Lowe Not Limited to a Firesale
The Edmonton Oilers are caught between a rock and a hard place. WIth their best player this year gone for the season, and the team being 8 points back from a playoff spot with 24 games to overtake 5 teams, it would be easy for the Oilers to give up and think about next season.
The problem though is that there is no incentive for the team to pack it in as the team will be without their own first round draft pick in the upcoming entry draft thanks to the signing of restricted free agent Dustin Penner. The team’s top 3 picks in the draft were sent to Anaheim as compensation.
So while the hill will be very difficult to climb for the team to make the playoffs, the Oilers should really give it their best since there is no reward coming in June from losing.
On the other hand the team has some attractive pieces that many teams would be interested in and it would be prudent for GM Kevin Lowe to at least listen regardless if it means a tough last quarter of the season.
- Dwayne Roloson (3.6 million cap hit. owed 3 million in salary) – Roloson is a proven deadline impact player. His acquisition in 2006 gave the Oilers the missing link in goal and he propelled the team all the way to the cup finals with his great play. He may have one more strong playoff left in that 37 year old body. He would definitely provide veteran depth in goal and great insurance against injury. He has not played all that well this season, but with a stronger team in front of him, its possible he could be a big asset in a team’s playoff drive.
- Steve Staois (3 years, 2.7 million cap hit) – Staios is one of those sturdy veteran blueliners who can log over 20 minutes a game and play in all situations. He comes relatively cheap and while he is signed long term, there would be several teams possibly interested in bolstering their 2nd or 3rd defence pair with Staios. His experience, grit and leadership are assets all championship teams could use in the spring.
- Joni Pitkanen (RFA at seasons end) – With rumours indicating Pitkanen is looking for around $5 million annually, that price may be too rich for the Oilers to afford. Therefore he is someone the team could peddle for cheaper assets. He could be an asset to many teams looking for a puck moving blueliner. He is still young and has a long career ahead of him. Because of that, his skill and his contract status, teams may be willing to pay a premium over the next couple of weeks.
- Jarret Stoll ( RFA at seasons end) – Stoll has struggled offensively but does have the skill to put up some points. Couple this with his hockey sense, grit, leadership and faceoff ability, here is someone who could really help a contender. He is still young too so he would not be a rental. His ability to fill in any role from scorer to checker to PP point man, would give a team plenty of versatility to use down the stretch.
So as you can see, there are some players the Oilers could move and who could bring a fairly decent return. This could hurt the team in the present, but help them in the future. Whether Lowe chooses to go that route remains to be seen.
There is really nothing stopping Lowe from in fact improving his team, not necessarily for a shot at the playoffs, but with an eye towards being competitive next season. Everyone looks to the Philadelphia Flyers and their quick turn around from last place to playoff contender. Who’s to say Edmonton cannot do the same?
The Oilers, unlike most teams, are armed with a significant amount of good young talent. On top of the established players mentioned above, the team could perhaps package a few of their young prospects in an effort to improve their team as early as next season.
The team has a 25 and under group of Cogliano, Gagner, Hemsky, Nilsson, Penner, Gilbert, Grebeshkov, Greene, Pitkanen, Smid on the team right now with Dubnyk, O’Marra, Pouliot, Schremp, Chorney, Petry, Nash and Plante on the way. Not many teams have this kind of young depth.
They do have some intriguing possibilities, and as we have seen, Lowe is not afraid to take chances and pull the trigger on something big.
- Marian Hossa (UFA) – While Hossa is a pending UFA, the Oilers could potentially scoop him up and sign him to a long term deal. They have the resources to make a deal, they have cap space and they have a potential new rich billionaire owner who would have the money to spend. Hossa would give the team the big name forward to take the scoring pressure off of their youngsters, especially Ales Hemsky who is not suited to being a front line guy. After seeing so many big names leave Edmonton, its perhaps time they lured a big fish and actually keep around a top player.
- Wade Redden (UFA) – Again here is another player who could command top dollar but thats something the Oilers can afford. While they will have to wait until the summer to see if Redden would be interested, signing him via free agency will allow them to not part with any of their top prospects. This way they could fill a hole on D and use their assets for other needs.
- Olli Jokinen (2 years, 5.2 million cap hit) – Jokinen is the big, dominant centre the Oilers currently lack. While Shawn Horcoff was very good until getting hurt, Stoll is solid and youngsters Andrew Cogliano and Sam Gagner are developing well, Jokinen would be the big horse that could shoulder a big load offensively. The team could use his size as well as his leadership. Not sure of the direction of the Panthers but perhaps a change in direction is in order there. That may start with moving out their captain as he has not agreed with coach/GM Jacques Martin all that much. The Oilers have the multiple assets to move if that was the case.
There are certainly others, like Brian Campbell in Buffalo, Patrick Marleau in San Jose or maybe one of the big 3 in Tampa. No matter what, the Oilers have this option open to them.
With less than 2 weeks remaining in the trade deadline, there are plenty of choices at Lowe’s disposal. Lowe has never been shy about doing things differently and seeking improvement instead of selling off veterans on a team near the bottom of the standings would not be all that surprising coming from him. He will receive plenty of calls for the Stolls, the Pitkanens but this is a great opportunity for him to start using the plethora of assets he has to his advantage and Lowe has never been one to sit on the sidelines. This should be an interesting trade deadline in Edmonton.