Tag Archives: Kyle Brodziak

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Edmonton Oilers Rumors: Oilers Trade Deadline Thoughts and Rumors Heading Into the Final Hours

Here we are, the 2019 NHL trade deadline is upon us and the Oilers could make some big moves but are unlikely to do so. Interim-GM Keith Gretzky’s mandate is to clear cap space NOT make a big splash and Bob Nicholson is overseeing everything like a David Hasselhoff protected beach. Nothing is getting by him.

From what I understand, the following players are being shopped heavily as you read this but according to my sources, the Oilers are likely to be quiet today.

  • Matt Benning
  • Kyle Brodziak
  • Alex Chiasson
  • Zack Kassian
  • Milan Lucic
  • Tobias Rieder
  • Alex Petrovic

Now, the Oilers can offer these players out but that doesn’t mean they’re going to get traded.

I also hear conflicting reports on Kris Russell. Some say there’s no way he’s being moved and I’ve been told there’d been exploratory conversations with Columbus. Probably a summer move if he’s to be traded.

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If Brodziak didn’t have another year on his deal, he’d have been traded already. There are some retirement rumors floating out there. Not sure how legit those are.

Chiasson had been connected more prominently to the San Jose Sharks but then they went ahead and traded for Gus Nyquist. That said, I was told there’s still a small possibility he ends up there. Lowetide mentioned two players yesterday in his blog, Rourke Chartier and Antti Suomela. Both older forwards playing in the AHL at the moment.

I’m still waiting for Vegas to drop the bomb here. They play things tight to the chest but Edmonton was just scouting the Golden Knights recently too… It’d be great for the team if they could bring in Brandon Pirri and Daniel Carr.

Edmonton has been scouting Boston and Chicago A LOT this past month and it would surprise me a little if the Oilers didn’t make a deal with at least one of these teams.

I think that since there are a few more shoes to drop (Wayne Simmonds and Mark Stone namely), players like Chiasson and Kassian are likely to be dealt later in the day or not at all. The Oilers have been really impressed with their work ethic and compete and the team does need bodies on the roster for their game tonight.

https://twitter.com/TheOilKnight/status/1099850072005566464

SPR makes a good point here. The Oilers couldn’t give Kassian away earlier in the year (when he asked out) and now there are quite a few teams knocking on Gretzky’s door asking for Kass. I’m not sure if you want to deal him straight across for Cehlarik mind you but that gets the conversation going, right? Maybe Cehlarik and Zach Senyshyn for Kassian and Matt Benning?

I’ve been told that the fleet-footed Senyshyn can be had as he’s fallen out of favor in Boston to some degree. His development has stalled a bit since joining their AHL affiliate in Providence. But Keith Gretzky was all over that pick when he selected him for the Bruins in 2015 (instead of Matt Barzal, Thomas Chabot, or Brock Boeser…).

Either way, keep a close eye on any transactions coming from the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield. If a forward gets called up, that might mean that the Oilers have dealt a forward for picks and/or prospects.

Also, there are going to be a lot of players going on waivers today. We might see Edmonton dip their toes into that pool should the need arise.

JESSE PULJUJARVI

I found the timing of these rumors incredible when I discovered them. Jesse Puljujarvi is in NY getting a second opinion on his banged-up hip at the moment. I would think his agent, Markus Lehto, is there as well. Is it too convenient that these hot takes would get released now?

Lehto has clients in both Boston (Rask) and New York (Pionk)… #Weird

Interesting to read Jimmy Murphy say that the Oilers had been talking with Boston for a couple of months now. How long has Lehto wanted his client moved and has Jesse been dealing with this hip issue since then?

If you remember there was the game vs. Vancouver on January 16th where Puljujarvi only played 6 minutes and a bit of a huff was made over that. Was that the catalyst?

Would you have traded Puljujarvi for Ryan Donato? Or included him in a trade to move Lucic’s contract?

I think there’s a VERY outside chance he’s traded today but I wouldn’t bet on it. The best thing for him now is to get whatever procedure done that needs to be done, rehab, and come back stronger than ever next season either to win a spot on the Oilers or to increase his value enough to have him traded.

Just one last thing on this Puljujarvi mess. For those of you who think that the relationship is too far gone to repair, remember how rocky it got between Jacob Trouba and the Winnipeg Jets. Where there’s a will, there’s a way and you’d be surprised how fast minds change when winning is involved.

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I will say this though, if the Oilers don’t manage to make any more trades, I will view this effort as a fail on their part.

