The Copper & Blue - Jeff Petry SweepstakesA site for fans of the Edmonton Oilers. Someday we'll get to write about an Oilers playoff game. Hopefully sooner than later.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/13253/copper-fave.jpg2015-03-03T08:00:03-07:00http://www.coppernblue.com/rss/stream/78952962015-03-03T08:00:03-07:002015-03-03T08:00:03-07:00Petry Traded. More Of The Same. No End In Sight.
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BwownPAKwE33sg2Na36OI_2IGLk=/0x0:2354x1569/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45806106/usa-today-8270432.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When will this end? Probably not soon. </p> <p>Yesterday morning's news that <span>Jeff Petry</span> had been traded to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.habseyesontheprize.com/">Montreal Canadiens</a> for what amounts to a couple of lottery tickets was hardly surprising. There was hope that the return would be more that it was, but for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.coppernblue.com/">Oilers</a> and their fans it never is. It had long been rumoured that Petry wanted to test free agency, likely in an effort to maximize his earnings, or have a chance to play on a competitive team, or some combination of the two. Although not surprising, it was nonetheless disappointing and served as a reminder that the rebuild, whatever versions were onto now, is nowhere near complete. It also makes one wonder if the men tasked with rebuilding the franchise have a clue as to what they're doing.</p>
<p>I'm of the opinion that Petry was this teams best defender, a player entering the prime of his career, who would be very good on the second pair and potentially capable of handling top pairing minutes alongside a bonafide number one. You're welcome to disagree with that assessment, but regardless of what you think of Petry as a player, there is no credible argument that this deal makes the Oilers better today or tomorrow. At best the money that could have been used to sign Petry can now be used to upgrade the team through some other means. Considering how desirable NHL players find Edmonton right now that seems like a stretch though. And that's the absolute best case scenario since the picks acquired by the Oilers today likely won't have any real impact on the team for at least four years, if ever.</p>
<p>Moves like this - quality players for hopefullys - were supposed to be a thing of the past by now, the rebuilding having been a resounding success. Unfortunately it's been anything but. The Oilers are again in an epic battle for the right to pick first in the upcoming entry draft. On the off chance that the Oilers win the lottery, and I've long been a doubter that they will, one more teenager will not make this team a contender. For that to happen the Oilers will need what they've needed for the better part of a decade, more quality NHL players.</p>
<p>As someone much smarter than me so brilliantly put it, get good players, keep good players. And moves like this make it that much harder for me to believe that Craig MacTavish has a clue what a quality NHLer looks like. Nowhere is this more true than on the Oilers blue line. He began his tenure by bringing in <span>Andrew Ference</span> on a four-year deal, a deal that had little or no chance of looking good by the contracts mid point. Then last summer he continued to reshape the blue line by signing <span>Nikita Nikitin</span> for way too much and caving in negotiations with Justin Schultz. Both paid more than UFA-to-be, Jeff Petry.</p>
<p>To be totally fair, it needs to be pointed out that not everything with Petry, and the long term deal that he didn't sign, is on MacTavish, Steve Tambellini didn't do him any favours signing Petry to a deal that brought him within a year of unrestricted free agency, but when you look at the contracts given to Nikitin and Schultz compared to what was supposedly offered to Petry just recently it certainly seems as if Petry was an afterthought for the organization. Maybe Petry didn't want to be here, but an offer like that tells me that the feeling was mutual and that's a problem.</p>
<p>MacTavish has already talked about bringing back most of this year's blue line next year. Just let the absurdity of that wash over you for a second. A team with a terrible defence would be okay if they only upgraded (again, a big if) there best defender. In what world does that even make the slightest bit of sense? Yes, <span>Oscar Klefbom</span> and <span>Martin Marincin</span> might take big steps forward, Schultz might learn to play defence, and Ference and Nikitin might look better than a number six on occasion, or none of those thing might happen and the 2015/16 season feels a lot like 2014/15, which was a lot like 2013/14, which was … you get the picture.</p>
<p>if this team is to have any chance of being average, not good just average, one of Schultz, Ference, or Nikitin has to be playing for an organization other than the Oilers when next season starts. Not one is worth the money they're being paid (I'm assuming Schultz will sign his qualifying offer), having all three around while trying to fill holes elsewhere is an impossible combination. That MacTavish didn't find a taker today for the last two on that list doesn't mean that he won't move them between now and October, but his statements and his offer to Petry make me think that he probably won't, that he's happy with what he's got. And to make things even better - or worse depending on your perspective - he'll go big game hunting in July, trying to land Johnny Boychuk. To get him here the Oilers will have to offer too much, for too long, for a player who play will probably start to decline three years into what will probably be a seven-year deal. Hands up if you know how that ends.</p>
