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Oilers clean out their lockers.
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Jason Gregor
Apr 11, 2016, 15:53 EDTUpdated:
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Another season has come and gone for the Edmonton Oilers, and once again they will be a spectator when the playoffs begin Wednesday evening. I didn’t expect the Oilers to make the postseason, but I didn’t see them finishing 29th. Regardless of injuries, this was another disappointing season. To suggest otherwise would be misleading.
Changes will be made, but unlike previous years, it seems inevitable we will see a trade involving a young, skilled forward. The man in charge of making that decision is Peter Chiarelli, and it won’t be an easy move.
Chiarelli spoke yesterday, and I didn’t expect him to unveil his plans for the entire NHL to see. He wouldn’t go into specifics on trades, but he said many things that stood out. Most notably, he didn’t make any grand promises or claim he was satisfied and next season would be better.
The time to be positive about the future is not the day after a 29th place finish, and Chiarelli seemed very cognizant of that.

CHIARELLI

Some of the things he said stood out for me:
  • “I went into this with open eyes. Frankly, I thought we’d get 82 points. That was my goal. We felt short of that, so I’m disappointed. I didn’t like losing all those games of course. I’m disappointed where we are, but in this business you need to expect everything (injuries).”
It is good to see the GM had realistic expectations. I’ll be very curious what his projections will be in October for next season. He was looking for a 20-point improvement over last season’s 62 points, and they ended up only improving eight points in the standings.
Will 90 points be his number next fall? I’d guess it will be close to that, which means they will ACTUALLY be in a playoff push. But in order for that to occur, Chiarelli knows he needs to make some moves.
  • “I’m reasonably confident I will be able to address the defence in a meaningful way,” Chiarelli responded to Ryan Rishaug’s question about his blueline. “I would like to upgrade our defence. We have a surplus of forwards, and a whack of defencemen. 
Everyone in the NHL knows the Oilers want to upgrade their D corps, especially the two top-four spots on the right side. The question is: will he acquire or sign one or two this summer? Two would be ideal, but trades are never easy.
  • “The trade market doesn’t start around the draft, you can start it earlier and if something comes up we will look at it.”
Chiarelli left today to go scouting. He will be scouting everything from the U18s, the CHL playoffs to the AHL and NHL playoffs. When playoff teams are knocked out in the first round, those teams will be wanting to make changes. Let’s say Minnesota goes out in the first round and struggles to score. I believe they are in the market for a top-six forward now, but the urgency to acquire one becomes even greater if they lose out due to lack of scoring. Teams who struggle to score in the post-season could become trade partners for Chiarelli, especially a team with good defensive depth like Minnesota or Nashville.
  • “There wasn’t (a fair return) at the deadline. Nail, I’d say probably he would have maybe approached it in a different way. He says in the article he was misquoted…Nail is still a valuable asset to our organization. He is a good player. It hasn’t worked out here, if you compare him to other players of his pedigree, but he is young and we aren’t just going to give him away. There wasn’t a market for him at the deadline,” Chiarelli on Yakupov.
I asked about Yakupov’s trade request prior to the deadline and if Larionov’s assertion that three teams were interested was accurate. I’m confident teams are interested, but Chiarelli won’t just give Yakupov, or any asset, away. If he makes a major move, he may then have to shed some salary. That could change, but for now I don’t see him trading an NHL player for mid round draft picks.
  • “It was a frustrating thing. It was almost a perfect storm, with two successive infections. A cut on his knuckle resulted in an infection in his ankle. Timeline…So timeline, I think if we were in the playoffs he would have been
    available. I basically just shut him down. I said, ‘Klef, enough. You’re
    probably trying too hard to come back,’ and it was aggravating it (infection) a
    little bit. He’s going to get the proper equipment. We’ve been looking
    at getting the proper skate, customized, and the silver lining is he’s
    in terrific shape. But I would anticipate him back skating in a month’s
    time.”
I asked if there was any tendon or ligament damage in Klefbom’s ankle and Chiarelli said no. Many were concerned, and rightfully so, about Klefbom’s health. It was a very unique situation, and I can appreciate Chiarelli’s frustration. Most injuries are very cut and dry. Six to eight weeks, or 10 to 12 for instance, but a staph infection is unpredictable and it can be a very slow healing process. The good news is Klefbom should have no permanent damage and he will be able to train and skate all summer.
Other than their defence, I asked Chiarelli what other areas will he look to improve?
  • “I like size. Especially in our division. To get out of our division
    you’re going to need guys to lean on the bigger players in L.A. and
    Anaheim. We’ve added some of those pieces in Kassian and Maroon. I think
    when you look after the trade deadline, just those positions, you see how we can change the complexion. So that’s
    something we’re going to continue to try to do.”
Size helps, as long as you acquire players who have skill. Chiarelli has a plan, and whether you agree or disagree with is plan, it seems obvious to me he will change the dimension of his team. I won’t be surprised if he adds a small, puck moving defender, because the biggest current weakness on the team is the lack of an offensive defenceman. Not every player needs to be big, but the Oilers had so few skilled big men that they simply could not compete in the Pacific division.
I asked him about UFA Eric Gryba and RFA Zack Kassian and if he’s had discussions with their agents about re-signing.
  • I won’t get into negotiations… Those are two big guys  — and you’ve heard my comments on size. I
    think Grybs played quite well leading up to getting hurt, and I like the
    addition of Zack and I think he’s been a model citizen. His production
    hasn’t been as good as I thought it would, but he’s in terrific shape,
    he’s skating well, he’s doing a lot of the things that we want him to
    do. So him and Grybs have been good components, I find, for our team.”
Kassian will be back, I’m just curious to see at what cap hit. He made $2 million this year, and as Chiarelli said his production wasn’t great. Chiarelli gave Kassian an opportunity to turn his life around, and I would suspect Kassian is very grateful. Would he agree to a one-year $1.5 million deal? Or a two year deal at $3.5 million? We shall see.
I’ve stated before I would re-sign Gryba. I thought he played very well. He won’t command a lot, and he is a good penalty killer, plays physical and he earned the trust of Todd McLellan/Jim Johnson as the season progressed. There is mutual interest, but he might not be signed until after Chiarelli makes a deal for a top-four defender. The priority will be to improve the top-four first, so I could see the GM wanting as much financial flexibility as possible prior to making a deal. I still think he re-signs Gryba.

