Between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2019, the Edmonton Oilers made 75 trades of note. That’s a lot. As a comparison, in the same time frame the Detroit Red Wings (much of the time under the guidance of current Oilers general manager Ken Holland) made 33.
That’s a big gap. At the dawn of a decade where we’re going from 7.5 trades a year to three, let’s look back on the collective works of Steve Tambellini, Craig MacTavish, Peter Chiarelli, Keith Gretzky and Ken Holland. What are the 10 best trades of last decade?
THE ATHLETIC!
I’m proud to be writing for The Athletic, and pleased to be part of a great team with Daniel Nugent-Bowman and Jonathan Willis. Here is our recent work.
- New Lowetide: Oilers first-round pick Dylan Holloway’s fast start has fans buzzing
- New Jonathan Willis: A brief history of Oilers teams with goalie problems, and how they overcame them
- Lowetide: Some prospects who are remembered as busts deserve a second look
- Lowetide: Ideal style pairings for the 2020-21 Oilers
- Jonathan Willis: The Oilers are better with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl apart at 5-on-5
- Lowetide: The Oilers and the Calder Trophy: 5 rookies, 1 strong contender
- Lowetide: Oilers’ reasonable expectations for 2020-21: The results
- Lowetide: Oilers’ reasonable expectations for 2020-21: Goals against
- Lowetide: Oilers’ reasonable expectations for 2020-21: The Goals
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers defensive prospects are impressive overseas, but what comes next?
- Lowetide: Oilers pick up an intriguing addition in free agent Dominik Kahun
- Jonathan Willis: Oilers’ organizational depth chart: Where does Edmonton stand today?
- Lowetide: Oilers extend Kris Russell, solve expansion issue
- Lowetide: Why is Ilya Konovalov no longer starting in the KHL?
- Lowetide: Oilers Top 20 prospects, post-draft edition.
TOP 10 TRADES OF THE DECADE
NUMBER ONE: February 11, 2011. Oilers trade LW Dustin Penner to the Los Angeles Kings for D Colten Teubert, 2011 first-round pick (Oscar Klefbom) and a third-round selection in 2012 (Daniil Zharkov). At the time, trading Penner represented pulling the plug on 11-12 and possibly the next season, too. A bitter pill. The key was the first-round selection, Klefbom, who has been a big part of this team since arriving in the NHL. Tambellini is not well remembered for being successful on the trade market, but Klefbom was a big piece of the Oilers puzzle for most of the decade. Klefbom was the most valuable piece acquired during the decade by trade. Steve Tambellini.
NUMBER TWO: June 27, 2015. Oilers trade a 2015 second round pick (D Jonas Siegenthaler), third round pick in 2015 (Sergey Zborovskiy) and seventh-round pick (G Adam Huska) to the New York Rangers for G Cam Talbot and a 2015 seventh-round pick (Ziyat Paigin). I was always a fan of the player and this trade. Things didn’t work out but the first two seasons were excellent. A second and a third is not a high price for a true starting goalie. Peter Chiarelli.
NUMBER THREE: February 29, 2016. Oilers trade D Martin Gernat and a fourth-round pick (Jack Kopacka) in 2016 for LW Patrick Maroon. Maroon scored 49 goals in 154 games with Edmonton, or about 25 goals per year. He remains the top performing LW (assuming Leon Draisaitl is listed at RW) on the McDavid line since the captain arrived in 2015. I’ve often wondered if the Oilers should have signed him but the contract sounded dear. Peter Chiarelli.
