Burakovsky, Vesey, Haula, Shaw, Kahun: Oilers fans can only envy some deals that went down
So far Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland gets a pass, but not a great grade.
Holland appears to have made no major mistakes this NHL acquisitions season, but so far he’s also had no obvious wins, no stunning trades that would clearly strengthen the Oilers for 2019-20.
The last time we saw such a trade was in 2015 when Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli was able to acquire goalie Cam Talbot for draft picks. It turned out to be one of the few deals where Chiarelli got great value, but it looked good from day one and it paid off with two solid seasons in net from Talbot.
Perhaps Holland still can pull of such a deal this summer.
It’s certainly not asking the impossible of him.
A number of NHL teams have already made outstanding trades, trades which fans of the Edmonton Oilers could only sit and wonder: Why couldn’t my team pull of such a deal?
Of course, some of the best trades were out of the Oilers grasp, such as deals that would have brought in right shot d-man P.K. Subban, with his $9 million times three years cap hit, or even right shot d-man Colin Miller, with his $3.875 million cap hit times three years. The Oilers simply lacked the cap space for Subban and Miller doesn’t meet enough of a team need to warrant that kind of a cap hit on the Oilers.
Strong forwards at good prices
What Edmonton needs is forwards and there were forwards to be had at bargain prices this June. Unfortunately, other teams grabbed them up, not the Oilers.
Let’s look at seven deals (all details from CapFriendly.com) that were made and see if the Oilers might not have been able to make the same deal work.
1 . Jimmy Vesey, 26, is on the last year of a deal that pays him $2.275 million per year. He’s a left shot winger who has scored 16, 17 and 17 goals the last three seasons. He’s not a big time attacker, and ranks just 236 out of 450 NHL forwards for even strength scoring the last two seasons, but he would have given the Oilers more firepower at the second line wing position than they had last year — and only for the cost of a 3rd round pick.
2. This is a riskier deal because Andrew Shaw, 27, has three years left on a deal that pays him $3.9 million per season and he’s also got a history of injury, missing about a quarter of his regular season games each of the past three seasons. That said, the guy can put up points at even strength, ranking 89th out of 450 NHL forwards the last two season. His rate of 2.15 points per 60 is ahead of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 2.13 per 60. Edmonton would have had to match what Chicago gave, a 2nd, a 3rd and a 7th round pick, but why not take this chance? Shaw can also play centre, which is an area of need in Edmonton.
3. This is another case where the Oilers could have acquired a useful forward, centre Erik Haula, 27, for a decent AHL level prospect and a low draft pick. It was a steal of a deal for Carolina, given that Haula is in the final year of a deal that pays $2.75 million, he can win faceoffs and put up even strength points. He ranked 137 out of 450 NHL forwards the last two years, 1.92 per 60.
4. This is that same kind of a deal, a solid forward for a minor league prospect and draft picks. The Avs scored big here, even as Burakovsky made $3.0 million last year and is now an RFA, who was qualified. Burakovsky played the third line in Washington last year. He scored 1.76 points per 60 over the last two seasons at even strength, ranking 180th out of 450 NHL forwards. But he’s got the speed and skill to step up, maybe on to a second line. He would have looked could beside RNH or Draisaitl.
Deals with Oilers d-men
5 & 6. These next two deals were salary dumps, with expensive but useful veterans Carl Soderberg of Colorado and Justin Braun of San Jose moving to teams willing to take on their salaries. In this case, the Oilers would have moved expensive but useful veteran player Kris Russell. The deal would have cleared up $4 million per year in cap space in Edmonton. Of course, it would be predicated on Russell being willing to move his No-Trade clause and on whether the other teams saw value in Russell. I suspect in both cases Edmonton would have had to sweeten the deal, evening things out with draft picks.
7. The final deal is a straight up hockey trade, where the Oilers would have moved a useful d-man in Benning for a useful forward in Kahun, who scored 1.97 per 60, ranking 120th out of 450 NHL forwards the last two years. Kahun, 24, would then have been a useful winger for the Oilers. But not to be.
Still time for Holland
Again, these deals aren’t always easy to make, but they’re out there, and the right GM in the right moment is able to cash in on them. Perhaps Holland can still find that sweet spot this summer. He’s greatly constrained by cap space and he’s not keen to move any picks.
But, as he’s said, there’s two months left to make deals before the season starts, and he’s not done his work just yet. Indeed, Bob Stauffer of the Oilers has suggested he still thinks Edmonton will bring in two more forwards.
Let’s hope one of them can come on something of a steal-of-a-deal. As teams have to pay their RFAs big bucks, there’s still a chance some good forward could shake loose.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
