Perron traded to Pens for a 1st round pick

Ever since Perron spoke out publicly against the Oilers, it was speculated he wouldn't finish the season in Edmonton. The Oilers finally pulled the trigger, sending Perron to the Penguins for a 1st round pick in the 2015 draft and C Rob Klinkhammer.

Complete deal has Pitt sending a 1st in 2015 and Rob Klinkhammer to the Oilers for David Perron.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) January 2, 2015

To put it bluntly, this trade is a kick in the teeth. Yeah, Perron leaving was sort of given, but considering he was pretty much bang on in his comments (and many in the organization have echoed similar things recently), it was hoped that maybe this time would be different.

For a team who has been "too easy to play against" in recent years, Perron was the opposite. Not only did he have some skill, he was an absolute pest that every other team hated to play against. He was signed for another year at a relatively modest $3.812 mil cap hit, and is flush in the middle of the prime of his career.

The return is pretty dull too. One would hope the Oilers could have maybe gotten a younger player who was NHL ready, but instead they get a pick which is almost guaranteed to be in the latter third of the first round. Maybe they can move up in the first round with it, but we've heard that forever without it happening (aside from Riley Nash, and look what happened there). It's another bullet for a scouting department who hasn't had much success picking out of the top 10.

The other part of the deal is Rob Klinkhammer, a 28 year old C with good size (6-3, 220) and has fared decently in terms of possession against 3rd tier comp with ~51% Ozone starts the past couple of years with Phoenix and Pittsburgh. The Oilers getting a C back who can at least seem to play in the NHL somewhat softens this blow (given the rumoured return of Draisaitl back to the WHL), but he's a UFA at seasons end.

Given the news that Pitlick will be out a while with a lacerated spleen, this really puts a hurt on the Oilers wing depth, meaning players like Gazdic and Pinnizzotto will surely be regular staples in the lineup.

This is a tank move, plain and simple. One the fanbase should be sick of. After finally securing some depth on the wings, the organization is turning around and flushing some of it. It's hard to view this as anything but a loser move by an organization that has excelled at losing for nearly the last decade.