They’ve done well bringing in Gagner and Stolarz but they should absolutely be able to move some of the players I mentioned above to teams looking to add depth for their playoff runs.

Speaking of the runs, congratulations to Josh Currie on scoring his first NHL goal! Atta go to the net and make things happen bud!

So enjoy the day and don’t get too pissy if the Oilers don’t make any moves. Everyone is saying they’ll be quiet but I for one will be hoping they make one notable roster transaction. At least something to really make watching them worthwhile for another 20 games.

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Edmonton Oilers Off-season Moves Show Well, But Will Chia Get Any Credit?

Prior to the start of the 2018-19 season it seemed the fate of Oiler’s coaching and management was set  – at least if you believed the venom of fans and bloggers on social media and radio.

McLellan was given a reprieve with a new stable coaching support, but as for Peter Chiarelli, there was no relief.  The Oiler’s had spent to the cap due to questionable FA signings, seemingly lopsided trades, and poor player management.  All these combined to put Chia in an exclusive section of Oiler hades (Where Peter Pocklington resides).

With little to work with, it appeared the pre-season PTO’s and signings would be superficial not impactful.  if anything, the Oiler’s GM had dug his team in deeper . . . or did he?

Doing a lot with not a lot

The completion of the 2017 – 18 season, left many holes in the Oiler’s line up.  Gaps on the wing, veteran leadership, and of course, defence.  The need on Defense ultimately remains a festering sore, but overall there have been some pleasant surprises from Chia’s off-season tinkering.  Here’s my review so far.

Mikko Koskinen (rating, B+): The Oiler fan base exhaled a collective sigh of disbelief when Chia chose to go out on a limb and sign the 30 year-old KHL all-star.  Things looked even dodgier when Koskinen was lit up in the pre-season, but since then his record and play has steadily improved to where he is providing positive competition for Cam Talbot.  It’s early days, but in 4 games he has 3 of the Oiler’s 8 wins including a shutout.  If he continues to improve it will give the Oilers real options in goal and justify his salary.

Alex Chaisson (rating, A): Prior to the season start there were a lot of unknown’s around Chiasson’s signing.  Injured at the beginning of the season there were some questions as to why he was there.  But since hitting the ice, Chiasson is letting his play do the talking.  With 6 goals in 10 games, he’s doing everything Milan Lucic should be doing at a fraction of the cost.  He’ll pay the price by going to the hard areas of the ice and he’s been rewarded – both in production and in the coaching staff’s confidence.  Chiasson does have consistency issues, but If he scores even 15 goals he’ll provide excellent value and a stop-gap for when the prospects can catch up.

Tobias Rieder (rating: B): Rieder has no goals in 16 games but he does have 7 apples and with his speed provides the speed component when teamed with countryman Leon Draisaitl.  He seems to have good chemistry with LD and on a team where there is a lack of pure speed (save Captain Connor).  Overall he seems to be providing what was expected.

Kyle Brodziak ( rating -B): It’s my belief that when the Oilers traded Matt Hendricks it left a large “lead by example” gap in the dressing room.  Brodziak does not embody the same level of leadership, but he is a veteran professional who brings a strong work ethic to the rink every day.  He’s a good example to the young players and has the skill to make timely contributions from the fourth line.  Typically you can’t expect too much from a fourth-line add, but so far so good.

Jason Garrison (D to C-): Garrison was never a fast player, and now he’s even slower.  As a result, he is often a defensive liability but, when he is playing well positionally he can survive and, more importantly, he provides a cannon on the 2nd powerplay unit.  It may not be enough to keep him in the lineup, but when he is, he will fire away at will.    It’s good to see because there are far too many passes on the Oilers power play in my opinion.  The good news is, he is not costing the Oilers a lot and can fill a role.

Tyler Benson fights for the puck

Help on the way?

For the first time in recent memory the Oilers have a farm and prospect system that appears to be in a position to support the big club.  On the Bakersfield Condors farm team the kid line of Marody, Hebig, and Benson are producing at a  ppg or better.  Chiarelli did not physically scout all these players but Cameron Hebig was a very shrewd signing that is paying nice dividends so far.

It’s difficult to project prospects but Marody has already shown well on a brief call-up, at least one of these forwards could be with the big club next year, maybe more.  Add standout prospects like Ryan Mcleod and Kirill Maksimov ( non-first rounders ) and you have to say the Oilers have the looks of a legitimate farm system for the first time in . . . well, I can’t recall when the Oilers have had a well-stocked system, to be honest.

