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WITH THE FOURTH PICK . . .
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Robin Brownlee
May 13, 2016, 15:45 EDTUpdated:
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With the Edmonton Oilers having dropped into the fourth slot at the NHL draft lottery, there’s been plenty of discussion about whether Oiler GM Peter Chiarelli will keep the pick, flip the pick and move down or trade the pick as part of a bigger package to acquire immediate help.
Given that the Oilers have spent 10 years out of the playoffs and need help on the blue line before they can even think about taking a run at the post-season, a lot of fans and pundits are leaning toward the latter two options – count me among them. Another teenager, be it Matthew Tkachuk, Pierre-Luc Dubois or Mikhail Sergachev, won’t make a difference now.
Regardless of which way Chiarelli goes, history tells us there’s going to be more actual NHL players than duds available with that fourth pick. The only question is degree. Since 1979, hall-of-famers have been picked fourth overall in the likes of Steve Yzerman, Ron Francis, Larry Murphy and Mike Gartner. There’s also been very good players taken there, like Roberto Luongo and Paul Kariya, as well as current NHLers Alex Pietrangelo, Seth Jones and Ryan Johansen.
History has also shown, of course, there is also peril in that fourth pick — as there is with any pick when you’re talking about teenagers – and it just so happens the Oilers made one of the worst-ever selections in the four-hole in 1994 when they called Jason Bonsignore’s name before getting it right two picks later with Ryan Smyth.

THE BIG BANGS


  • Ron Francis, HARTFORD, 1981. The silky smooth Francis tallied 549-1,245-1,798 in 1,731 games. Francis won a couple of Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Selke Trophy once and the Lady Byng Trophy twice. He’s fifth in NHL career scoring.
  • Steve Yzerman, DETROIT, 1983. Yzerman scored 692-1,063-1,755 in 1,514 regular season games. Yzerman spent his entire career with the Red Wings, winning three Stanley Cups and multiple awards – the Conn Smyth Trophy, the Selke Trophy and Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. He sits seventh in NHL career scoring.
  • Larry Murphy, LOS ANGELES, 1980. Murphy is one of the most productive defensemen in the history of the NHL with 287-929-1,216 in 1,615 regular season games, which leaves him ranked fifth all-time. Murphy won a pair of Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins and two more with the Detroit Red Wings.
  • Mike Gartner, WASHINGTON, 1979. Gartner scored 708-627-1,335 in 1,432 regular season games. Gartner ranks seventh in career goals, hitting 40-or-more goals nine times and 30-or-more goals a record 17 times. He is 31st in career points. 

  • Paul Kariya, ANAHEIM, 1993. The speedy Kariya was one of the most dynamic players in the game for many years in the mid-1990s, Kariya finished a career cut short by in post-concussion symptoms with 402-587-989 in 989 games.

THE BIG MISSES

  • Alexandre Volchkov, WASHINGTON, 1996. The Capitals really crapped the bed when they took this slug from the Barrie Colts in a weak 1996 draft class. Volchkov, a right winger, played a total of just three NHL games, all with the Capitals in 1999-2000, going scoreless. Oilers GM Kevin Lowe actually traded for Volchkov in February 2000, sending Washington a fourth-round pick. He never played in Edmonton. Volchkov was taken ahead of Ruslan Salei, Derek Morris and Daniel Briere.
  • Jason Bonsignore, EDMONTON, 1994. Bonsignore had all the physical tools to be a NHL centre when the Oilers took him from the Niagara Falls Thunder, but he had no tool box – he didn’t work nearly hard enough at his game. Bonsignore slacked his way through 21 games with the Oilers in parts of two seasons, scoring 1-2-3. Traded to Tampa Bay in 1997, he played 58 games with the Lightning, scoring 2-11-13. The Oilers took Bonsignore ahead of Jeff O’Neill, Ryan Smyth and Jeff Friesen.
  • Pavel Brendl, NY RANGERS, 1999. Brendl, a big, strong winger, was coming off a 134-point season with the Calgary Hitmen, but showed up to his first camp with the Rangers out of shape. Returned to Calgary, he had 111 points with the Hitmen and then showed better at his second camp with New York but was dealt to Philadelphia in a trade for Eric Lindros. All told, Brendl played just 78 NHL games, scoring 11-11-22. Brendl was taken ahead of Tim Connolly, Taylor Pyatt and Barret Jackman.
  • Thomas Hickey, LOS ANGELES, 2007. Hickey never played a game for the Kings before being claimed on waivers by the New York Islanders to provide depth on the blue line. So far, he’s played 264 games through four seasons, scoring 13-52-65. Might be a late bloomer. Just had a solid post-season for the Isles. Taken ahead of Karl Alzner, Jakub Voracek and Logan Couture.

HERE AND NOW

Chances are the fourth pick in the 2016 Entry Draft is going to yield some team a player who falls somewhere between the high end HHOF guys like Francis, Yzerman and Murphy and face-palmers like Volchkov, Bonsignore and Brendl. Knock off the extreme ends of the spectrum and there’s a player to be had who can make a difference. Just not right now.
I think Chiarelli should, and will, use that pick in a package to get some help for his blue line here and now – paging Justin Faulk, paging Justin Faulk. At the very least, he’ll be working the phones and making his ask. If the deal makes sense, let another GM sort out who that fourth pick becomes.
Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TSN 1260.

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