Only a couple more weeks to another fun filled trade deadline and as always it makes you wonder your team will do to help it move in the direction you want it to go. Fans of the Oilers may find themselves torn as we continue on through the next couple on what organizational changes may need to take place. Do we continue down the road of rebuilding by tearing out what already exist for more hope or does the foundation already exist and is now the time build upward.
Couple of my own thoughts in regards to the deadline and the possible moves the Oilers could make. Obviously the teams biggest assets moving into the deadline are Penner and Hemsky. And even more obvious is how important they are to the team. Yes, Hall, Eberle and Gagner may be the future stars that will outshine these two but there is no denying that Penner and Hemsky are the impact players on this roster and with that are two most likely to draw the largest return at the deadline.
Over the past couple of years we have seen what value players like these tend to draw, though the are not A list players I believe they hold the equivalent value of say a former Oiler who was trade in recent years. When Ryan Smyth was traded he brought back the return of one first round pick, one highly touted prospect and another let say not as nearly highly touted prospect. I could see both these players bring in that kind of value, but are there teams out there willing to give that up. And is more bullets for the draft what this team really needs moving forward. Will that be sufficient return for the kind of calibre of player Hemsky and Penner are?
With that in mind I think there is only one team that would fit the bill in being able to provide the return that we want and be in demand for either player. That team would be the LA Kings. They were in the hunt for Kovalchuk last year and could use a top six winger to pair up with Kopitar and I believe they probably an eye on Hemsky for two reasons. One is he is fairly young and would easily fit the core of their team and the other is he would bring to the table a skill set that is lacking which is a high end playmaking forward to play beside Kopitar.
What return could they provide for Hemsky? We often hear Brayden Schenn's name kicked around which I believe matches fairly to Hemsky's value, but I would imagine the Oilers would be seeking more than just one asset. I could potentially see them matching the Smyth deal from a few years back or even what Atlanta got for both Hossa and Kovalchuk. This would look Schenn, plus another prospect, I would suspect one of Teubert or Hickey and a pick, which I would think would conditional based on playoff performance.
Does this make sense for the Oilers? Maybe, I would think the real question is whether Hemsky is wanting to stay in Edmonton and if that is the case then they need to keep him. I don't think the team will be able to develop the management hopes if they don't have strong veteran talent to build around to provide guidance for the budding stars. Plus a near point per game player is not easily replaced and in deals like these the team trading away the star generally loses in the pure value sense.
My ideal would be using an asset like Hemsky or Penner would be to shore up an area of weakness such as the defense. I had read in the Metro that Brent Seabrooke could potentially be on the market which may be a far better fit for the Oilers that a package of prospects and picks. Seabrooke would provide us with a 1-2 punch on the backend along with Whitney and give the defence some added grit. It would save Chicago some cap hit and provide them with another top six forward.
This is all just how I see it as of now and most likely we won't see any of the above. My only hope is if we move Hemsky and/or Penner that Tambellini fills the gaps that are in the roster rather than creating new gaps. Its time to start solidifying this foundation rather than continually resurfacing it.
Nonetheless I expect it will be another interesting trade deadline.
