WWYDW: Peter Chiarelli’s first summer
7 years ago
Peter Chiarelli has been nothing if not bold as general
manager of the Edmonton Oilers, authoring significant change in each of his
first two summers at the helm of the team. It remains to be seen how the moves
he’s made this summer will work out, but we now have a year’s worth of
hindsight with which to judge his first summer in charge.
manager of the Edmonton Oilers, authoring significant change in each of his
first two summers at the helm of the team. It remains to be seen how the moves
he’s made this summer will work out, but we now have a year’s worth of
hindsight with which to judge his first summer in charge.
In this week’s edition of What Would You Do Wednesday, we
ask what you would keep and what you would change from his first summer on the
job.
ask what you would keep and what you would change from his first summer on the
job.
The Moves
- Traded a 2015 first- and 2015 second-round pick to the
Islanders in exchange for LD Griffin Reinhart - Traded 2015 second-, third- and seventh-round picks to the
Rangers in exchange for G Cam Talbot - Traded LD Martin Marincin to the Maple Leafs in exchange for
LW Brad Ross and a 2015 fourth-round pick - Traded a 2015 fourth-round pick and C Travis Ewanyk to the
Senators in exchange for RD Eric Gryba - Traded C Boyd Gordon to the Coyotes in exchange for LW Lauri
Korpikoski - Signed LD Andrej Sekera to a six-year, $5.5MM AAV contract
- Signed C Mark Letestu to a three-year, $1.8MM AAV contract
- Traded LW Liam Coughlin to the Blackhawks in exchange for G Anders
Nilsson
I’d start by nixing the Reinhart deal, which represented a big overpayment for a player who a) wasn’t able to help the Oilers immediately b) complicates the cap and expansion draft picture and c) plays at a position of great team depth.
I still like the Talbot trade.
The Marincin and Gryba deals are linked, and there’s a lefty/righty issue there, too. On balance I don’t mind the swap overmuch, but two items would make me cancel it. The first was Darnell Nurse’s rapid promotion to high-end work; keeping Marincin on the roster would have made it easier to keep Nurse in the minors. The second is that Marincin is still with the Leafs, while Gryba is off to free agency. On balance, I wouldn’t make this deal, but that’s a hindsight decision based on the fact that Gryba was injured at the trade deadline (when he likely could have been flipped for a pick).
The Gordon for Korpikoski trade was a bad one. Additionally, with Gordon still on the roster, there would have been no need to sign Letestu. I’d cancel both moves.
Sekera is tougher. At this point, I do think the time will come when Edmonton regrets that contract. However, last season was bad enough with Sekera playing pretty well; without him the defence would have been nightmarish. He’s also a solid NHL player in my view. I’m okay with this deal.
The Nilsson trade represented good value at the time, and represents good value now.
As always, though, the real purpose of WWYDW is to see what our readers think. Of those eight moves, with the power of hindsight, how many would you have made?
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