YAKUPOV

“I had good years of my life here. I love the city and the people I met,” said Yakupov in his end-of-season presser. “It was a great organization for me. I feel so comfortable in this city. I played for the fans, and I tried to leave everything here (on the ice). I love you media guys too — thanks for coming today — but you know, it is big business. I won’t make any moves in the summer, because it is not my job to do it. I’m pretty sure my agent and the team will talk about it. I just have to train hard, work hard, improve some things and keep looking forward.”
I recognize he used the past tense a few times, but part of that can be attributed to English being his second language and sometimes players don’t use the proper tense. It isn’t a knock, just the truth. Yakupov genuinely loves Edmonton, and he felt very comfortable here, but he did ask for a trade near the deadline and obviously would like a new start.
I’d be surprised if Peter Chiarelli trades him for a draft pick. He will want an asset who can contribute next year. The Oilers can’t afford to trade away another regular NHLer for futures (draft pick). They need to compete next year, and while Yakupov is not a core player, he is only 22 years old with 252 games of NHL experience and should fetch more than just a mid-round draft pick.
I believe Yakupov will be on another NHL roster in September.

THIS AND THAT…

  • Ryan Nugent-Hopkins isn’t going to the Worlds because his hand isn’t fully healed. He wasn’t rushed back, but he didn’t have the strength he would like. He will make the U24 roster, so he will play some extra hockey in September. It makes sense for him to make sure his hand is 100% for next season.
  • Brandon Davidson did not require surgery for his knee injury. He has been rehabbing it and he will be put through some skating drills and tests before he leaves for the summer. Davidson was just starting to get some PP time before he got injured, so that was extra unfortunate for him. He has a cannon of a shot and admitted he needs to use it more. The coaching staff would have liked to see him play 30 games on the PP to see what he could produce. With Sekera playing in the World Cup I expect Davidson to get a lot of PP time in the preseason, and if he does well he could find a spot on the second PP unit in the fall.
  • Jordan Eberle’s sister is having a baby soon, and he has an important wedding to attend, so he will skip the World Championships. He was a long shot to make the World Cup team, but not going to Russia secured his fate. However, family is important and I respect him for making the tough decision to stay home.
  •  Did anything the GM or one of the players said stand out to you?
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