What’s a fair assessment of Chiarelli’s Work

To be fair, Chiarelli has more than earned much of his criticism.  The Griffin Reinhart trade could go down as one of the worst in NHL history.  Many would give the Taylor Hall trade a similar critique, although the question would also need to be asked, what would the Oiler’s Blueline look like without Adam Larsson?  Personally, I would have liked to have seen more in return for Larsson, but in my view, it’s clear: Tylor Hall would not have reached his potential here, and may have negatively impacted Mcdavid’s.  Lucic?  Well, we all liked the signing at the time, now, not so much.  For the Oiler’s, bold moves, are not likely.  Instead, strategic value signings, good drafting, and a well-stocked prospect system, and farm are how the Oilers will move forward.  And on those points, Chia is doing ok.

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Has Stauffer Flip-Flopped on Puljujarvi and Lucic?

STAUFFER ON PULJUJARVI

Well it’s simple for Puljujarvi, if he doesn’t gain some traction at some point, he may be finding himself having a new address.

What happened to the Blake Wheeler comparison Bob? Is Puljujarvi not “popping” quick enough? I thought it was a “take it slow” approach with Jesse…

Are you going to tell me that the Oilers have done all they can to put Puljujarvi in a position to succeed? I mean just go look at all that time he’s spent on the PP, right?

Because I think the Oilers are going to have to make a decision with him. ’cause I think that Yamamoto, and you saw Yamamoto the other night in the dev. camp, I mean he dominated and he has the confidence of the other players and that was evident last year when he was up in the NHL as well. 

So Mr.Stauffer, are you simply parroting what you’ve heard from other players/staff within the organization. Do the players not want to play with Puljujarvi because he hasn’t developed as quickly as some of his draft class? You’re telling us that because Kailer has an outgoing and confident personality that the players would prefer to play with him even though he might not be ready to play at the NHL level?

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To me, IF this is true, it’s a crying shame. The Oilers have basically done nothing to help Pulju out. From his deployment on the ice to getting the team to embrace him as one of their own. It’s no wonder he’s accepting rides from fans. Reminds me a bit of what happened with Yakupov except Jesse can play without the puck and his shots hit the net.

I don’t really buy the language problem. I never have. Yes, any help is good help when it comes to acquiring new language but as someone who’s been in that industry and living overseas for over 10 years, I can tell you that one of the best things for his English development is 100% immersion in an English environment. He’s forced to use his communication skills be they verbal or physical or written or otherwise and in the end that’ll be great for him because on the ice/bench you don’t always use verbiage to communicate.

Check out this interview from back in January of 2016. It starts in Finnish but it’s conducted by an Englishman. It’s hard enough to try and understand English from a Canadian or an American but when you toss a Brit in there, that’s a whole new ball of yarn kids.

His English has never been that bad, it just hasn’t been at the level of Patrik Laine’s. Get off Jesse’s case and probably get off of the Oilers’ case (read: Chiarelli’s case). Shit, I still don’t understand what Esa Tikkanen is saying. Never affected his game. Kurri learnt English watching TV shows. Pulju is going to be fine.

I’ll be furious if the Oilers (read: Todd McLellan) fuck(s) this kid’s development up. I mean from all the people I’ve talked to who are close to Jesse, he’s working very hard this off-season. Not only on the physical aspects but also the mental ones. I guarantee you he will be much better equipped for a full season in the NHL in 2018/19 and we’re going to start to see him realize his potential.

Jesse Puljujarvi is a very bright hockey player but he’s shy until you get to know him. I wonder if his teammates are making an effort to get to know him…

ON LUCIC

“It’s a “what have you done for me lately” business and when you have that lack of production and those sort of challenges, you’re not being a leader in the dressing room. It’s just the way it is. You can’t because it’s about the production on the ice.”

So Milan simply mailed it in for the last 41 games? Is that it? This is bullshit from Stauffer. Of course you can be a leader in the dressing room if you’re not producing. You cannot sit there and tell me that Lucic just coasted for the rest of the schedule after Christmas. I mean this is coming from a guy employed by the Oilers who watched every game for the last 40 years.

Tell me, how many goals did Henrik Sedin have last year? Two? Three? Did anybody question his leadership because he wasn’t scoring? Hell no they didn’t!

How many goals did Matt Hendricks score while he was an Oiler? He doesn’t get any flack for not being a leader in the dressing room due to lack of production on the ice, does he?

