The Edmonton Oilers have traded Ladislav Smid to the Calgary Flames. Reportedly, they have also signed goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.

On it’s own, this deal is a clear win for the Calgary Flames.

The only legitimate NHL player in this trade is Ladislav Smid. He has his faults; in particular he isn’t an especially good puck-mover and has always been at his best when paired with a defenceman who can take primary responsibility for that part of the game. With that said, he is a legitimate middle-pairing defensive defenceman and a welcome physical presence, a guy who can kill penalties and has played some tough minutes over the years.

Olivier Roy is a marginal NHL goaltending prospect at this point, a guy still struggling to prove he can play regularly at the AHL level. Laurent Brossoit, an ex-Edmonton Oil King, is in his first year as a professional but is a better prospect long-term. Neither of these guys really matter in the NHL picture in the short term.

Roman Horak adds centre depth. He has 82 games of NHL experience but has spent most of this season with Abbotsford; he’ll help the Barons a lot at centre right now and provides the Oilers with a second plausible call-up at that position (along with Linus Omark.

In the balance: the Oilers cleared cap space, but their NHL roster just got poorer.

Ilya Bryzgalov is a pretty good goalie. We don’t have contract details yet, but the best guess is that we’re looking at a one-year deal somewhere in the $2.0 – $2.5 million per year range. This isn’t a totally surprising move; Jason Gregor reported it might happen not that long ago on this site.

Over the last five seasons, Bryzgalov has posted a 0.923 save percentage at even-strength. That makes him a little better than Devan Dubnyk and puts him in the same range as guys like Jonathan Quick, Carey Price and Corey Crawrford over that span. The difference is that Bryzgalov also famously imploded after being signed to a amassive ocntract by Philadelphia.

This is a good addition, particularly if he’s being brought in to compete with Devan Dubnyk for playing time. It’s not enough to explain the Smid trade, unless the contract is horrific. 

That’s where we are now. The Oilers are better in net at the moment, significantly worse on defence and if another move doesn’t come this has been a very bad night for Craig MacTavish. Another move is probably coming, and it will need to be a good one to make up for what’s already happened.