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The Oilers have been involved in another trade. This time it's not picks, but Martin Marincin heading the other way. He's on his way to Toronto, the Oielrs acquire Brad Ross and pick 107 in return.
#Oilers acquire forward Brad Ross and the 107th overall pick from the @MapleLeafs in exchange for d-man Martin Marincin. #NHLDraft
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) June 27, 2015
And then flipped that pick and Travis Ewanyk to the Senators for Eric Gryba.
#Oilers acquire defenceman Eric Gryba from @Senators in exchange for the 107th pick and forward Travis Ewanyk. #NHLDraft
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) June 27, 2015
First what the Oilers gave up: Martin Marincin. Around these parts Marincin has been very popular. Sunil looked at how Marincin has faced much tougher competition than other ther defenceman faced as a 22-year old. Marincin did well in his short time with the Edmonton Oilers and could of been deserving of another contract with the team. However Marincin did have his struggles. He showed some inconsistencies throughout his game last season, and struggled at times during his stay in the AHL.
Second, what we got: Jason Gregor pointed out that Brad Ross will be playing in Europe and is nothing more than a contract dump. On the other hand, Eric Gryba is a 6'4, 222 lb right hand shot defenceman who plays with a very effective bottom pairing role.
From Silver Seven Sens:
Although he took a hit from his previous grade, Eric Gryba met most expectations placed upon him this season. That being said, none of us really expected much from him. He plays the role of third-line defenseman pretty well, although he doesn't offer anything special in terms of offense and is not as brutally physical as many hoped he would be at one point. But he can deliver a big hit from time to time.
He can effectively clear the puck in his own end, especially on the penalty kill. More often than not this season, he was silently effective and just didn't get a lot of recognition because of the role he plays as a shut-down defenseman. Whether or not he is the kind of depth D-man that wins championships is another story, but he served his purpose well for the Sens this season.
The problem I have from this trade moving forward is that the Oilers now have an abundance of bottom pairing players. Moving forward, I would not be surprised to see more moves made involving Oilers defencemen.