Trade Connor McDavid? Serious?

Fortunately for the Oilogosphere, I haven’t been able to write anything for a while. Between my job and training for the Really Long Run to End MS, I haven’t had any extra time. However, I felt compelled to write something as I can’t believe there are actually fans of the Oilers who think the team should trade the right to draft Connor McDavid. The concept baffles me. Why would anyone think trading a player, who is projecting to be the best player in game in near future, is a good idea?

One of the arguments was the trade of Eric Lindros from the Quebec Nordiques to the Philadelphia Flyers. The argument basically runs, “the Nordiques/Avalanche got the best of the deal and won multiple cups.” In hindsight that statement is true, but as someone who lived through that era, no one was projecting Peter Forsberg to be what he became. In addition, the other assets the Nords acquired featured some nice depth pieces, but none were stars. So the trade really came down to Lindros for Forsberg, which from a historical perspective is a win for the Nords/Avs. If Lindros doesn’t have his career derailed by Scott Stevens during the 2000 playoffs history may have been different (Lindros was a 1.35 PPG player before the hit and a 0.75 after), but that’s not the way in went so the record will show the Flyers lost the deal.

The Lindros trade aside, when an elite or generational talent is traded, who wins? Lets review a few examples:

• Coming off a 121 point season, Jaromir Jagr was traded (along with Frank Kucera) on July 11th 2001 from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Washington Capitals for Kris Beech, Ross Lupaschuk and Michal Sivek
• 2 1/2 seasons removed from 101 points, Joe Thornton is traded on November 30th, 2005 from the Boston Bruins to the San Jose Sharks for Wayne Primeau, Brad Stuart, and Marco Sturm.
• After his 4th Stanley Cup win and a 149 point season, Wayne Gretzky is traded on August 9th, 1988 along with Mike Krushelnyski and Marty McSorely from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, 3 1st round picks, and cash.
• After finishing with 64 points in 53 games and one season removed from 129 points, Mark Messier is moved from the Edmonton Oilers to the New York Rangers in exchange for Louie DeBrusk, Bernie Nicholls, and Steven Rice.
• After 32 points in 48 games, a young Tyler Seguin is dealt, along with Ryan Button and Rich Peverley, to the Dallas Stars for Loui Eriksson, Reilly Smith, Joe Morrow, and Matt Fraser.

I focussed on trades where the feature player was a centre as they are the most analogous to the prospect of trading the right to draft Connor McDavid. Nowhere in this list of trades, or any of the countless others I looked at, did I find a combined return of a top pairing defender, starting goalie, and second line centre- which would fill the most glaring holes on the Oilers roster. Overall the return for players like Gretzky, Thornton, and Jagr is a rather underwhelming group. In fact I don’t think anyone could make reasonable argument to trade McDavid for the combined assets offered in exchange for Jagr, Thornton, Gretzky, Messier, and Seguin. Maybe it is just me.

If Tampa offered Stamkos, Bishop, Hedman, and their 2015 first rounder? I’d probably consider it, but Tampa would never offer a package like that (nor would any team) as they would pretty much assure themselves of several years of non-playoff hockey.

Somebody offering a mixed bag of their top prospects/young players, draft picks, and a couple reliable vets? Not a chance; too big of a gamble when you are considering dealing a player who could evolve into the best in the game.

It has been a long time since we, as fans of the Edmonton Oilers, could actually make the claim that we had the best player in the game. The last time we had one of the top 3 defenseman in the game we were treated to a run to the 7th game of the Stanley Cup final. We are on the cusp of having an elite, and possibly generational, talent once again and there is a small minority of fans lining up to trade McDavid for pennies on the dollar. Insanity.

Personally, I haven’t been this excited for a hockey season since I was a kid. Hockey is finally fun again. I’m not close to convinced the Oilers will be a playoff team next year but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Really Long Run for MS

As a person living with Multiple Sclerosis I am very fortunate. I still play hockey, run, and do most everything I was able to do before I was diagnosed. For me the worst symptoms are fatigue (sometimes extreme), issues with my balance, and constant numbness in my hands and feet. However, I am one of the lucky ones and many with this disease find simple things like walking next to impossible and there are many who can’t walk at all. Every spring my wife and I ride in the MS Bike from Leduc to Camrose. This year I have decided to run the 85 KM (one leg of the MS Bike) in a single day two weeks prior to the big ride to raise money and awareness. On May 23rd, 2015 I will begin the run in the wee hours of the morning and be met during the day by others who will run portions with me (and hopefully keep me sane and motivated). All money raised will go to the MS Society of Canada. If you would like to know more, donate, volunteer, or even join me for a portion of the run you can get more information by clicking here.