Hello everyone! I sent a poll out today on Twitter looking for some feedback on ideas for some articles. We get to this time of year and there’s limited things to talk about. Some very talented writers here and they all do such a great job on covering the team. But once we hit this time of year we’re all basically talking about the same things. The draft, offseason changes and blah blah blah. So I wanted to change it up a bit. I got a suggestion for one of my followers that I interact with on a regular basis that sent me a tweet that I thought was simple but intriguing. Still kind of an offseason topic, but it was something different.
We’ve all been thinking about this possibility. Thought I’d touch on it, look at a few different options and see how feasible it actually is. Obviously there’s a ton of hurdles in a deal like this.
A) Draft position
b) Fair trade value
c) Age of defenseman
d) Does he have term on his deal?
e) Cap implications
With the new draft lottery system there’s a pretty good chance that your team could be moving down. So let’s say for instance the Oilers pick 5. Who would feasibly be available?
Brett Burns- Has a year left on his deal. Turned 31 a couple days ago. The Oilers would be interested in him. But not for the pick. Doesn’t make much sense in my opinion.
Travis Hamonic- I’d trade the number 5 for Hamonic straight across. Problem with this trade, is the Islanders are getting an asset that’s 3 or 4 years away. I’m not sure they want to do that. Especially being a playoff team. If it involved the pick, I think it would need to be part of a blockbuster deal.
Kevin Shattenkirk- A year away from free agency. It doesn’t make much sense. Unless the Oilers could negotiate a contract before pulling the trigger.
PK Subban- Locked up long term. I can’t see the Canadiens moving him. He’s the second best defensemen in the NHL it would cost significantly more then just the pick. Unless there’s a bad locker room problem there I can’t see him moving.
Tyson Barrie- RFA this summer. This might make some sense possibly. But once again the Avs are on the way up, I can’t see them being interested in a pick straight across. Puts them in a similar situation to the Islanders and they probably aren’t waiting for a pick to develop. They’d probably want a young defenseman back.
Oliver Ekman Larsson- No chance Arizona does this for the number 5. Number 1 maybe. Auston Matthews is an Arizona kid, would help that team sell tickets. But OEL is so good. I’m not sure the Coyotes would even more him for the number one pick.
Theres no question the Oilers are extremely interested in the idea of acquiring a top 2 defensemen for the pick. But will they be able to find someone willing to dump an excellent defensemen for a pick that’s a ways away? Even adding a player to the that proposal still makes it tricky. It’s a tough pill to swallow for most teams when they are trading away the best player in the trade.
The other angle to all of this is (and I know people don’t like to hear it) but at some point the Oilers have to trade a tomorrow piece for a today piece. Always waiting for tomorrow doesn’t make the Oilers better today. McDavid has 2 years left at a low cap hit. They MUST get something together here soon before he ends up having a 10 million dollar cap hit. If someone came to me and said “I’ll give you a now defensemen for a future defensemen.. ” Where do I sign? I hear constantly. “Well he’s gonna be good in a couple years” “We can’t trade him because we don’t know what he is?” Now don’t get me wrong, it has to make sense. But i’d sure hate the Oilers to piss away these years because we’re constantly waiting for tomorrow like we have been the last 10 years. It’s gotta be a “We need to win now” not a “well maybe next year”philosophy. Now obviously, trading a 21 year old for a 35 year old makes no sense. The point I’m trying to make is basically this. I’m the president of the “I love Darnell Nurse fan club” but if Garth Snow showed up at my front door and said “Travis Hamonic for Darnell Nurse?” Enough with the “Darnell might be better in 5 years” You’ve gotta make that trade. Darnell could potentially be better then Travis Hamonic. Maybe he won’t. The point is Travis Hamonic is 25 years old and a legit defensemen. He’s farther along then Darnell. Makes the Oilers a far better team next year. Nurse also probably isn’t a steady top 4 guy for a couple years. When McDavid needs to be paid.
The team the Oilers should be templating their team after is the Los Angeles Kings. Not exactly for the team make up, but more for the way they altered their balance between young upcoming players and useful veterans in the prime of their careers. The Kings made 2 rather large trades in 2011 and 2012. Lots of people weren’t exactly thrilled with it. Four months later they won the Stanley Cup.
June 23rd 2011
Kings receive Mike Richards
Flyers receive Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn and a 2012 2nd round pick.
Wayne Simmonds was one of the top forward prospects in the entire NHL. He could score, skate and would beat kids up for fun when he played for Owen Sound in the OHL. Brayden Schenn was a 5th overall pick two years before in the 2009 NHL draft. He lit the WHL on fire for the Saskatoon Blades in 2010/11 and looked like a very promising prospect. Then exactly 8 months later…
February 23rd 2012
Kings receive Jeff Carter
Blue Jackets receive Jack Johnson, 2013 first round pick (Marko Dano)
Jack Johnson was a 3rd overall pick in the 2005 draft. He played pretty well for a struggling Kings team while he was there. But the Kings took the chance on moving a future piece for a very solid piece that could help them now. Jeff Carter signed a big deal but never did fit in with Columbus. Both teams got better out of that deal.
Mike Richards was 26 and Jeff Carter was 27 when the Kings acquired both of them. Price was steep, but no one can argue with the results. They brought a more veteran presence to the young Kings team.
We’ve became extremely attached to our kids. I’m not saying to trade them all or 3 of them or 4 of them. My point is if one of the less proven guys can get you a proven guy. You seriously have to think about it.
Times ticking… Peter Chiarelli is ready to make the tough decision. Are you ready to accept it?
Cheers!
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