Oilers trade Riley Nash

The Edmonton Oilers traded Riley Nash earlier today. Carolina offered up the 46th overall pick and Edmonton sent the Cornell center to the Hurricanes.

The return (46th overall) is very poor considering Nash was #21 overall and has been building a solid resume in the NCAA. I don’t want to be misunderstood here, the player selected with the 46th pick looks like a winner and I’m looking forward to following his career.

The best the Oilers organization can hope for is that Nash never makes the show. That way, they can point to his selection in 2007′s first round as a draft error. Their worst nightmare? That he signs with Carolina and becomes what they’d hoped for: a solid 2-way center. If that happens, the error can’t be placed long ago in 2007 during the KP era.

It will be placed squarely on the 2010 General Manager’s desk. Some of us will be watching closely.