NUMBER FOUR: January 2, 2015. Oilers trade LW David Perron to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2015 first-round pick (Mathew Barzal) and forward Rob Klinkhammer. The deal was made by Craig MacTavish, and it was a damned good one, a match for the Klefbom deal by Tambellini in 2011. Except Chiarelli didn’t complete the transaction successfully. Still a nice bit of work. Craig MacTavish
NUMBER FIVE: December 28, 2015. Oilers trade G Ben Scrivens to the Montreal Canadiens for RW Zack Kassian. It was a real value deal for Edmonton, although there was some risk involved. Over five seasons now, Kassian has scored 47 goals and 101 points as an Oilers winger. In today’s NHL a trade that brings in a veteran who contributes for five seasons is a winner. The price was very low, making it a quality return. Peter Chiarelli
NUMBER SIX: July 10, 2013. Oilers trade LW Magnus Paajarvi and 2014 second-round pick (Ivan Barbashev) to the St. Louis Blues for LW David Perron. Edmonton gave up a lot in this deal (Barbashev is a fine player) but Perron scored 28 goals in his one full season and brought a handsome return when it was time to go. Craig MacTavish
NUMBER SEVEN: July 19, 2019. Oilers trade LW Milan Lucic and a 2021 third-round pick to the Calgary Flames for LW James Neal. Oilers got out of having to protect Lucic in the expansion draft and Neal was productive on the power play. Neal scored 19 in the regular season and two in four postseason games. Ken Holland
NUMBER EIGHT: February 28, 2017. Oilers trade LD Brandon Davidson to the Montreal Canadiens for LC David Desharnais. He didn’t spend much time in an Oilers uniform, but Desharnais’ massive overtime goal against the San Jose Sharks was a key moment in Edmonton’s 2017 postseason. He mainly struggled and cost Edmonton a good defenseman, or he’d be even higher on the list. Peter Chiarelli.
NUMBER NINE: February 23, 2018. Oilers trade D Brandon Davidson to the New York Islanders for 2019 third-round pick (Ilya Konovalov). This trade has miles to go, but Konovalov is a real prospect and could be less than a year away from playing in the AHL. I think this trade could be a gem. Peter Chiarelli.
NUMBER TEN: June 30, 2013. Oilers traded No. 37 overall pick (Valentin Zykov) to the Los Angeles Kings for No. 57 (William Carrier), No. 88 (Anton Slepyshev), No. 96 (Kyle Platzer). The Oilers then traded No. 57 (William Carrier) to the St. Louis Blues for No. 83 (Bogdan Yakimov), No. 94 (Jackson Houck), No. 113 (Aidan Muir). Actually two trades in one and not as massive a return of quality as I had hoped, but Slepyshev was an intriguing talent all down the line. For entertainment, and for the fact MacT was innovative in the general manager’s chair, this qualifies as a good trade. Craig MacTavish
LOWDOWN WITH LOWETIDE
At 10 this morning, TSN1260, we’ll hit the ground running. It sounds like the NHL and ‘PA are working hard on an agreement and we may see some news in the next couple of weeks on a RTP date (January 1 still the current target). We’ll break that down. Laura Armstrong of the Toronto Star joins us to talk Blue Jays offseason and about this article she wrote about Kim Ng’s hiring by the Marlins. Carlan Gay from NBA Global Editions will talk offseason trades and free agency. We’re at 10-1260 via text and @Lowetide on twitter. See you on the radio!
Watching game 7 against Dallas I sure loved that team everyone worked their asses off. I posted it the other day and I’ll post it again that the no pressure signing of Tippett’s boy Turris is huge. Mcdavid and especially Leon need to play less minutes. We finally have a perfect 3rd line Centre that will lead a line that will outscore the opponents 3rd line and have a more rested Connor and Leon to finish out the game.
Raphael Lavoie seems to be getting some much needed support in Väsby. As been reported 2021 draftee Brandt Clarke is a done deal, there is talk that it’s not just a loan as was first reported but instead for the full season which is interesting. I’m sure the CHL is loving that development.
Väsby has been pretty clear about them not bringing in any short term loans so it would make sense if they signed, being last could ofc change that but if they were prepared to take on a player short term there are far more sure bets out there than a 17 year old. While a predicted top draft pick should do well in Allsvenskan, at least offensively, some guys do struggle when playing against men for the first time. And almost all of them are inconsistent their first few seasons. Thus him being available for the full year makes sense.
