Oilers Stand Pat At Deadline

If you had no expectations for today’s trade deadline, you couldn’t be too upset with the results.

The Edmonton Oilers made exactly zero moves today.

Nothing.

Nada.

Zip. Zero. You get the idea. The Oilers couldn’t (or wouldn’t) sell off any expiring assets. Those who held out hope for a chance to shed a big contract would end up disappointed as well, as there was no movement of note. There was no note of movement. Nothing.

I don’t know really what to take away from Future Assistant GM Keith Gretzky here. You hear the same words you hear over and over again. “Character”. “We’re Close”. We’ve Played Well.” “We’re Not Mortgaging Our Future”.

Gretzky sounds like he’s actively working the phones here, but I’ve got a sneaky feeling that a lot of things didn’t get done today for the simple reason that nobody is really in on what the Oilers are offering. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty sure that the Oilers would’ve gotten some takers if they ponied up a first round pick (those are usually good for a top ten pick), and I’m at least thankful that a first round pick didn’t get moved for a rental. This team is so far away from being able to say that they’re “going for it” that a move like this would have been disastrous. But aside from a first round good pick, maybe Alex Chiasson (and maybe Zack Kassian for a late pick), there’s nothing here for anyone that doesn’t include the likes of the top three forwards and a couple of defencemen.

The Oilers will take on the Predators in a couple of hours. The Oilers will need to win two out of three games from here until the end of the year to have a chance at April Hockey.