Oilers trade Martin Marincin, then acquire Eric Gryba

When the Oilers acquired Griffin Reinhart yesterday, (which was a terrible trade by the way) I felt it meant the end of Martin Marincin in Edmonton and today the Oilers traded him to Toronto for pesky forward Brad Ross and the 107th pick.

Admittedly, I wasn’t as high on Marincin as some others.

If Darnell Nurse shows he is ready to play in the NHL, I didn’t see how the Oilers could start the
season with Oscar Klefbom, Justin Schultz, Nurse, Reinhart and Marincin
in the lineup. You can’t have that much youth on the backend if you want
to win.

Speaking with scouts at the draft, Marincin’s value around the
league was much lower than it was amongst some in Edmonton. Pretty much
every scout echoed my thoughts on him. He has NHL skill and smarts, but has
shown a lack of competitive desire in games. Three scouts who watched
AHL playoffs were disappointed he didn’t dominate at the AHL level. They all
said teams would still take a chance on him, because of his skill, but
his trade value is low.

Ross has signed in Germany. He was suspended in the AHL last season for steroids, and this was really just part one of a two-part trade that freed up a contract on the 50-man roster.

The Oilers then traded Travis Ewanyk and the 107th pick to Ottawa for Eric Gryba.

We could argue it was Marincin and Ewanyk for Gryba and Ross. Gryba is a 27 years old, a right shot D-man with one year left on his contact, a $1.25 million cap hit.

He is 6’4″ and 225 pounds. He is a stay-at-home defender with little offensive flair. In 165 games he has 4-25-29, and +17 in his career. He is more physical than Marincin. He is a third pairing defender who can kill penalties.

You would slot him behind Mark Fayne and Justin Schultz on the right side depth chart.

Gryba for Marincin gives the Oilers a more reliable NHL player. It is not a sexy trade, nor does it fill the void in the top-four, but I don’t mind the deal.

Again I will admit much of that is based on Marincin’s inability to show he was willing to battle hard enough at the NHL level. A new opportunity in Toronto could benefit him, but with Reinhart, Nurse and Klefbom on the left side the Oilers clearly felt he was expendable.