Recognizing Desperation
6 years ago
A couple weeks ago, I wrote about Peter Chiarelli being a desperate man who essentially has a few months to fix this franchise and save his own job. As the first round of the playoffs concluded it became clear to me that he isn’t going to be the only General Manager itching to make changes to his roster.
Most of the time, desperate moves have a clear winner and loser. We see GMs swing for the fences with a deal and either hit a home run or fall flat on their face. Unfortunately, Oilers fans have seen the latter far too often lately.
Maybe things will be different this summer and the Oilers can put themselves in a position to actually win some moves and Peter Chiarelli can take advantage of his desperate colleagues, and there are plenty.
Garth Snow is in a tough spot and has a lot of pressure on him. If he finds a way to get John Tavares done, he’s not going to have a lot of cap space to fill numerous roster spots.
Add on the fact that they missed the playoffs, and I wonder if an RFA like Brock Nelson, or maybe even Ryan Pulock could slip through the cracks. It’s clear that the Islanders will be looking to make a change. I know most will cringe at the idea of making another move with the Islanders, but maybe the Oilers are due to win a deal with them… right?
There’s also Marc Bergevin, who likely won’t survive another season without bringing the playoffs to Montreal. They have some nice young forward pieces like Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher and I wonder if Bergevin looks to move either in an attempt to “change the culture”. We all know how much he likes that buzz word.
Panthers General Manager Dale Talon appears determined to fix a team that he feels was ruined by the previous regime’s commitment to analytics. He’s an old-school guy who seems to value grit and tough hockey players (this team has Michael Haley under contract for next year) so I wonder if the Oilers could pry out a young underappreciated defenseman in exchange for an older player who makes more money. The Panthers have some cap flexibility.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are a team that is not thrilled with another first-round exit, and Jarmo Kekalainen is a GM that doesn’t mind making a big splash. I’ve heard Ryan Murray’s name thrown around, same with Boone Jenner. Not saying either of those are ideal fits in Edmonton, but it’s clear Columbus is ready to play ball this summer.
Don’t forget about the Buffalo Sabres, who are clearly pissed about the lack of growth they’ve seen from their young core. Their position really depends on how the lottery balls fall, as do a lot of teams, but I could see Jason Botterill try to put his stamp on the Sabres.
The Ottawa Senators are a whole different kind of desperate. Where most teams are trying to change their culture or simply attempting to get better fast, the Senators want to quickly shed salary. That could be something Chiarelli tries to take advantage of as well.
In the Western Conference, you could look at a team like St. Louis. Doug Armstrong was apparently ready to make big moves at the trade deadline and if he still has an appetite for that, then they could make some noise on the trade front.
In the Oilers own division, teams like the LA Kings, Anaheim Ducks, and Calgary Flames will probably be trying to freshen up their own cores, but I doubt they would want to move pieces within their own division.
I know it looks like I’m just trying to play armchair GM here and create some positivity around the Oilers, which is somewhat true, but what I’m really trying to point out is that this has the potential to be a very busy summer around the NHL. You don’t have to look far to find a team that was unhappy with their 2017-18 season and will be itching to prove to their fans that next year will be different. Like I said earlier, these organizations are looking for a change, and are desperate for results.
Make no mistake, the Oilers are in that group as well, but if they can realize that there are plenty of other organizations who are in a position of weakness, they could find some real talent on the trade front this summer.
The same way that other teams took advantage of Edmonton in recent years, could be the same way that the Oilers pull themselves out of this hole.
The opportunity is there for Peter Chiarelli and his group, it’s now a matter of them recognizing and capitalizing.
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