As we travel back through time and revisit the annual trade deadlines, the ebb and flow of a franchise is seen in the clear light of day. Yesterday’s edition was a tough slog, today offers some, I said some, good memories.
2014—CRAIG MACTAVISH
March 4: Oilers trade G Ilya Bryzgalov to the Minnesota Wild for a 2014 fourth-round pick (D William Lagesson); Oilers trade a 2014 fifth-round pick (Matthew Berkovits) and a third-round pick (Dennis Yan) to the Anaheim Ducks for G Viktor Fasth.
MacT switched out goaltenders at the deadline, acquiring the unpronouncable Viktor Fasth and sending away the standup comedian Ilya Bryzgalov. A reflection of Edmonton’s improved scouting? William Lagesson was the best NHL player to emerge among the draft picks.
March 5: Oilers trade RW Ales Hemsky to the Ottawa Senators for a 2015 third-round pick (Sergey Zborovskiy) and a fifth-round pick in 2014 (Liam Coughlin); Oilers trade D Nick Schultz to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a 2014 fifth-round pick (Tyler Bird).
Ah, damn. Hemsky earned a chance at Stanley but trading him for a couple of depth picks did not reflect his talent nor his importance to the organization. Long drives from Blackfalds and farther on cold, cold nights were made by intelligent humans because of this man. Always put some respect on him.
2015—CRAIG MACTAVISH
March 2: Oilers trade D Jeff Petry to the Montreal Canadiens for a 2015 second-round pick (D Jonas Siegenthaler) and a 2015 fifth-round pick (D Caleb Jones).
Craig MacTavish is one of the smartest men ever to be in the employ of the Edmonton Oilers. I’d rate him with Clare Drake, Glen Sather, John Muckler, Billy Moores and Craig Ramsay. He didn’t like Jeff Petry. He was wrong. He kept talking about “you can’t pay every defenseman $4 million” but that wasn’t it. Petry didn’t deliver the style of play that MacT found effective, and that’s a shame. He got good value for him, though.
2016—PETER CHIARELLI
February 27: Oilers trade D Justin Schultz to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2016 third-round selection (D Filip Berglund); Oilers trade RW Teddy Purcell to the Florida Panthers for a 2016 third-round selection (D Matthew Cairns); Oilers trade G Anders Nilsson to the St. Louis Blues for G Niklas Lundstrom and a 2016 fifth-round pick (Graham McPhee); Oilers trade D Martin Gernat and a 2016 fourth-round pick (Jack Kopacka) in the 2016 draft.
Justin Schultz had the post-Oilers career I wished for Ales Hemsky but he was a fine young defender and the Penguins unlocked him. Zero doubt he was mishandled by the team, and of course he did mature over time. The Matthew Cairns selection was a poor one, reflecting Peter Chiarelli’s impact on draft day. I suspect he got them Caleb Jones, so not all was negative.
This was a dud deadline until right at the end of the deadline, when Chiarelli landed Patrick Maroon. At his press conference, he talked about the deal before it had been approved by NHL Central Registry. That’s how late it went down. An absolute hammer of a trade.
2017—PETER CHIARELLI
February 28: Oilers trade D Brandon Davidson to the Montreal Canadiens for C David Deshanrais.
People were angry at me on this blog when I reviewed this trade, idea being that trading Brandon Davidson for a rental was a poor play. My point was that Chiarelli added, and should have added more. Desharnais scored a huge goal in the playoffs, and the deal is mostly remembered positively. I do know, and remember, some of you were engraged by the deal. However, if Chiarelli had more belief in this version of the team, maybe history has a different story to tell.
2018—PETER CHIARELLI
February 24-26: Oilers trade D Brandon Davidson to the New York Islanders for a 2019 third-round pick (G Ilya Konovalov). Edmonton had claimed Davidson on waivers from the Canadiens in December 2017; Oilers trade C Mark Letestu to the Nashville Predators for F Pontus Aberg; Oilers trade Patrick Maroon to New Jersey Devils for JD Dudek and a third-round pick in 2019 (Alexander Campbell. The pick was later flipped to Philly for Cooper Marody).
