Ohhhh trade deadline day. This day single handily employs hockey analysts for the year. The amount of banter kicked back and forth between pundits and so-called experts could fill far more than the three hour slot that TSN gives its TradeCentre segment. Hell why not start up a NHL 24 hour all-speculation channel.
I have no intention on joining those men but the trade deadline is part of the NHL season and it's an extremely important day for general managers. In the case of Oilers GM Steve Tambellini the choice of being a buyer or a seller is a difficult one. Is it right to unload Hemsky and Penner now or can they be integral veterans involved in the rebuild process? Unless moving one of them means getting back a top five pick or an impact player then it's simply not worth it.
Let's address the teams needs.
- Defense
- bottom 6 forwards
- Centre with face-off skills
Defense
First off, how much is this team missing Ryan Whitney right now? I will argue A LOT! Without Whitney this defense is considerably worse. But what about the rest? Gilbert, Smid, Vandermeer, Petry, Peckham, Strudwick, and Foster; out of the seven Petry and Peckham are the lone two untouchables. As far as I'm concerned Gilbert and Smid are too soft with not enough offensive upside, if you can move them for another veteran than do it! Vandermeer and Strudwick are two veterans that could be useful to a cup contender. Foster is not untouchable but has not done enough offensively to get a decent return, he has not met expectations. Souray is useless and I could care less what happens to him, nuff said.
Bottom six forwards/Centre
Speaking of not meeting expectations Colin Fraser has not panned out. I doubt he will be moved but most certainly replaced in the offseason. Untouchables include Jones, Omark and Pajaarvi. Because gritty bottom six forwards are hard to trade for I expect the Oilers to excersice patience and instead rely on the progression of young players like Lander, O'Marra, Hamilton, Vande Velde and Hartikainen. Again Oiler fans, patience is key.
To be honest I have no clue what the Oilers will do, nobody in the media really knows anything concrete about what Tambo will do. I only hope that he doesn't give in to the ramblings of harsh critics like Robert Tychkowski, who has already lost his patience after 3/4's of a season (see THIS), and trades away Hemsky and Penner in a Ryan Smyth type deal. I understand what your saying but at the same time, calm down Robert. Not everyone is saying 'Oh well', maybe you are but I assure you Oiler management is not. I have tons of confidence in Tambo and his ability to build a winning team in the future. Again, patience is the key, however, if the Oilers at the bottom of the league this time next season, my patience may run thin.
