Yesterday was an eventful day for the Edmonton Oilers and their fan-base. First, everyone waited with baited breath or deep concern for what Ken Holland would do at the trade deadline. Finally, two moves were made; Derick Brassard and Brett Kulak are the newest members of the Edmonton Oilers.
BRETT KULAK Kulak is a 28 year old defender who is a defensive specialist. Prior to Martin St. Louis taking over, the Canadiens were an absolute tire fire which makes evaluating a single player's impact much tougher. Last season, Kulak played a total of 721 minutes at 5 on 5 with 238 of those against elite competition. In those minutes, Kulak and his linemates outscored the opposition 10-6. He played the most minutes against bottom six forwards and third pairing defensemen (293 minutes) and faired slightly worse, being outscored 9-10 in those minutes.
Ultimately Edmonton should be getting a really solid third pairing defender that is capable of player 17-20 minutes a night and can be thrown over the boards in any situation. Woodcroft rides his top pairing of Nurse-Ceci relentlessly and I don't expect that to change but what this does is allows him to shelter Keith and Bouchard more.
As far as the cost goes, it's a slight overpay on Holland's part but looking around the league it isn't egregious. When a player like Chiarot goes for a 1st round pick+, Jeremy Lauzon gets a 2nd, and Travis Hamonic gets a third, paying a 2nd for Kulak is almost preferable. A third round pick for Kulak seems like more equal value but Edmonton needed to get Montreal to retain half of his salary due to their own cap constraints.
You'll notice that I haven't brought up William Lagesson yet and that's because it really is a throw away add. Lagesson at best is a bottom pairing defenseman but rarely does he succeed in anything on the ice aside from breaking even. His skillset is redundant and has been passed on the depth chart by the likes of Niemelainen and Broberg. Lagesson will also be a Group 6 free agent this summer and would not be interested in another contract from the Oilers. No loss there for the team.
One last note with the 2nd round pick. The pick is a conditional pick. Currently the Oilers 2nd round pick in the 2022 Draft is tied up in the Keith trade. If Edmonton makes the Western Conference Finals and Keith is top 4 among minutes for Oilers defenders, they owe Chicago a 2nd. If those conditions are not met, Edmonton trades the Hawks a 3rd round pick instead. If it is a 3rd round pick that goes to the Hawks, Edmonton's 2nd round pick this season goes to Montreal, otherwise they will trade their 2nd round pick in 2023.
DERICK BRASSARD
I expected Edmonton to be done after the Kulak move but Holland made one more depth add, trading a 4th round pick in 2023 for the 34 year old centre. Brassard has produced 6 goals and 16 points in 31 games this season with a brutal Flyers team, bouncing up and down the lineup. On the Edmonton Oilers, Brassard is a 4th line centre or winger who can take faceoffs and provide some offense at even strength.
One thing that Brassard doesn't do is kill penalties. If you want to find out how many minutes Brassard has spent on the PK go look it up. Natural Stat Trick, Hockey Reference, NHL.com, really any hockey site has those numbers available... takes all of 2 minutes to look them up. That way no one has to post something that is wrong and get egg on their face... where was I... right, Brassard.
Brassard doesn't necessarily address a need for the Edmonton Oilers aside from the fact that injuries happen in the playoffs and depth is important. Brassard should be the best option the Oilers have now at 4C but if he does struggle than Shore, McLeod, or Ryan could all move over and slot in there. Depending on your own opinion, having guys with past playoff experience is important and Brassard brings that to this locker room as well.
Ultimately Holland had a fine if unspectacular day. The Oilers have one of the best records in the NHL since Woodcroft took over but the team is handcuffed by the cap due to the moves that Holland made last off-season and the General Manager lacks the creativity to get around that. Edmonton is a good team but I remain adamant that under a different GM they could be a great team right now.
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Yes, the Oilers are a good team and last night they were able to show that in an exciting matchup against arguably the best team in the NHL in the Colorado Avalanche. The Oilers traded chances back and forth with the Avs. At some points in the game the Avalanche attacked the Oil relentlessly in their own end while at other times, Edmonton was able to do the exact same.
Edmonton scored one EV goal and a 6 on 5 goal on a delayed penalty while Colorado notched 2 powerplay goals. Yamamoto was absolutely buzzing most of the night and had an eventful 1-1-2 game while also taking 3 minor penalties. The small forward was chaotic and a joy to watch as he got under the skin of the Avs best players. Evander Kane continued his hot streak with another goal as well.
Sadly, while Edmonton did secure one point, they lost in OT on a bizarre play which seemed to involve Kadri ripping the helmet off of Nurse, Kane losing sight of where the puck was, and McDavid failing to clear the puck. Many fans were ripping the refs all night and I would tend to agree with them. Colorado finished the night with 5 powerplays while the Oilers were only afforded 2.
Regardless, it was a fun statement game by this team that they have the ability to keep up with the best of them. Mike Smith played well but I'm not ready to hand him the reigns to anything yet. One game isn't good enough for Smith, or for this team to prove they are a legit threat in the West. Playing the same way tonight against the Stars who are also fighting for a playoff spot is the next step.
Enjoy the game.