There’s also a rumour they are about to sign Pavel Gogolev who scored well in the OHL as a double overager last season but didn’t get drafted. If true they are clearly looking to boost their offense and PP which is in desperate need of an upgrade. Lavoie has been stone alone as the teams only offensive threat most nights. Nice if he could get some support.
And now Väsby writes that the deal is off since he has a contract with Barrie and allsvenskan clubs can’t loan players from the CHL.
We were away but it was Go Daddy/server issues. We are back.
Just thought I would share this with the cord cutters in the group.
A couple of weeks ago we downloaded the Apple TV app for Tubi TV.
its a FREE streaming service which offers thousands of movies and TV shows.
Its all legal and in HD with Dolby surround.
While their library is older material and contains very small and infrequent commercial breaks, you can always find great stuff to watch.
https://tubitv.com/
Enjoy.
Per Larry Brooks, the NHL has officially proposed a 13% additional deferral of their compensation. This isn’t a big surprise as it was speculated that this was coming.
This would be in addition to the already agreed up on 10% deferral (which is paid to the players in 3 equal instalments in October of 2022, 2023 and 2024).
Frankly, taking away the actual percentage, I think the deferral route is a great deal for the players. At the end of the day, they will still get paid in full for the season (minus escrow holdback) even though they won’t be working for a full season – they simply will have to wait for some of the comp.
No matter what was agreed to back in the summer, expecting the owners to pay full compensation based on 82 games for a season that will be somewhere between 48-70 games while the owners earn vastly reduced revenues with very limited (if any) fans would be unreasonable in my opinion.
This is interesting for more than a few players
Because of bonuses already paid, Austin Matthews salary this upcoming season was slated to be $700K.
Now with 23% deferral and 20% escrow, he will be playing for less than $400K.
You have to wonder if some of these players will opt out like some players did in the return to play.
There are 8 players that wouldn’t be able to make the entire deferral due to signing bonus/salary split.
Is Hockey Canada too cheap to pay for multiple tests? I haven’t heard of a two week quarantine for a non close contact in athletes in a while. College kids are asked to do that before going home but that’s because no one want to pay for their testing
Maybe the Oilers need to step up and offer to pay.
Greatest goal of the 21st century on Sportsnet.ca today is McDavid vs Eberle. Vote for your favourite! https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/greatest-nhl-goal-21st-century/
‘- this list is a reminder of why whenever there is a post about trade blue skies or comments I just scroll through Amd dont read
’- Trades rarely happen Amd good ones even less so. And I’ve never read one in advance that comes to fruition
‘- How bout that Hall though: I wonder if we could trade for him half way through this season after Buffalo fades. What would that cost!
Well…this is interesting.
Greg Tolan (@Greg_Tolan) Tweeted:
BREAKING: Former head of Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons tells Government of Alberta in secret meeting that ‘COVID’ measures are ridiculous and that ‘COVID’ is just a “bad flu” and all PCR testing should cease immediately.
https://t.co/gsYGYXQ0WY
https://twitter.com/Greg_Tolan/status/1328802818157928448?s=20
Thanks very much for sharing this HH. For all the people that say “listen to the experts” this is well worth listening to.
You can’t find a much better expert than this.
His credentials are impeccable.
This guy?
https://westernmedical.ca/employees/roger-g-hodkinson/
Are you for real HH?
Except he isn’t the former head of the College of Physicians and Surgeons as the tweet states.
Moreover, the title of linked youtube video states that the comments were from a privately recorded meeting; they were actually made at a public hearing where citizens shared their views with Edmonton city council and the individual quoted was one of several people who shared their opinions.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/covid-19-city-council-mask-1.5802168
The above article identifies the supposed “former head of the CPSA” as actually being the CEO of a company “that conducts medical examinations for lawyers and insurance adjusters.” A fella who provides “reliable” medical results for lawyers are a special breed of medical professional. Let’s just say you don’t go to them for an objective medical opinion.
