The Oilers are apparently working very hard on a deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the two names leaked so far are Perron and Anisimov. After Aaron Ward kicked it off the rest of the TSN heavy hitters and even Elliotte Friedman weighed in on this potential move. Where there’s this much smoke, there’s bound to fire. However
Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports that Kekalainen is denying being close to a trade.
PERRON
David Perron is one of Edmonton’s best trading chips because he has value and isn’t particularly tied to the organization. He impressed greatly in his 1st season with Edmonton, posting career highs in Goals (28) and Points (57). Almost more impressive than his actual totals was the way in which he approaches the game. He is a pest, a shift disturber. He plays an irritating game and loves to find himself at the front of the net getting too close to the goaltender for his defender’s liking.
On an Oiler team full of Boy Scouts that abrasive style has been a welcome addition. This year he hasn’t been as effective offensively but Eakins has been struggling to find enough ice time for all of his wingers and Perron is no different. He is down almost 2 minutes a game from where he was last year and that isn’t really a reflection of poor play. There just isn’t enough ice for all of Edmonton’s skilled wingers. At least, not without a 3C the coach trusts.
Perron is 22GP, 2-8-10 and is shooting just 3.8%. That shooting percentage tells you that this guy is due for a few and even more offense is just bubbling under the surface. His career average is 12.8% so he is in a rut that we can expect him to get out of with a little more time. Perron is 4th in Oiler forwards for CF with 54%, but he has been receiving a lot of Offensive Zone starts (45.2%). So while he is doing well by the metric, he SHOULD be doing well.
If the Oilers move Perron it will sting, no doubt. Perron is beginning to show a lot of leadership in the sense that he now appears to be holding his teammates accountable for their actions. There were his words after the big loss and then again yesterday video caught him giving Justin Schultz an icy stare after the line change fiasco.
ANISIMOV
Artem Anisimov isn’t a player I am overly familiar with, since he’s played pretty much his entire career in the East, but sharp observers
really like what this guy brings to the table. Looking on paper, his career highs are a tier below David Perron’s. His career high in Goals is just 22 and in Points it’s just 44. There’s no doubt he’s less offensively gifted than Perron. That said, he’s a Center and darned big one at that. He is also touted as being extremely defensively responsible. Some nights his defensive play has been described as “Perfect”.
He is listed at 6’4” and 198lbs and is a Left Shooting Center. He has averaged between 16-17 minutes a game for the past 3 years which suggests to me that he plays largely a secondary role with the team so the Oilers would indeed be trading for a 3C with 2C potential. It would be a downgrade in scoring talent but it would add to Center depth and moving an asset from a Winger to a Center you would expect that kind of depreciation.
But it isn’t all bad news for Oiler fans. Anisimov’s reputation for defensive awareness translates well into the possession game. He is 3rd on the Blue Jackets’ forwards in CF (52.6%) despite only getting 28.7% of his starts in the Offensive Zone. When I read that I see a guy who is tasked with relatively difficult starting positions but still ends up in the Offensive Zone more than not. That is extremely valuable. Especially perhaps to a Dallas Eakins who doesn’t feel like he can trust Leon Draisaitl to get that job done.
The Oilers need a Center. The Blue Jackets have some depth at that position. There seems to be a fit but Oiler fans might still be upset seeing David Perron go. The Oilers might want more in return than just Anisimov but Columbus is really hesitant letting him go. I wouldn’t expect a lot more coming back Edmonton’s way even with them giving up what I would consider to be the better player.
GAMESMANSHIP
One last thing. The News broke first on the TSN side of the media landscape and that’s a place where MacT has a lot of friends. Part of me doesn’t wonder, based on Columbus saying they arent really close to making a deal and others cooling off from where they were last night, if Craig MacTavish personally leaked this potential trade to boost the market for Perron. Nothing makes a potential buyer up their bid like someone else making a legitimate offer.
News of someone else making a real offer for Perron does nothing but enhance his place in the market. Maybe Columbus is a Red Herring and the real target is another team but MacT wanted to light a fire to get things moving along. I don’t put anything past the Silver Fox.
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