So many people forget that Lucic was working his balls off to try and score or to help the team during that slump. The puck didn’t bounce his way a lot of times and other times he gave it away, sure. He was squeezing his stick too hard and for every game he didn’t score, he squeezed it that much tighter. Here are to clips from after Christmas that tell me there’s a player here that’s going to come back and show everyone how wrong they are about him

LANCE BOUMA?

Stauffer suggested the Oilers go out and get Lance Bouma because he had a good run with Lucic back in their days together with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL.

Lance Bouma? Couldn’t stick with the playoff-less Chicago Blackhawks so they sent him to the AHL. His career high for points is 34 with the Flames back in 2014/15 and had 9pts last year in 53 games. Hockey Reference has him listed as a centre but his career FO% is 34%.

But he hits and offers grit, experience, leadership, all of which I like. His secret weapon must be an amazing shoulder to cry on though..

If you have to go get a player’s junior teammate to get him motivated to play better, you’ve got a far bigger problem on your hands than you think.

WILL THE YAK COME BACK?

Well too bad it didn’t work out for Nail. I really liked his personality and energy and had the Oilers done by him a bit better and had his agent not interfered like he did, I think he would’ve worked out. Good luck to him in the KHL, he’s going to a good team.

FREE AGENT ADDITIONS SO FAR

I Love what Peter Chiarelli has done so far. He’s had to go shopping under a self-inflicted budget but he’s done a fine job of adding players who will help in areas of need.

I still think there’s a trade coming down the pipe perhaps including Zack Kassian or Pontus Aberg or both. Kassian’s contract is holding back another move IMO and Aberg has zero credit with the team after last season’s antics. The have to sign Nurse and Strome too…

Tobias Rieder is a player I didn’t think would join the team but I’m really impressed that he forwent more money and term to link up with his countrymate and put what happened between him and the team earlier in his career behind him. His speed and technical skills are going to be a pleasure to watch next season.

Kyle Brodziak’s experience and veteran leadership is something this team desperately lacks. He’s not amazing on the dot nor is he a great fighter but he doesn’t care. I watched a ton of his fights on YouTube and they’re all basically him sticking up for teammates which I respect. His value will come on the PK and in the playoffs.

Kevin Gravel is someone who I don’t know very much about. As far as I can tell, he’ll be a tweener for the club. He’s not very physical but he’ll scrap if need be. He’s a lefty with a really nice shot. Check out this compilation video from another great Oilers YouTube account, Edmonton Future Watch.

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Pre-Free Agent Frenzy Thoughts on the Oilers

Happy Canada Day everyone! Hopefully this post won’t be too late for some of the signings!

Last season the big UFA signings for the Oilers were those of Jussi Jokinen and Yohann Auvitu. If it weren’t for the MEGA RFA re-signings last season, the shat ton of AHL signings, and the trade for Strome, one might call it a quiet off-season.

Jokinen had promise based on past performance but it became very clear that he wasn’t NHL caliber very quickly and Peter Chiarelli quickly atoned for that mistake by dealing him for Mike Cammalleri.

Auvitu is an interesting story because you could see quickly that the way that he was being deployed, or lack thereof, that there was a disconnect between GM and coach. Personally, I thought the Frenchman started slowly but got better as the year wore on. He should’ve been used on the PP for more than a shift or two and it’s a shame that Todd McLellan and the coaching staff at the time couldn’t see the positives in using him in certain scenarios on the ice.

But enough about last season, let’s talk about what’s going to happen later today and perhaps this week.

FREE AGENT FRENZY (OR FLOP?)

It looks like the Oilers are going to go the same route this year in regards to the UFAs they sign as they did last year. Bottom-6 players on the cheap and this is a plan in endorse. I don’t think they should blow their loads on one player because this is a team that could use a veteran or three to help smooth out those in-season highs and lows.

So who’s on the docket?

Well let’s first talk about who’s NOT on the docket.

Matt Calvert is out. Tobias Rieder is out. Austin Czarnik is out.

I asked right around draft time if the GMs are going to overdo it on the little guys and have it come back to bite them in the ass. At the time I was speaking more to the sub-6-foot defenseman but I think it’s going to apply to every player now. I really think that the GMs are going to put too much of an emphasis on smaller skilled players and they’ll come to regret it come playoff time.

Speaking of playoff players, let’s have a chat about some who could help the Oilers next spring in their drive to Lord Stanley’s cup.

Kyle Brodziak (C) – Grit, leadership, right-handed, PK capable, willing to be used on the 4th line, and will most likely come in under $1.5M

*UPDATE*

Blake Comeau (RW) – two-way winger, PK capable, bottom-6 compliant, plays an old school brand of hockey, and MIGHT come in under $1.5M.

