We are six days away from the NHL’s annual trade deadline. That means movement, in some cases big movement, will be coming in the next little while. The Edmonton Oilers have already been involved in the frenzy and likely will continue to be involved until the final buzzer sounds next Monday.
The Oil have already dealt Cam Talbot to Philadelphia for Anthony Stolarz and Ryan Spooner to Vancouver for Sam Gagner, while also placing D Brandon Manning on waivers yesterday afternoon.
In addition to those moves, the Oilers have recalled D Andrej Sekera from Bakersfield following a conditioning stint and activated him from the LTIR. Tonight, he’s expected to play his first game since last spring for the Oil.
Yeah, there’s been a lot that has happened since last Friday.
The Deadline Plan:
With all that done already, there is still a lot for interim GM Keith Gretzky to figure out between now and the deadline. Will he sell off his pending free agent assets? Will he try and add some help to get the Oil into the playoff chase? Will he try and shed salary to make the job easier this summer?
The Oilers didn’t play poorly on their three-game road trip last week, but the club failed to get a single point and still sit seven points back of the Wild with a game in hand. Sure, they could beat an injured Arizona team tonight, a terrible Ducks team on Saturday and maybe even steal one from the Islanders in between. Odds are, however, they won’t be doing that.
The Oil could go a few different ways here, but the best bet for them is to sell off assets and prepare for a very busy summer by opening up both roster spots and salary. Unless they go 3-0-0 this week, there really isn’t a reason to try and save this disaster of a season.
Assets To Work With:
So, if we agree the Oilers aren’t going to be buying at the deadline then that should mean the 2019 first-round pick is 100% off limits for the time being. I’d argue that all draft picks and prospects should be off limits this deadline season, and shouldn’t be used as trade bait until the summer.
Here is, in my humble opinion, the list of assets Keith Gretzky should be working with at the deadline, with a look at how to best use them in hopes of getting Edmonton on the right track.
1. Alex Chiasson: Chiasson’s early season performance was a lot of fun to watch, and he helped keep the Oil in the playoff race for a while. The Oilers are all but dead now, and Chiasson’s scoring is all but gone. A pending UFA with 17 goals on the season, he’s likely to command a raise that doesn’t fit with Edmonton’s cap structure moving forward. Thank him for the time, but move him for the best 2019 draft pick you can get. I’ll suggest a third round pick for his services at the deadline
2. Zack Kassian: Everything happens for a reason. Kassian is hot right now, and showing up on the scoresheet. It’s a nice bonus, but it is the first time he’s done it since the 2017 playoffs. Odds are it is a depth player riding a heater. You sell high on that player, and get the best possible return without retaining salary. It gives you a contract spot to play with over the summer and almost $2,000,000 in cap space to use. If Gretzky can dump Kassian, he absolutely should.
3. Alex Petrovic: A pending UFA, Petrovic is kind of irrelevant to the Oil in the grand scheme of things. The Oilers likely aren’t going to re-sign him, and he’s got no impact on their salary structure for next season. Any asset you can get is a good asset, however. Shutdown defenders always have value around the deadline, and if you can get something for Petrovic you absolutely should pull the trigger. He’s got no future with the Oilers, so go get something for him.
4. Brandon Manning: Placed on waivers yesterday, everyone should be lighting a candle and saying a prayer that he gets claimed. I think Manning is a fine depth defender, but at his price point he is an issue. Vancouver could claim him due to injury, and that would be best case scenario. Forget getting an asset back, getting him off the books is reward enough.
5. Tobias Rieder: Same as Petrovic, Rieder doesn’t have a future in Edmonton and is likely to walk in the summer. Hell, you can even eat 50% of his salary here to try and get something back. Any asset that is a pick or a prospect is a good asset in this case.
6. Jesse Puljujarvi: It is truly upsetting how badly this situation has went. The Oilers made the vital mistake of believing that Puljujarvi made Taylor Hall expendable, leading to Hall’s trade and JP’s quick rise to the NHL roster. Puljujarvi has been overwhelmed since day one and still has yet to establish himself. The organization did him wrong, and now the asset has little value.
They aren’t shopping him, but Puljujarvi and his agent are absolutely willing to accept a fresh start. Will the Oil give it to him? Yet to be seen, but I don’t think it is out of the question this deadline season. He’s an asset that is going to be in play, but I’d be very careful with him.
Final Thoughts:
Accepting pain is never easy, but it is what Oiler fans and the organization must do. Accept the pain of suffering through the final 20+ games of the season in order to achieve a better tomorrow. The Oilers will have a better chance to be a good team next season if they can free up cap space and acquire assets this deadline season.
Want to fix the Edmonton Oilers? Take the small but vitally important step of clearing out the dead weight. Keith Gretzky wants to be GM? Fine, prove you can handle it. Clear cap space for next season, accumulate draft picks and prospects, and set yourself up for a strong summer.
No matter what, that should be the play over the next six days.
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