<p>Given the alternative, I'd have been thrilled with Petry at $5.5M times five. Probably an overpayment, but no worse than what they're going to probably end up doing anyway, and at least it would have been for a player not yet on the wrong side of his career peak, a player who'd at least be a good bet to come close to earning his contract. MacTavish has a different vision for the Oilers blue line though. A vision that has me reaching for a 2016 draft guide.</p>
https://www.coppernblue.com/2015/3/3/8140099/Petry-traded-oilers-Canadiens-for-peanuts-becauseoilersryan_batty2015-03-02T19:00:00-07:002015-03-02T19:00:00-07:00General Disarray
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Xxv4DnSWmARvGBA-_UMRg0ZJF24=/104x0:1239x757/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45804038/usa-today-8275139.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We're at the point now where local sports writers are finally taking their shots at management and panels, yes PANELS, are questioning Craig MavTavish's ability to evaluate talent. What is this team doing?</p> <h3>
<a href="http://www.coppernblue.com/2015/3/2/8135459/mact-addresses-the-media-has-no-interest-in-trading-yakupov-eberle" target="new">Take these quotes</a>...</h3>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>"I'm reasonably comfortable going forward w/ Klefbom, Schultz, Nikitin, Fayne, Ference." - MacT</p>
— zlaing (@Loweded) <a href="https://twitter.com/Loweded/status/572500782538342400">March 2, 2015</a>
</blockquote>
<p>
<script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</p>
<p>That's the worst defense in the league.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>"We had to challenge Petry on a 1 yr deal. His game clearly hit another level this year." - MacT</p>
— zlaing (@Loweded) <a href="https://twitter.com/Loweded/status/572501238488547330">March 2, 2015</a>
</blockquote>
<p>
<script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</p>
<p>He was one year from unrestricted free agency.</p>
<blockquote>"He is a top-four NHL defenceman," MacTavish on Nikitin.</blockquote>
<p>He wasn't in Columbus before acquiring him</p>
<h3>...add in this:</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pensburgh.com/">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> have acquired winger <span>David Perron</span> from the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.coppernblue.com/">Edmonton Oilers</a> for a 1st round pick in 2015 and forward <span>Rob Klinkhammer</span>.</p>
<p>The Edmonton Oilers traded defenceman <span>Jeff Petry</span> to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.habseyesontheprize.com/">Montreal Canadiens</a> a 2nd round draft choice and a conditional 5th round draft choice.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.japersrink.com/">Washington Capitals</a> gave up second-round and third-round draft picks to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.matchsticksandgasoline.com/">Calgary Flames</a> for left wing <span>Curtis Glencross</span>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>MacTavish somehow managed to get less relative value for both Perron, with one year remaining on his deal, and Petry, a right-handed puck-moving defenseman than the Flames got for a pending unrestricted free agent wing.</p>
<h3>...and figure out how he gets to here:</h3>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>MacT on where the Oilers lie: "We are on the cusp. Wether it's next yr or 2 yrs, the worst of this is in the rearview as we sit here today."</p>
— zlaing (@Loweded) <a href="https://twitter.com/Loweded/status/572499721794666496">March 2, 2015</a>
</blockquote>
<p>
<script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</p>
<p>Jack Eichel and Connor McDavid must be Ganesha and Jesus Christ all wrapped into one.</p>
<p>It's would be a shame for such incompetence to find salvation in the form of McDavid or Eichel. Yes, the never-ending nightmare of being an Oilers fan would finally be over, but this galling malfeasance would still loom over the team, ready to do these same asinine things over and over again.</p>
<p>There's an old Andy Capp comic in which Andy's wife catches him coming home late and tells him that she can read him like a book. Andy's punchline is "And she never skips one flippin' page". The Oilers are Andy and the rest of the league and most of the intelligent fans can read them like a book. Everyone knows it's coming. I imagine 29 other General Managers have Bob Marley's "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGYAAsHT4QE">Three Little Birds</a>" as Craig MacTavish's ringtone.</p>
<p>These men are lost. They're so far from the path that even Ueli Steck couldn't find them.</p>
https://www.coppernblue.com/2015/3/2/8137957/what-are-the-edmonton-oilers-doingDerek Zona2015-03-02T08:00:00-07:002015-03-02T08:00:00-07:00Petry A Hab