Jason Chimera (W) – Speed, speed, speed. Leadership and experience out the wazoo, a coach’s delight, a former Oiler that knows the lay of the land, and definitely will come in under $1.5M.

Brandon Davidson (D) – perfect no.7 dman, does everything well but nothing horrible/amazing, is a team player, loves to play for the Oilers, a player who’ll play for less than $1M.

These four gentlemen are, in my opinion, most likely to sign with the Oilers in the upcoming days.

I can’t feel any more strongly about how much the Oilers need to have strong-willed veterans on the roster. Matt Hendricks wasn’t great at playing hockey when he was in Edmonton but dammit he was a fine locker-room presence by all accounts and It’s my belief that the Oilers are aggressively pursuing more of these kinds of players.

Listen, the Oilers roster has the skill to compete. There’s no arguing that. But does it have the compete as a whole? As a collective/group/team, do the Oilers have what it takes to get to the next level? Is the glue there to keep them united at the moment? If it isn’t, Chiarelli needs to bring it in.

There are other players who’ve been tossed in the Oilers tumber as well by local media types like Joe Colborne (Dustin Nielson), Lance Bouma/Nick Holden (Stauffer), and Scott Hartnell (Leavins) but I’m hard-pressed to think any of them will be Oilers. That being said, I’ve got lots of time for Hartnell and Bouma.

WHO’S COMING OUT?

With all of this roster speculation, we often forget that when the Oilers add a player to their NHL roster, that means someone may have to come out and at the moment there’s only 1, maybe 2, spots available. Meaning third line right wing and left wing. The Cult of Hockey has those spots occupied by Pontus Aberg and Kailer Yamamoto.

Do you think that Pontus Aberg is actually going to get a fair shot next season after what happened last year? Veteran coaches have memories like elephants and there’s no doubt in my mind that if Todd McLellan can get Chiarelli to sign Kyle Brodziak so that they can move Jujhar Khaira to 3rd line LW, he’ll happily punt Aberg to the press box.

Kailer Yamamoto is going to show us he deserves to be on the roster this fall but I don’t think it’s in the Oilers best interests to have him on a line with Strome and Khaira, he’s a top-6 player and should be playing those kinds of minutes and earning that type of experience under Woodcraft in Bakersfield until Ty Rattie or Jesse Puljujarvi has shown they cannot perform in the top-6. Blake Comeau would be a great fit for 3rd line RW alongside JJ and Strome.

IF Tavares signs in SJ and Karlsson goes to Vegas, the Pacific is going to be a bitch of a division to get through this upcoming season. Kovalchuk has already given LA a bump and Calgary has lots of cap room to bring in a James Neal if they wanted. SJ re-signed Kane too, let’s not forget about him. I’m curious to see what Arizona does, they’ve got lots of cap room too, and not that Vancouver is going to be competitive next season but they could be a thorn in the Oilers side given that Edmonton usually has a bit of trouble with teams worse than them and a bit better versus teams that are better.

I’m not saying that Chiarelli needs to go out and make a splash of his own. Not at all. This is on the players, they’ve got to step up and rise to the challenge in 2018/19.

Lastly, Lucic’s bonus has been paid to him and he’ll only make $4.5M this year, that might make him more attractive on the trade market IF that’s a route the Oilers want to take.

Your thoughts? Leave ’em in the comments below!

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Chiarelli Isn’t the Only Oilers GM We Could Accuse of Poor Asset Management by Lindsay Ryall

Pic courtesy of Conway’s Russian Hockey Blog.

When the news of Anton Slepyshev’s availability in trade was distributed indiscreetly to Oilers fans on Tuesday, few could have been surprised.  But more than a few (including myself) were likely disappointed.  For a team in search of speed, size, and value, Slepyshev seemed to have the potential to check off all the boxes.

Drafted in the third round of the 2013 entry draft, Slepy showed potential from the start.  Playing with the big boys in the KHL as a teenager, Slepyshev was one of Russia’s leaders on their 2013 and 2014 U20 WJC team.  At the 2014 WJC he scored at a point per game rate and paced Russia to a bronze medal that year vs the top U20 talent in the world.

Unlike some young prospects, Anton didn’t seem to be in a rush to the big league.  He spent two more years in the KHL before coming over to take a crack at the NHL.  When he arrived, Mclellan seemed impressed, commenting on the professional edge he held over some of the other rookies.  However,  not long after making the team, Slepyshev was sent down to Bakersfield, a move that didn’t take long . . . it doesn’t appear patience is a virtue with Mclellan.

