Game 5 2024 Playoffs: Kings at Oilers

When all of this is over finally, and Connor McDavid captains a Stanley Cup champion in Edmonton, I would like to return to the scene of the crime. It’s the top item on this 2016 review of 2015 deals. Yes. If this thing results in Stanley, the sins of the past will be forgiven. Why? That’s how it works.

Q AND A

• I forgive nothing! That’s your right as a fan. All I ask is that you take the entire record into account and not fade the sins of the past.
• What the hell does that mean? Ken Holland should be criticized for missteps. That applies to all managers.
• Glen Sather didn’t make any mistakes! The Miro Satan trade says hello.
• One trade in 20 years! You’re all ass all the time! I’m certain that’s true, but I insist you look at everyone’s record, not just what is in front of you.
• Fine. Worst deals by GM. Sather had few, but Satan was obviously going to score in the NHL and that was right at the beginning of his career. Kevin Lowe? I’ll say not making the Corey Perry for Mike Comrie deal. That would have been a game changer.
• What about Craig MacTavish? MacT was a good trader, his missteps were things like challenging Jeff Petry to be better and then walking him to free agency as the team’s best defenseman. The worst trade he made was Devan Dubnyk for Matt Hendricks, but the sin was in evaluation. Dubnyk was a real goalie, MacT didn’t think so. You have to be right on those things.
• We don’t have all day, so name the worst Chiarelli deal. I’ll go with the Reinhart acquisition because the draft picks could have grown with the cluster. If the Oilers had chosen Joel Eriksson Ek and Brandon Carlo, as has been rumoured, the entire decade rolls out differently. I think that 2015 draft, really the hour between the McDavid pick and the Reinhart trade, pointed out the fatal flaw in Edmonton’s team building at that time.
• I thought you’d say the Taylor Hall trade. Definitely second on the list and a tragedy. Adam Larsson was and is a fine shutdown defenseman, but you don’t trade a unicorn for him. I would also list the Ryan Strome for Ryan Spooner deal, you can’t send away that kind of talent and get nothing in return.
• Now we get to Holland. Worst deal. For me, it was the Duncan Keith trade. The player was far better than his numbers indicated, but even then Keith played protected minutes in his Edmonton season. The assets out (Caleb Jones, the pick that turned into Jeremy Langlois) were fine, but taking on the entire Keith cap hit should have fetched a first-round pick from Chicago. What’s more, the Blackhawks used that money to sign Seth Jones long term and that directly impacted the Darnell Nurse negotiations. It was a net terrible overall.
• Any others? The Andreas Athanasiou deal was costly and then the organization walked him because of the pandemic. I think the original deal was too much, but not signing him was the right play. I think he would have been open to more criticism had he signed Athanasiou.
• So, you like Holland’s trades? Mostly, yes. I think the team has improved smartly since Brad Holland became AGM and took charge of pro scouting. The deals for Mattias Ekholm, Brett Kulak, Adam Henrique and Klim Kostin have been net positive and have the team in position to contend for the Stanley Cup this spring.
• So, you think the organization has the proper structure in place? Closer than before, yes. You know, Tyler Dellow was in place in July 2015, and I do believe (no evidence beyond the fact the signing was an outlier compared to Edmonton’s own past) he impacted the signing of Andrej Sekera. That’s the kind of signing Edmonton needed then, and needs now.
• What have you noticed that is different? It’s endless. The Reinhart trade motivation came from his junior career, which was substantial and impressive. It did not come from the latest intel, that would have been provided from someone who could have reported on his difficulty adjusting to the AHL. Reinhart’s foot speed lagged badly in pro hockey and it was recognized by Todd McLellan right at the start of the 2015 training camp. Chiarelli kept talking him up, McLellan kept not playing him. I don’t think we’d get that situation now.
• What about Philip Broberg? I think the organization knows he’s ready, but Broberg’s development took a back seat this season. Vincent Desharnais won the available RH job and the lefties in front of him stayed healthy. Broberg is miles better as a defensive option than Reinhart in 2015.
• Who is the next general manager? No idea. I do think the team has come a long way in the last five years and ownership is unlikely to tear it all down. If I’m betting your money, it would be on the younger Holland. Perhaps Jeff Jackson has an external candidate in mind, but the people in place now are building a fine resume in my opinion.

The Lowdown hits the air at noon today, Sports 1440. We’ll talk to Bruce McCurdy from the Cult of Hockey at the Edmonton Journal about the importance of winning tonight’s game. So many things are going in Edmonton’s favor, we’ll chat about the Stars-Golden Knights and the Predators hanging on against Vancouver. You can reach me at Lowetide on twitter, in the comments section or on the Sports 1440 text line at 1.833.401.1440 directly.