This is it. This will be the final GDB before the trade deadline. The General Managers of the league are working now on producing deals. They aren’t waiting for tomorrow. We are at the point in the process where anything can drop at any second. Just minutes before I started writing this, Rick Nash was traded from the Rangers to the Bruins. About halfway through writing this, Pekanec was traded to the Leafs for prospects and a 2nd.

The Nash deal clearly impacts Edmonton, as they were linked to Boston in Maroon talks. However, their other obvious trade partners are linked to teams like Ottawa in Karlsson rumours, which really puts a Maroon deal on the back-burner. The Lightning, the Predators, and as many as 4 other clubs are trying to get a handle on the price to pick up EK. Edmonton has assets to move, but everyone has eyes on a bigger prize.

At least in terms of rental forwards, with Nash gone, Maroon finds himself near the top of the list of available players. Evander Kane is a talented and productive player, but he’s been labelled a locker room cancer everywhere he’s played and he’s more expensive. Players are fetching decent prices right now from their receiving teams. If Brandon Davidson fetches a 3rd and Nash fetches a 1st, a 7th, 2 players, and a prospect then surely Maroon will get more than a 2nd…right?

As for Brandon Davidson, that deal came after the last GDB went live so we barely touched on it. I have so many mixed thoughts about Davidson. First and foremost, I think it’s important to say that I really liked Davidson for his play and character. It’s unfortunate that Chiarelli loves trading him so much.

If we think about this as asset management, I have to give Chiarelli props for turning a waiver wire pickup into a 3rd round pick, even if its for next year. A pick in the top 100 isnt worthless, even in the hands of the Oilers. It’s much more likely we will see that pick used to acquire a player rather than used to pick a prospect. The Oiler timeline by next season will be desperate for immediate improvement.

Now, the negatives here are obvious. The Oilers lose a quality 3rd pairing defender who plays a physical, calm game and who likes to shoot. I would rather have a dirt-cheap Davidson as 3LHD than the infinitely more expensive Sekera or Russell options. And I like Sekera a lot when he’s healthy, but it’s just bad finance to tie up that much money on the 3rd pair.

The good news is that the only prospects the Oilers have are left-handed defenders. So one would think that a possible 3LHD will eventually climb up through the system to make those other players expendable. Then all Chia has to do is contend with their NMCs.

Back to Maroon. With Nash gone, Chiarelli and company have to really go after the teams that missed out. I don’t care if it’s St Louis, Tampa, or even Calgary. The Oilers needs to maximize their return with this player. He represents their best moveable asset. The prospect or pick they get back has to make the Oilers better sooner rather than later. That’s the position Edmonton is in now. He is a quality asset to any receiving team. He has to get the Oil something of note.

UPDATE

Kypreos reports that Letestu has been traded to the Preds for Pontus Aberg. The Preds then flipped Letestu to the Blue Jackets for a 4th.

Pontus Aberg has the worst shot attempt metrics among the Nashville forwards, but a 105 PDO is keeping his Goals For percentage at 63%. He has a history of scoring well in the AHL but hasnt translated that to NHL success. I have concerns, but he's getting a chance here in the Oiler org for sure.

LINEUP

I know Rattie isnt a center but I dont know the lines now that Letestu is gone.

Lucic McDavid Draisaitl
Caggiula Khaira Pakarinen
Slepyshev Strome Cammalleri
Puljujarvi Rattie Kassian

Klefbom Russell
Nurse Larsson
Sekera Benning

Talbot

OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME

1) No Time To Think. The trade deadline is tomorrow. Deal are dropping around the league with every refresh of the Twitter App. There are at least 3 Oilers expected to move in the next 24 hours. BUT the team played late last night and they start again a little earlier than normal in Anaheim today. This is a team that has the luxury of not having much time to focus on anything but the game tonight and that’s a good thing.

2) Cammi. He might not have scored in 20+ games, but Cammalleri is picking up points with his passing. If he had played this well from day 1 then he would be a no brainer as a trade chip. Now we need recency bias to play in Edmonton’s favor. In February, Cammalleri has picked up 10 points in 11 games, including 3 just last night. He’s heating up at the exact right time. Someone looking to add that veteran piece for relatively cheap should absolutely keep an eye on Mike Cammaleri.

3) Ryan Kesler Is Awful. Look, I don’t have anything to add here. I just wanted to take this opportunity to point out that Ryan Kesler is both awful in character and in on-ice impact. He’s a garbage player and a worse person. Seeing him fail, and 8 points in 25 games is failure, brings me joy. The only thing that could make me feel any better would be to see Darnell Nurse or Milan Lucic make him taste knuckle this evening. He has a $6.875M cap hit for 4 more seasons and it could happen to a better team. Enjoy your Kesler, Ducks.

Puck drops tonight at 6PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet. Tank On!

Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy

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