After spending the balance of the year with Bakersfield (scoring 13 ginos in 49 games) he re-joined the Oilers for the balance of the 2017 season, providing some timely scoring in the playoffs on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Milan Lucic.  Big things were expected of Slepy in the 2017-18 season, the P.O.H himself even said so . . . so what went wrong.

Two things: The player got injured and his progress lost momentum, and, he was not put in a position to succeed.  Anton Slepyshev is not a fourth line player, nor should he be.  For velocity and accuracy, his wrist shot is the best on the team, and he was never shy about using it.  Slepy also had no issues going to the front of the net, with speed and purpose.  But he was never going to accomplish anything on the fourth line, and he didn’t.  On the brief moments he spent next to the Nuge he looked good.  But he was never again put on a line with Draisaitl and Lucic . . . save 19 seconds according to Bruce McCurdy.

So within a matter of months the Oilers have devalued a prospect from one with clearly demonstrated potential, to whatever the NHL’s equivalent of a bag of pucks would be (see Nail Yakupov trade).  The situation is both puzzling and frustrating to watch.  But it’s not a story we haven’t seen before.  Even before the decade of darkness, the Oilers had a habit of shipping prospects off prematurely and letting other teams reap the benefits.  Interestingly Slepyshev would have a few close compatibles from Oilers’ past.

Oilers Have a Long History of Downtrading

Martin Gelinas: Although Gelinas was not drafted by the Oilers (selected 7th overall in the 1988 entry draft by LA), they were his first NHL organization as he came over in the now infamous Wayne Gretzky trade.  Gelinas established himself as a member of the kid line in the Oilers’ last successful cup run in 1990 showing speed and some offense.  Gelinas followed up with 20 goals in his first full season with the Oil in 1990 – 91.  Nonetheless, he often drew the ire of then head coach John Muckler and was eventually traded by Glen Sather for rugged forward Scott Pearson in a trade with the Quebec Nordiques.  Gelinas would go on to have a successful NHL career, scoring 660 points over 18 NHL seasons.  And Scott Pearson?  If that name doesn’t ring a bell, it shouldn’t: Pearson scored 98 NHL points and spent most of his pro career as a minor-leaguer.

Miroslav Satan: Drafted 111th overall in 1993 out of Slovakia, Satan showed an early scoring touch for the Oilers, notching 18 goals in 64 games in his 1994 rookie season. 1994, part of the first dark era in Edmonton Oiler history.  Satan showed good potential, however was traded by then Oiler GM Glen Sather in his second season to the Buffalo Sabres for Craig Millar and Brian Moore . . ..   Satan would go on to score 30 plus goals in four seasons including a 40 goal campaign in 1998 – 99, mostly with Buffalo.  Craig Millar and Barrie Moore combined would not play in 40 NHL games . . .

Kyle Brodziak: Something of a local boy hailing from St. Paul, Ab., Brodziak was drafted 214th overall in 2003. Brodziak cracked the big club in 2008, scoring 14 and 11 goals in his first two seasons respectively, playing mostly on the bottom six.  Apparently, that wasn’t good enough for then GM Steve Tambellini as he traded Brodziak (under the advice of then coach MacT) plus a 6th round pick, to Minnesota for a fourth and fifth in the 2009 entry draft.  Brodziak remains a productive player, providing equal parts grit and scoring, currently with St. Louis Blues.  For the picks Edmonton received in the trade, the Oilers landed . . . Linus Omark, who is no longer in the NHL, and never made an impact.

So how will Slepyshev develop as a player?  My guess is somewhere between Gelinas and Brodziak, closer to Gelinas.  He has a better shot than Gelinas but isn’t as fast.  I would rate his hockey sense as average at best, but he has the skills, and over time he will learn how to use them.  My guess is, he will develop into at 15 goal 40 point guy if he sees consistent ice time on the top nine.

Now, I don’t have a direct line to Chiarelli’s office so, maybe this move was prompted by Slepyshev demanding a trade.  Possibly.  But based on what we know, Slepshev’s imminent departure is spurred by player mismanagement by the coach.  And what will the Oilers receive in return?  With the way Chia desperately advertised the player, I don’t see any team rushing to offer a prospect or a pick in the top three rounds.  The Oilers will likely receive a career AHL player, or a pick no earlier than the fifth round.  And why would we expect anything different?  With respect to Oiler asset management, it seems to be a long tradition.

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