I don’t know who this Greg Tolan fellow is but a quick scroll through his tweets reveals he is definitely pushing a few agendas at the same time. Some of which may align with your own views but for the sake of ensuring the future veracity of your own comments on this forum I’d view future tweets from this source with skepticism.
The factual accuracy of this tweet and the title of the accompanying video, are shit and future tweets by the source should be regarded as such.
Glad we didn’t overlap too much 🙂
That’s his own company’s website.
The only mention of “College of Physicians and Surgeons” is:
“Chairman of a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons committee in Ottawa”.
It’s like a game of telephone.
Or Aaaaah Central Paark in New-ark..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlMNHcEU7eM
Anyway, apologies if I have the wrong guy. Though I’d need to see the real guy, with the impeccable credentials, before I take this at all seriously.
Lol. Underappreciated show. Love it.
It sure was.
The comparable for Dylan Holloway is Rod Brind’Amour.
I’m not seeing it.
Brind’Amour scored 27 goals and 59 points as a freshman at Michigan State and followed that up with 26 goals and 61 points in his rookie NHL season.
Do you believe Holloway has got that kind of production in him?
US College Hockey was a much weaker 32 years ago.
The NHL was still in its high scoring era 30 years ago when Brind’Amour as a rookie
True…but those are pretty gaudy stats and big shoes to fill.
Those numbers are gaudy but, of note, they put him 5th on the team in scoring, 18 points behind two other players.
They are impressive but there is important context.
So, in context, you’re expecting Holloway to score about 85 points in his rookie season.
Context works both ways.
I have no idea what that means.
To state the stats you did, without referencing the context, is clearly dishonest in a clear effort to propagate a narrative. They are indeed impressive but are not indicative of him blowing the rest of the nation away as they would indicate without the important context.
Its just more of the same but its expected now.
Not sure if you’re aware of this but Brind’Amour and Nuge co-host a charity golf tournament every summer in Campbell River.
One has to wonder if the Carolina coach has whispered anything in Nuge’s ear prior to his pending free agency.
Would those whispered words have been…
Can’t you see the sunshine?
Can’t you just feel the moonshine?
Ain’t it just like a friend of mine
To hit me from behind?
Haha…cue James Taylor.
Rodrigue stays perfect and moves to 5-0 in his pro career backstoping the Graz99ers to a 4-3 shootout win. Not sure the shot totals but he was perfect in the shootout.
Berezkin had a power player assist for Loco (back in the MHL). Denezhkin wasn’t in the lineup so he must have been recalled to the VHL – these guys keeping moving leagues like every week.
Lindewall only played 9 minutes as Modo got whacked 7-0 – the fact he’s playing pro right now is a good arrow.
Holloway won’t even be a full participant in camp for the first two weeks.
Terry Jones advised earlier that he will be in 2-week quarantine and now Rishaug advising that 3 players including Holloway and Newhook, coming from the US, will be in a small group for the 2 weeks.
I presume that Alberta Health Services and Hockey Canada negotiated protocols require the 2-week quarntine notwithstanding a potential shorter quarantine approved by government via the YYC Pilot Project.
Jim Matheson
@jimmathesonnhl
·
34m
When I talked to Holloway 10 days ago he was thinking he could get a rapid COVID test at Calg airport when he flew from U.S. and isolate for 48 hours. Guess not if he’s out for two weeks.
Per Rishaug:
Further info on NCAA guys Newhook, Holloway and Levi. Have to stay in a 10 person cohort at rink and hotel. Cannot interact with rest of the team until the 14 days is up. Cohort will include goaltenders so they can skate with them each day separately.
Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) Tweeted:
Early snag for Hockey Canada, 10 players did not get test results in time to fly yesterday, so will be travelling in today if cleared. 2 players from QMJHl are finishing their quarantine as well, so far from a full compliment for say 1 of camp.
https://twitter.com/TSNRyanRishaug/status/1328796094080270337?s=20
Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) Tweeted:
Also, Owen Power will not be part of Team Canada this year, door is now closed. Other 3 NCAA players, Holloway, Newhook and Levi are skating in a small group for 2 weeks completing their quarantine requirements after crossing border.
https://twitter.com/TSNRyanRishaug/status/1328796095829315584?s=20
No Filip Berglund in the SHL tonight(his team is in the only game) due to an injury that’s still undisclosed. Played almost 23 minutes last game so he’s either played through something or he was injured in practice. Hopefully nothing serious.
Geez LT, did Brandon Davidson kick your dog or something? 😉
Now I know we might evaluate trades differently, but I can think of a couple trades I’d insert into the list.
Re-acquiring Smyth.
Foster for Sutton (gosh how bad was our D back then).
5th for Ennis.
Don’t get me wrong, still a depressing list.
What about the Gagner for spooner trade? K.G. Unloaded a terrible contract and a player that is now out of the NHL, and got back a useful but overpaid player and fan favourite. I would rank that ahead of the number 10 trade at least.
Good point!
An early ranking for the 20/21 draft.
Worth noting the University of Michigan dominates the top 10 and Quinn Hughes little brother Luke comes in at #3
https://hockeyprospect.com/hockeyprospect-com-2021-nhl-draft-top-32-ranking-november/
Wow, the 03’s are a LOT bigger than the 02’s were – only two of the top-20 are under 6’0!
And 7 of the top 11 are defensemen.
That has to be a record.
For those interested in following NCAA hockey…keep an eye on the University of. Michigan.
They swept their season opening two game series against Arizona by a combined score of 11-1 on the weekend.
https://mgoblue.com/news/2020/11/15/ice-hockey-michigan-blanks-no-15-arizona-state-to-secure-season-opening-sweep
More on the Michigan juggernaut.
https://theathletic.com/2199796/2020/11/16/michigan-hockey-storms-into-a-season-long-spotlight-with-expectations-clear/
The Oilers are bouncing cheques.
https://oilersnation.com/2020/11/16/edmonton-oilers-sued-by-dallas-hotel-over-alleged-bounced-check-hotel-stay/
Okay…so those trades may make you want to clap your hands over your eyes.
As we head into our winter of discontent, let us (at least the musically inclined among us) spend a bit of time dissecting one of the greatest mysteries of our time.
Why isn’t Toto in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
During the lock down, I’ve spent a great deal of time going down the Toto rabbit hole re-discovering their significant library and following their individual contributions on music produced by such luminaries as Michael Jackson, Steely Dan and Bob Skaggs among many others.
This was all prompted by a story today about band co-founder Steve Lukather (who I consider to be one of the most outstanding guitarists of all time) expressing the view that Toto has been marginalized for decades because of one mega hit…Africa.
https://www.loudersound.com/amp/news/steve-lukather-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-hates-totos-guts
Africa has become one of the most covered and most reviled tunes in rock and roll history. A cruise through YouTube videos offers a vast palette of cover versions yet music critics even 20 years later are still taking the time to condemn it.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/toto-africa-the-new-anthem-747262/
Toto over the years has featured some of the most accomplished session players in the music industry and has also had a rather tragic history as the original bass player died after suffering from muscular dystrophy and his brother died after accidentally inhaling garden chemicals.
Toto has become the Ringo Starr of rock and roll bands and ironically Lukather now plays in a band with Ringo.
What gives?
People make decisions based on what they believe has value. The Young Rascals asked several times if they could play Woodstock and were told no. Why?