Chiarelli was exhausting as a trader. You’d be having a bowl of soup and suddenly read that he traded a pick for someone named Hayden Hawkey. Then you had to look up the player, and project him on to a top-20 prospects list, and of course the Oilers didn’t sign him so maybe he wasn’t actually a player. You’ve heard of the fog of war? Chiarelli was the fog of trade. I endorsed him, you know. On this very blog I praied his work in Boston and suggested he would lead Edmonton to the promised land. I still believe he needed to lean in to the trade deadline more in 2017. We’ll never know.
The Lowdown hits at noon today, Sports 1440. We’ll preview the 4-Nations, Bruce McCurdy from the Cult of Hockey at the Edmonton Journal will regale us with his memories of deadlines past (bah humbug!) and we’ll chat about the Patrick Kane article I have up at The Athletic today.
New for The Athletic: Hard target search at the deadline: Patrick Kane.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6128746/2025/02/12/oilers-trade-deadline-patrick-kane/
LT, curious about your thoughts on Donato (CHI) and Grzecklyk (PIT).
Donato is riding a SH% heater this year but has good results at even strength and is in the middle of a career year. Plays C and W (LH). I don’t think CHI will fetch a 1st or Savoie-level prospect for him
Grzecklyk is playing 2nd pairing minutes with Karlsson (not sure what his deployment was like before Petterson was traded to VAN). Also in the middle of a career year. Any way to get him out of PIT for less than a 1st round pick/Savoie?
I generally don’t like the idea of “buying high”, but ultimately you want players who are playing good hockey, which I think both are.
Thanks as always!
Donato’s points-60 at five-on-five have been solid to excellent for the last six years considering qual team. I like him.
As for Grzecklyk I’ll have a look and post later.
Thanks LT! Appreciate your perspective as always.
For me I like the idea of Ryan Donato mostly because of his ability to play all three forward positions. I don’t see him playing center very much in Edmonton, though he can play up and down the line up on either wing, which makes him a solid depth forward.
There’s also Kane & Savoie who may or may not make their presence felt on the roster.
There’s also the thought of a physical 4 RHC. But who might that be? I like Mark Kastelic. The need for another defenseman is more pressing, preferably a guy that can play both sides, is physical & PK’s, not sure if Grzeckly is that player, maybe he is.
Last but not least an upgrade on Pickard would be nice, but if he can’t work with Skinner as a good teammate in a tandem, then they’re stuck with Picks, which might not be too bad.
So ideally, they need one forward, one defenseman and one goaltender that all need to fit into the lineup seamlessly and the money needs to work. Not an easy task to fulfill, though not overly daunting.
Re: Donato. I don’t see him playing much C either, but I think his versatility and ability to play up and down the lineup make him a good fit. While Bedard is not the player McDavid is, part of why I like Donato is that he hasn’t looked out of place playing with a highly-skilled/high-IQ linemate and I think he would be a decent candidate to play 1LW and give the oilers a deeper lineup.
Re: Kane and Savoie, I don’t think expecting either of them to emerge as a bona fide top 6/top 9 option this season is a safe bet, and would feel better heading into the playoffs with a Donato-like addition. I think it’s more likely that, at least this year, Kane is effective as a serviceable bottom 6 player who can add some depth scoring, and Savoie gets a late season cup of coffee and is one of the black aces during the playoff run. That being said, neither is a sure thing and I both Kane and Savoie certainly could emerge (or in Kane’s case, re-emerge) as solid top 6/top 9 options, but there are factors working against them (Kane: Age, injury, rust; Savoie: inexperience, size, playoff hockey) that give me some worry, and think the team would be wise to hope for the best/plan for the worst with both players. If I’m wrong and one/both of them establish themselves as solid options, then that’s more options capable of providing depth scoring, which is always welcome.
Re: 4C, I get the value in having a righty, but if given the choice between (a) adding a Donato-like winger for the Top 9 and running 97-29-93-19 down the middle, and (b) having one of 93 or 19 play the wing and acquiring a RH 4C, I choose (a) over (b). They’re not mutually exclusive, but if the Oilers do (a) and (b), I’m not sure who comes out of the lineup for the 4C?
Re: Grzecklyk, I’ll be interested in LT’s take as I haven’t seen him play much, but from what I can tell he had a few strong years in Boston as a puck moving type and then his fancystats took a nosedive last year. I think he’d make a capable 2nd-3rd pairing LHD, no clue if he can play the right side or if he can PK.
