Edmonton Oilers: Reviewing their trades after the NHL Trade deadline
The Edmonton Oilers were aggressive buyers at the 2020 NHL trade deadline, adding three pieces to their roster.
Going into the deadline day, the Edmonton Oilers found themselves in a position they have rarely been in past years. Outside of the 2016-17 season that saw the team finish with 103 points, the Oilers have been sellers at this time of the year for over a decade.
However, in general manager Ken Holland’s first season with the team, they found themselves sitting second in the Pacific Division.
A strong majority of fans who have grown very impatient due to the team’s lack of success over the years were praying Holland would make some moves that may help this team go on a bit of a run come playoff time. After yesterday’s deals, it is safe to say Oilers fans are quite happy with their new GM.
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Mike Green
In his first deal of the trade deadline, Holland traded Kyle Brodziak (LTIR) and a conditional draft pick in either 2020 or 2021 for Red Wings defenseman Mike Green.
This trade was the most surprising of the three, as the Oilers already have a pretty competent defense core, including the right-hand side of Ethan Bear, Adam Larsson, and Matt Benning.
One possible factor in this deal happening is that the Oilers are without their top defenceman Oscar Klefbom.
Klefbom plays the most minutes of anyone on the Oilers and is also on their top powerplay unit. It was announced on February 18th that Klefbom would miss 2-3 weeks with a shoulder injury, forcing Darnell Nurse to be given the powerplay time.
Unfortunately for Nurse, it hasn’t gone great, which could be a big part of the trade. Despite Green not being the same player he was in his Washington Capitals days, he is still a smart offensive-minded defenceman. Perhaps he will be given those powerplay minutes, and maybe even continue to get them once Klefbom is back in order to lower his ice-time.
Andreas Athanasiou
The Oilers second move prior to the deadline generated the most buzz, as they were able to acquire speedy forward Andreas Athanasiou from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Sam Gagner, a second-round pick in 2020, and a second-round pick in 2021.
That price may seem high, but it is important to note that Athanasiou is not your typical rental deadline pickup. Although his contract is up at seasons end, he will be a restricted free agent, which gives the Oilers complete control over him.
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If you were to simply just glance at Athanasiou’s stat line from this season, you would assume that he was a player with zero value. In just 46 games this year the 25-year-old is a mindboggling -45.
This certainly can be cause for concern, but it is important to remember that he was playing for the worst team in the league in Detroit. This is a player who just last season scored 30 goals. If he gets the chance and is able to develop chemistry with Connor McDavid, look out.
Tyler Ennis
Holland’s third and final acquisition of the day saw him bring in Ottawa Senators forward Tyler Ennis for a fifth-round pick. This trade didn’t come as much surprise, as there were rumours floating around for several weeks that the Oilers were interested in Ennis.
The 30-year-old Edmonton, Alberta native was having a fantastic year despite being on a bad Senators team, notching 14 goals and 33 points in 61 games. He will provide the Oilers with some secondary scoring, which has actually improved over the past few months, but still needs help.
Oilers win big on deadline day
As of today, the Oilers currently sit just three points out of first place in the extremely tight Pacific Division, but they also have the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, and the Arizona Coyotes within three points of them.
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Due to how tight the race currently is, and the fact that the Oilers fans are starving for playoffs, Holland had a lot of pressure to make some moves for his team on deadline day. Looking at it right now, it appears as though Holland improved his team more than any of the other general managers in the Pacific did theirs, and certainly increases their playoff chances for this season.