Let’s pretend for a minute that maybe, just maybe, the other General Managers in the league aren’t looking to help the Edmonton Oilers. For whatever selfish reasons they may have, the don’t plan on just giving us their best players.
While I am fully on board with the idea that we could some how pull off the Bob Stauffer idea of getting a Cam Fowler and moving him for Tyson Barrie, that sort of three-way trade seems very NBA-style and not something the old boys’ club of NHL GM’s would swing.
Trading to a conference rival is one thing, but three of them coming together and managing it would be a very progressive move in which you maybe make a rival better while getting something yourself. The Ducks and Oilers are even division rivals, so hopefully they can get it done.
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The Avalanche and Oilers seem to be a dream match for some sort of trade. Not necessarily because the pieces match up, but because the management groups seem to have a far different way of evaluating talent than other members of the league.
Patrick Roy has stated he sees Barrie as their fifth defenseman while Chiarelli appears to have never used Be A GM mode in any EA Sports game, using star talent as bait and not collecting as many assets as possible.
No, I won’t be holding my breath when it comes to a steal of a trade for the Oilers involving such a player. Peter, feel free to prove me wrong. As much as I would love for Luke Schenn to sign here and somehow becomes the impossible Leafs projection, it has been stated as being unlikely that any future Oilers come from free agency.
That’s not to say that there are no options out here. Edmonton is in need of a second pairing (at least) puck moving defenceman that would be capable of being a power-play gunslinger of sorts. There are some low-key options out there that would likely cost less than Barrie. We’re not saying they could happen, but they could be decent deals.
Alex Petrovic
Petrovic normally would slot in as a top-four defenceman with the Panthers. Out of players to skate for at least 900 minutes last year, he came in at 25th in points per 60 minutes at an even 1. That actually puts him ahead of new teammates Keith Yandle and Jason Demers.
Half of his assists last year were primary, so he either gets a pass off with good results, or has a shot that will find the net for rebounds or deflections. He wasn’t a
driving force on the power play last year playing less than 8 and a half minutes, but on a team that had Aaron Ekblad, recently traded Dmitry Kulikov and Chicago returnee Brian Campbell you can’t hold that against a player who is in his second season as a regular NHLer.
He’s also due for a raise next year. He signed a bridge contract after his ELC expired and is playing out the last year of that in 16-17 with a cap hit of just over 1 million. The Panthers overhaul this year has seen them bring in Yandle and Demers as mentioned, resign Ekblad long term, as well as swap Kulikov for Mark Pysyk. Add 27-year-old Steve Kampfer to the list and that’s 5 right shot defenseman that could break the team next year, a rare issue to have.
Petrovic will also need to be exposed in an expansion draft. While they are spending to the cap, the Panthers and their dozens of hometown fans will not likely be looking to cover all of their right shooters. Considering they are also and aged team up front with their second line winger Jussi Jokinen already being 33 and RW Jagr being a silver fox beautician, there is a possibility of some needs being met.
Dealing a prospect that also needs to be covered but is a left shooting defenceman may be a place to start here, and I’m very questionable if Griffin Reinhart breaks this roster. Of course I could just be partial to the idea of another Edmonton boy playing there. Alex and Tyler Benson sharing sleep overs at their mom’s house? Adorable.
ANDREJ SUSTR
A long time favorite of mine, seeing as he can’t be bought for a 3rd or 4th round pick in NHL video games, Andrej Sustr is 6’7 and 220 pounds. One check for Chiarelli.
He is a capable skater and does well in passing and breakouts. Check two.
He may not be as physical as you would hope for a man of his stature, but he plays sound positional hockey. Sustr will be turning 26 this season and will be an RFA in the off-season.
Sustr is actually the highest player I’m referencing here in terms of points per 60, coming in at 17th last year at 1.07. His possession metrics are not the greatest, posting a -3.4 relative Corsi last season.
The Lightning have done a great job locking up their free agents this year, but that has led to a few cap concerns mainly having almost 50 million tied up in 23 players for next season. Jason Garrison, Braydon Coburn, and Anton Stralman are locked up past this season and Victor Hedman begins his new 8 million dollar deal.
They will also have the likes of Tyler Johnson, Jonathan Drouin, and Ondrej Palat to deal with next year. Their a team that should look to maybe deal a player or 2 in order to get some future stability while also signing players of their own (see Nikita Kucherov). A Benoit Pouliot reunion in Florida may be a steep cap price for them, but considering their issues with Drouin in the past, a stable left winger could be an interesting piece.
CODY CECI
When I started writing this I was on my way to a concert and wasn’t able to finish. I got on Twitter this morning and seen The Hockey Press “reporting” it as well, so this is officially the least likely of all the ideas I am putting out. Cody Ceci to me was always the Senator I forget. I remember Mark Borowiecki more than him.
Nonetheless, the Ottawa blueliner is fairly effective as a point producing D man. He is ranked 30th in PP60 at 0.98 just behind Petrovic. The difference is that Ceci is a better scorer having 0.41 goals per 60 compared which ranks him 5th among qualified defenseman. The 4 ahead of him should be considered “qualified” as well, Brent Burns, Dustin Byfuglien, Erik Karlsson and the “Ghostbear”.
The problem is Ceci doesn’t put up reassuring possession numbers. Because he has a relative Corsi of -4.7, his pDO skews towards lucky rather than good last season. It doesn’t mean that he’s a poor-performing defenseman, he just is not a premier defender right now.
And that’s where the problem hits Ottawa. Right now like Barrie, Ceci is involved in an arbitration set back. The Senators confuse me cap-wise. They currently have about 12 million available, and only Ceci, Mike Hoffman and Matt Puempel as RFAs.
Hoffman is going to get paid but keeping Ceci should be fine. The problem is they have a 35-year-old starter in Craig Anderson locked up, a 31-year-old Dion Phaneuf 7 million dollar contract, and multiple UFA and RFA next summer. The Senators are in a better position than most, not having many glaring holes, but seem like they could be one move away from teetering.
Having Karlsson is always going to be an advantage but they are either going to need to upload some pieces and build for the future or unload some pieces and compete now. Ceci could find himself out-of-town and if he does become available there would be worse specialist players out there. A better report on Ceci has been written up by Sammi here.
I doubt Petrovic is going to be available, Sustr also seems like a question mark. Ceci and Barrie are two different players that would bring one big offensive positive to the Oilers, but for different prices. The longer their arbitration hearings draw out, hopefully, the smaller the asking price will be.