Re: Goaltending, I’ve sort of come around to the idea that a clear upgrade on Skinner is not among the names being discussed as options (Vemelka, Gibson), and although they might outplay Skinner, none are a tier above, and the assets needed to acquire these goalies probably would be better spent elsewhere. That being said, if they’re available for a 3rd, Pickard, and a bag of pucks, that’s a deal I might make. My sense is the team likes the dynamic they have with their goalies, and probably doesn’t want to start the playoffs with uncertainty over who the starter will be.
Hearing 28 yr old Jared McCann out of Seattle ($5M AAV signed for 2 more seasons) is available. Would a Henrique for McCann trade work with McCann sliding onto the 3rd line?
Also hearing 23 yr old Cole Perfetti ($3.25M AAV signed for 1 more season then RFA) is being shopped for a center and a depth defenceman by the Winnipeg Jets.
Chia’s biggest crime was accidentally finding a winning formula in 2017 and then upending the table in a hissy fit because they didn’t win right. He literally blundered into a good team and couldn’t adapt.
Literally turning down a million dollars because it’s all in 20s.
@FriedgeHNIC
With Forsling practising, Team Sweden defence looks like this:
Forsling-Dahlin
Hedman-Brodin
Ekholm-Karlsson
Andersson
Not too shabby.
Prospecthouse!
The House of Stone makes his emotional return to Ottawa this evening.
With OTT this season:
18 GP, 5-5-10
With Peterborough:
13 GP, 4-2-6
Puck drops at 5 p.m. Windfall time.
Chia set the team back 10 years by trading for GR in 2014
How can you not like Guns N’ Roses?
Oh my. Those Chiarelli moves look even worse with time. Just so much bleh. On the flip side, super happy those days are behind us and the pros we’ve picked up this year all have something(s) to commend them. Onward and upwards!!
Never won a cup, no, and kind of petered out after leaving Edmonton. But he did score perhaps his sleekest goal (of which there were many) with Ottawa: https://youtu.be/J08tytwdhDs?si=7AeGM8FlE3NWk3Cv
We all loved Ales Hemsky didn’t we. Looking back on it, especially now in the McDavid era, those teams — let’s say 1997 through 2006 — were the blue-collar, hard working clubs that we told ourselves we appreciated. And we did. And there were some good times with the bad. But Oilers Hockey (TM) is forged in the 1980s and is characterized by high end skill, speed, passing. A Soviet echo, perfected by Gretzky et al.
We loved the Todd Marchant / Mike Grier / Ryan Smyth clubs because: a) we had no choice; b) as an “identity”, it could match the City’s own, which made sense; c) hard-work and moral victories was the club on the ice as in the boardroom… It was an “us against all” (or more accurately the owners group vs a pre-Cap league) mindset that worked for the era and allowed us to put some pride on the table while climbing out of the shadow of a dynasty when all the chips were stacked against us.
But dancing in and around this new, second culture of Oilers hockey was Ales Hemsky. The one Oiler who could consistently find his way into a the hi-light reel at the end of the week. It felt like, were he in MSG or Dallas, he would be a bonafide super star in a dead puck era. We loved him because he was a reminder of the style we craved, but would certainly, we thought, never return. With all due respect to the Jason Smiths of the era, Ales Hemsky felt like home.
Despite the 90s-00s economic climate and identity shift, Hemsky allowed us to hold onto some truth — that in the furthest geographic reaches of professional sports, this team really ought to also be the most beautiful. Because thats how we remember it first.
McDavid et al. have restored that classical Oilers style. Ales Hemsky, bless him, was a lifeline to the past and future, like dream while in coma.
Vol 3 and Vol 4 are painful. Tough time to be a fan! The only silver lining is that the awfulness put us in position to get McDavid and Draisatl, etc
Can’t wait for the Brandon Manning and Alex Petrovic write-up tomorrow.
Shocking to me that, years later, the Oilers played playoff games in the WCF against Petrovic
He might not write those trades up, but we’ll see. LT so far has seemed to have primarily focused on trade deadline deals and those trades occurred before New Years. Keith Gretzky handled the 2019 Trade Deadline.
A sad end to Puljujarvi’s NHL career getting waived by the Pens this week. The silver lining? Jesse finishes as the Oilers all-time career leader in ‘third assists.’
