon Davidson and Laurent Brossoit. Davidson is re-signed to a two year contract at 1.4 million per year, while Brossoit was re-signed at two years and 740,000 thousand. Both are one way contracts.
Brossoit made Anders Nilsson expendable and will be the backup going forward for the Edmonton Oilers. He’s been great in Bakersfield and it’s a justifyable contract. The real winner is Brandon Davidson who has been the best Oilers rookie (not named Connor McDavid). How can you not cheer for Davidson? He’s show that he’s a solid top four player, has great possession numbers and does everything right. The contract is an awesome bridge deal where he will have to earn his next contract.
Grade: A. Davidson and Brossoit are signed to reasonable contracts and Davidson’s in particular looks really pleasing to the eye.
The Edmonton Oilers Claim Adam Cracknell on Waivers from the Vancouver Canucks.
My take: Peter Chiarelli has started to shape the team into becoming bigger and nastier by adding Adam Cracknell for free. Cracknell is big and hits a lot. He seemed to be a favorite in Vancouver, where people were saying he was their best fourth liner, much better than the more expensive Derek Dorsett. However, I just don’t think Cracknell adds too much. Looking at the good ol’ fancy stat WARRIOR chart, Cracknell seems to be a black hole when it comes to possession. I’m no fancy stats expert and I haven’t seen him too much, but I was always under the impression that Cracknell is nothing more than a fourth liner.
Grade: C. I’m not a huge fan of this move and Cracknell could prove to be a pleasant surprise. However, he’s jumped around on the waiver wire before and I don’t think he contributes too much. That said, he could prove me wrong and didn’t cost Chiarelli an asset.
The Edmonton Oilers Claim Adam Pardy on Waivers from the Winnipeg Jets.
My Take: Pardy is a 31 year old left handed shot defensemen. However, unlike Cracknell, he seems to be somewhat productive and looked well enough whenever the Jets faced the Oilers. He has been limited to 14 games this year, but mostly because of the log jam on the blue line. Some Jets fans were saying Pardy was a better option than Mark Stuart. On TSN 1260 today with Jason Gregor, Pardy stated he prefers playing the right side more than the left. This is probably Chiarelli’s “test drive” defenseman that he was talking about on Saturday.
Grade: B-. It’s not a bad move, Pardy has decent possession stats and is comfortable playing on the right side. He fits in nicely as a little roster stop gap and adds depth. Like Cracknell, he did not cost Chiarelli an asset.
The Edmonton Oilers trade Defenseman Martin Gernat and a 2016 4th round Draft Pick to the Anaheim Ducks for Left Winger Patrick Maroon. The Ducks retain 25% of Maroon’s salary.
My Take: This is a pleasant surprise considering that the Edmonton Oilers were sellers at the Trade Deadline this year. The Oilers acquire a big and heavy Chiarelli type player. While Maroon has struggled this season and has some issues skating (as Jason Gregor said today, he won’t be winning any races), Maroon provides a big body that battles hard in the corners and is an excellent option on the power play in front of the net. He has solid possession numbers, although he did play heavily with two possession machines in Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. While I wanted Brandon Pirri (who went to the Ducks for a 6th round draft pick), Maroon provides more than one dimension. The cost of Maroon was insignificant: The Oilers acquired draft picks prior and Martin Gernat was falling out of favor with the organization. The cherry on top is Anaheim retaining 25% of that 2 million dollar contract for two years. A very nice buy low trade not unsimilar to the Zack Kassian Trade.
Grade: A. Maroon offers more to the line up with his added size and solid possession numbers. There are some fears that he’s a coke machine, but Chiarelli bought him for very cheap asset wise.
Peter Chiarelli’s Final Grade: B+. The Oilers were sellers and traded players who I expected to be moved at the deadline in Schultz and Purcell. However, the moves of Nilsson and Larsen were good moves as it was assets who were on the way out or had no future with the organization for something of remote value. The waiver additions and Patrick Maroon offer an element the Oilers are dying to have: Some size. Patrick Maroon was the smallest player acquired at 6’3. Overall, it was a solid trade deadline for Peter Chiarelli. He did not move any of the 6 milion dollar men in Nugent-Hopkins, Hall, Eberle or even Nail Yakupov. It wasn’t a flashy day, but it was a very solid one. Much better compared to last year’s debacle of selling Jeff Petry for a second rounder and a conditional pick.
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