Who needs the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame when you have this? https://www.cnn.com/style/article/toto-africa-namibia-desert-scli-intl/index.html
The ultimate ear worm 🙂
Love the musicians, but I really hate that song. Which rather proves your point here…
“It embodies what great music is all about”
https://ig.ft.com/life-of-a-song/africa.html
I think that Toto, not unlike Steely Dan, did not tour a ton and were looked at as more of a studio band. That might be one of the reasons they are overlooked. Believe me I am a huge Toto fan…My daughters have told me that my tombstone will read “can you believe Hall and Oates never won a grammy”…that also seems criminal …while other acts now considered or framed as R&B win several yearly ….
You have to wonder if Toto was blacklisted after going after Sony in court.
https://www.courthousenews.com/sony-ducks-royalty-lawsuit-from-toto/?amp=1
As it turns out, Sony ended up claiming Toto owed them $600K for an overpayment of royalties which prompted the band to launch a worldwide tour to pay the bill.
In the late 90’s, the Edmonton Journal came out with a list of the cheesiest song lyrics of all time. “Africa” was number one.
How did Weird Al Yancovic stack up?
The Maroon trade is even better when noted that the Duck’s retained 25% so, for two years, the Oilers had a cap hit of $1.5M for Maroon and the Ducks maintained a $500K dead cap hit.
Here is hoping that Jesse Puljujarvi’s European hockey career is over. A member of Karpat has tested positive so I believe the team is shut down for two weeks. Presumably, he’ll be on his way to Canada near (or before) when they would get started back up. If things go as we hope, he is an NHL player from here on out – no certainty there but hopefully.
How is Hall for Larsson not #1?
It wasn’t a “best” trade.
I guess it depends on how you’re defining best. If you’re talking about net value gains for the Oilers, then it is clearly not one of the best. If you’re talking about the level of fame/infamy the trade garners, then it should probably be number 1, 2 and three just for sheer impact on the organization. Love Larsson, hate that trade.
Sorry, should have added /s
*looks over list*
If that’s our best… maybe we should never trade again.
Woodguy reminded me that from a trade perspective, Sakic turned into a genius right after he hired Dawson Sprigings (DTMAboutHeart).
If you want to know what a kick in pills feels like, compare our top ten list to Sakic’s post DMTaboutheart hire transactional history (October 17, 2017).
Here’s a list of Joe Sakic Trades: here
I don’t know? That Cody Corbett trade may bite him in the ass. Something about former Oil Kings…..
How does the Eberle for what would eventually turn out to be the dusty carcass of Spooner not make the list?
Of course they would have had to stop half way at Strome to see the merit of the transaction.
Hopefully one day we can look back at all this & laugh…?
The Strome for Spooner trade was god-awful.
The Eberle for Strome trade turned out to be much closer in value. Of course, Strome didn’t provide the value until he moved on but that was largely due to usage.
Over the 3-4 years following the trade, I would posit that Strome may have outperformed Eberle, or at least came close to sawing off with Eberle – for a much lower cap hit yearly.
If Oil draft Barzal and not trade the Talbot picks that would have been one of the top drafts in history.
If Chiarelli had done NOTHING except draft from the Bobfathers list, the Oilers would be an unstoppable force.
I wonder if he knows this.
We’re really scraping at the bottom of the barrel here, whoo boy!
Not sure about #10. Carrier is still playing a role in Vegas, Sleppy won’t come home.
Yeah, that’s not a good look when our tenth best trade from 2010-9 is actually a net loss. I don’t think we have any control over Sleppy anymore either.
Yup, he signed for two years in the KHL and, when its up, he’ll be an NHL UFA.
Man, the Worst Trades list will be three times as long. Some you hardly think about anymore, damn Brandon Manning & Alex Petrovic. Al Montoya!!
Trading for an established Perron (who scores 28 damn entertaining goals) then selling high on him is the reverse of what Edmonton ever does. If they take Barzal at 16 that year, Perron gets a statue outside Rogers Place?
This is like the greatest hits of Gus Polinkski.
Never heard of Gus Polinski? Polka King of the Midwest? The Kenosha Kickers?