Not quite the whole story and his NHL career might not be done. Jesse asked for his contract to be terminated with Pittsburgh and Dubas granted his request. The unconditional waivers was required for the contract to be terminated. Jesse then signed a PTO deal with the Charlotte Checkers, the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers. Bill Zito, the Florida GM, and Markus Lehto, Jesse’s agent, co-founded a sports agency back in the 90s and apparently remain close friends. Jesse has not given up his dream yet. Florida has 4 Finns on their roster.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nhl/jesse-puljujarvi-signs-pto-with-florida-panthers-ahl-affiliate/ar-AA1yMlcU
He’s playing on a PTO in the American Hockey League. If his NHL career isn’t ‘officially’ over, they’ve got the defibrillator paddles out and the mouthguard in.
Mike Sullivan’s exit comments summarize the situation succinctly.
To quote Miracle Max:
” Whoo-hoo-hoo, look who knows so much. It just so happens that your friend here (Jesse’s career) is only MOSTLY dead. There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive.”
In the words of the esteemed J Strudwick, some guys just never get it
And sometimes they just don’t want to do it, which would apply to Yak
Man they sure blew a lot of their first round picks over the years – Paajarvi, Yak, Puljujarvi, Yama, Bro (reach), Holloway (reach), Bourgault,
A bit premature to conclude that Broberg and Holloway are failed picks based on when they were chosen in the draft. Both could be late bloomers due to injuries, playing for a strong contender and other factors. Among 2020 draft picks, Holloway currently is 6th for points in the NHL this season and this is only the 5th season post draft. Overall for his career he is 20th in points scored for his draft year and could continue moving up the list. Broberg has further to go to get back near his draft slot at 8th overall, but he is also on a significant upward trajectory.
Now if they end up turning into stars, that won’t benefit the Oilers, but it will mean that Holland and his scouts made reasonable assessments of their talent potential at the time of the draft.
Hope he catches on. I always liked Puljujarvi and think that if he’s healthy, he can still have a solid career.
A few years ago I had Yakapov 62 finishing with more career goals than Jesse 57 and Yamamoto with 58 the race is winding down. I knew the day Jesse called Holland’s so called bluff and went back to Finland for a year was bad advice. Yama could still be playing if he didn’t have brick hands he’s able to sneak around and find the soft areas for a few grade A-B chances every game. He like many other players before him who couldn’t finish and subsequently they get washed out of the league after showing so much early promise before the age of 30.
LT please stop. I’m already depressed from the previous posts. Haha.
Man neither MacT nor Chiarelli were able to improve on the deadline work of Tambo, and that’s saying something. What a run of incompetent GMing.
The idea that you trade competent established NHL’ers (Hemsky, Petry, Schultz) for draft picks is just insanity. That’s how you get the endless rebuild.
It’s nice to be on the other side finally. A bunch of magic beans for Ekholm. Sign me up.
All three were set to become UFA’s at the end of the season they were dealt, so better to get something than to let them walk in free agency. Hemsky wasn’t going to resign at that stage in his career, most didn’t want Schultz resigned and he likely was happy to get out and the decision on Petry was effectively made the prior summer.
All were sent to playoff contenders who aren’t going to send back current NHL players. Its either picks or prospects who might be closer to being NHL ready. I don’t think any of these three, at the time they were traded, were playing at a level that would get first round draft picks or high end prospects.
Having to shed NHL quality players at the deadline is the lot in life for every team out of contention for the playoffs at every trade deadline. Being a buyer at deadline is definitely much more fun.
Draft picks are only magic beans if you don’t draft well. There’s always risk that the player you draft might not turn out, but taking that risk isn’t insanity. If your amateur scouting department isn’t good, then that risk is higher and the trades probably won’t work out, but the idea that trading an established NHLer for a draft pick is crazy makes no sense.
If the Oilers spent the Petry picks on Adin Hill and Kirill Kaprizov (both on the board when Siegenthaler/Jones were picked, respectively), that trade looks a lot different.
The Hemsky picks could’ve been Will Borgen and Victor Olofsson. The Jultz pick could’ve been Jesper Bratt.
The issue with the trades above was (a) improper prior deployment of the player being traded, leading the team to sell low on certain players, and (b) poor scouting/use of draft capital once its acquired.
As I see it also. The Oilers drafted a lot of players with something that would make it hard to make and stay in the NHL. Don’t do that and success is far more likely
I do think Petry was the only true “mistake” (trading away a good player they could’ve and should’ve resigned)