Monday Mailbag – What is the ideal trade deadline for the Oilers?

Good morning, Nation! It’s Trade Deadline day and we’re here to start the week with a little bit of trade talk, strategies going into the deadline, and everything else you’ve always wanted from a Mailbag. With the Oilers being sellers again this year, our panel was asked what would be a successful day for the Oilers and we also get into which Chiarelli move everyone could undo if they had the power of time travel. As always, I need you guys to make this feature work so if you’ve got a question you’d like to ask you can email it to me at baggedmilk@oilersnation.com or DM on Twitter at @jsbmbaggedmilk. Until then, happy deadline day, people.

Only Currie and Malone should be up here. None of the others are ready, so why rush them. You might see a few young players get one or two games in April, but unless the Oilers get into injury troubles the Oilers will only be able to recall two players outside of Currie and Malone. You are only allowed four recalls after the trade deadline, unless they are emergency recalls due to injury.

Leave the Bakersfield roster alone unless there is a pressing need to call somebody up because of deadline moves or injuries. What is happening down there is far more positive in terms of development than what is happening here. Next year? pretty significant changes are coming — new GM, overhaul of roster etc. I can’t look that far down the road.

I would be hesitant to bring up any of the young players that are having success. Benson, Gambardella, Marody, Yamamoto, Bear, and Jones have all been solid in Bakersfield and I believe all of them will get fair chances at becoming full-time NHLers next season, but for now, let them continue to succeed in the AHL. I don’t see much of a reason to have them play ten meaningless NHL games at the end of the season.

I’d leave the prospects down for most of the games left. Maybe you give Benson or Marody a game at the end of the season. Keep Malone/Currie or alternatively Joseph Gambardella or Patrick Russell. Those guys are 24/25 so you’re not worried if they’re in the NHL getting odd minutes.

Do you really want to bring any up for the rest of the season? The Condors are getting ready to make a huge playoff run, I wouldn’t want to be the one to take that away from a guy. Besides, that experience will be great for their development. As to who will make the roster next season? Hopefully Yamamoto. I think Jones, Bear, and Marody will all have a fair chance at making the team next year, but it depends on what our team looks like after the off-season. I wouldn’t be upset if they all spend another year in the AHL either.

With the way the Condors are rolling right now, I don’t know if you’d want to bring any of them up unless it was absolutely necessary.

Reinhart for two picks. Oilers have nothing to show for acquiring him. Plus it was the first really bad move, so if you reverse it, maybe it also alters future trades.

Trading Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson.

The Hall trade got the team Adam Larsson and the Eberle trade was ugly but at least you could point to a small saving in cap space. There are two ways I would go with this. If he never made the Griffin Reinhart deal the team could have had two good, young players. It wouldn’t have been Barzal and Beaviluer but it likely would have been Joel Erikson-Ek and Brandon Carlo, who are both good, young NHL players. It would have been tempting to say the Lucic contract as well since it seems nearly impossible to move, but the team has absolutely nothing to show for the Reinhart deal and that really stings to me.

It’s between 16 and 33 for Griffin Reinhart and Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson. The Reinhart trade is tempting but the Hall trade disappearing means no Milan Lucic signing either so I would undo the Hall trade.

Easy: Griffin Reinhart for the 1st and 2nd round picks.

The move he made to Edmonton.

Bowen Byram. He is an outstanding defenceman. I really like all aspects of his game. I think he has the most potential due to his skating and how he sees the ice.

Final rankings by the guys I trust aren’t out and I don’t know the players in question well enough to rank them until they do. We don’t know where the Oilers will pick. You’re about a month early with this.

I’m not a draft guru, but there are four WHL players in that range and I’ve seen them each play a couple of times. Dylan Cozens, Peyton Krebs, and Kirby Dach all come with their blemishes, but have the potential to be impact NHL forwards. On the backend, I’m very intruiged by Vancouver Giants defensman Bowen Byram. He’s a little over 6 feet tall, skates well, and can move the puck up ice. He fits the mold of what a modern day defenseman is. There really is a mushy middle in the first round, so I wouldn’t be upset if the Oilers traded down from the 3-5 range to the 8-10 range if there was an interesting package available.

I’m not sure. I think it’s early to be talking about specific players when they could choose a bunch of places. Depending on when they land after the draft lottery, I’d look at: Dylan Cozens, Kirby Dach, Bowen Byram, Matthew Boldy.

Tough to say this early but I’d aim for Kaapo Kakko or Vasily Podkolzin. A big, strong right-winger sounds good to me.

I haven’t watched any of these kids enough to give an accurate answer. That said, when in doubt, win the lottery.

If you are talking fantasy, of course, it is getting out from Lucic contract…But in reality, I don’t see the Oilers doing much. I could see them trade away a depth D-man.

Sekera traded for an established winger who can score, no salary retained. Lucic traded for an established defenceman, no salary retained.

In a perfect, but still somewhat realistic world, they find new homes for Kris Russell, Matt Benning, Zack Kassian, and Kyle Brodziak. Getting those three off the books would open up around $9 million for this summer and that would be massive. In my opinion, you can replace the value of those four in free agency for around $5 million and with the added money, you could upgrade the top-end of your roster. That won’t happen and we’ll likely see Chiasson and Rieder moved out for picks.

They acquire a haul of draft picks for Alex Chiasson, Zack Kassian, Alex Petrovic. They trade both Kris Russell and Brandon Manning for picks with nothing retained. Milan Lucic doesn’t get traded but a team says they’ll take him after July 1st when his signing bonus is paid.

Best case scenario is Milan Lucic waives his No Trade Clause and we move him at the deadline and retain none of the salary, and that we actually get somebody half-decent back.

I think they’d be in a good spot if they could move out Russell or Sekera without having to retain. I like both guys for varying reasons but both make too much money. Lucic is the obvious pipe dream.

Interesting question. Ann Sather and Louise Campbell were the ones who oversaw the Carnival of Champions and their husbands got on board and had players from both teams show up. It was a great event, but you will need someone from within both organizations who wants to get them working together again. It would be great, but it is hard to rekindle some things from the past.

Well, having one of the teams actually win something would be a good start. That aside, I’d love to see it because young fans loved it and reaching out to them helps grow the game. Bob Nicholson, if he’s still here, and whoever takes over from Len Rhodes should re-visit this.

That would require the two organizations working together to some extent, so right off the bat, I’m skeptical about it. I don’t know what the answer is, so I’ll say this: the Oilers should work more with organizations like the Eskimos, Oil Kings (who they freakin’ own and still ignore), Prospects, and other junior teams. They don’t because they let their organization’s ego get in the way and it’s a shame. Things will never change until big changes are made behind the scenes and I don’t see that happening any time soon.

I didn’t even know what that was, but it sounds cool so hopefully, it comes back.

I mean, the Oilers upper-management are all from the old boys club anyway so they all participated in the Carnival so I”m not quite sure why they wouldn’t want to bring it back.

Man, I used to love going to the Carnival of Champions when I was a kid. Mixing it up and taking pictures with the Oilers and Eskimos was always such a cool experience and it’s a shame that they got rid of it. I don’t know what it would take to get that ball rolling again but I’d be down for that cause for sure.

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