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/7pY-ISZlYC8EHzZHHNpHtH56co0=/0x0:4279x2853/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45650876/usa-today-8358667.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And so it goes...</p> <p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph9">via Chappy, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.coppernblue.com/2015/3/2/8131655/copper-and-blues-trade-deadline-2015">earlier this morning</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="pgh-paragraph"><a data-ref-index="19" href="https://twitter.com/TSNRyanRishaug/status/572394520618270720" target="_blank">Jeff Petry has been dealt to Montreal for a second round pick and a conditional fifth round pick</a><b>. </b> Montreal gets a top four defenceman for cellophane noodles and styrofoam peanuts. If the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.habseyesontheprize.com/">Canadiens</a> win a playoff round, that fifth becomes a fourth rounder. If they win two, that fifth becomes a third. Conditionally, those six beers I had planned consuming today have just become eleven.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Quick take on MacTavish's "haul":</p>
<h4>BEANS! MAGIC BEANS!</h4>
<p>and for Petry:</p>
<p> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rM-k3FboQ9ZdG1Q2ZXMcieCNplk=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3389298/crying.0.gif">
</figure>
</p>
<p>We've known that Petry is leaving Edmonton for awhile now, but it still stings. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.coppernblue.com/2014/2/27/5454038/ales-hemsky-trade-oilers">As Ryan wrote about an impending Hemsky trade</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph2">And that's why there's a part of me that wants him to get free of this organization and all it's failings, and hopefully find some playoff success with another franchise. Sort of a "if you love it set it free" kind of thing. But even though I've had the better part of nine months to come to terms with an <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.coppernblue.com/">Oilers</a> team without Hemsky, I'm still not ready for the trade that we all know is coming.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Petry has been the Oilers best defenseman since <span>Tom Gilbert</span> was traded for glass beads and syphilitic blankets. The organization has spent three seasons blowing smoke up <span>Justin Schultz</span>' nether regions and in their grand tradition, traded a talented player for something that might pay off 5 years from now.</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nos1mIwlGII" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>Nothing ever changes in Edmonton.</p>
https://www.coppernblue.com/2015/3/2/8001305/jeff-petry-traded-montreal-canadiens-diddly-squat-2nd-round-pickDerek Zona2015-03-01T20:03:21-07:002015-03-01T20:03:21-07:00Petry to Boston Unlikely<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.csnne.com/blog/bruins-talk/bruins-actively-seeking-deals-trade-deadline-approaches">Petry to Boston&nbsp;Unlikely</a></h3>
<div class="description"><p><p>"On defense, a player like Jeff Petry out in Edmonton is an interesting name if the Bruins can get him for a second round pick."</p></p></div>
https://www.coppernblue.com/2015/3/1/8131203/petry-to-boston-unlikelyDerek Zona2015-03-01T19:55:43-07:002015-03-01T19:55:43-07:00Petry Won't Go Home To Red Wings<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="https://twitter.com/HeleneStJames/status/571765380445675520">Petry Won't Go Home To Red&nbsp;Wings</a></h3>
<div class="description"><p><p>Peaches won't be going to Motown</p></p></div>
https://www.coppernblue.com/2015/3/1/8131165/petry-wont-go-home-to-red-wingsDerek Zona2015-03-01T18:27:50-07:002015-03-01T18:27:50-07:00Pens Should Be All In On Petry<blockquote>
<p><p>They shouldn't offer a 2nd round pick - they should offer better than that. A former second round pick that's already developed into a good professional player, giving Edmonton more value.<br><br></p>
<p>I'm talking about Brian Dumoulin.</p></p>
</blockquote>
<div class="source"><p><a href="http://www.pensburgh.com/2015/2/28/8127273/pittsburgh-penguins-trade-rumors-jeff-petry">Pensburgh on Jeff Petry</a></p></div>
https://www.coppernblue.com/2015/3/1/8130883/pens-should-be-all-in-on-petryDerek Zona2015-03-01T17:54:48-07:002015-03-01T17:54:48-07:00Petry To The Canadiens?<object width="480" height="270"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1">
<param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF">
<param name="flashVars" value="videoId=4086318139001&linkBaseURL=www.sportsnet.ca%2Fhockey%2Fnhl%2Fnhl-rumour-roundup-latest-trade-buzz%2F%234086318139001&playerID=2513591680001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAGWRwLc~,cRCmKE8Utf5uJwBuioSF4psFywRcHOq4&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true">
<param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com">
<param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false">
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true">
<param name="swLiveConnect" value="true">
<param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always">
<embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=4086318139001&linkBaseURL=www.sportsnet.ca%2Fhockey%2Fnhl%2Fnhl-rumour-roundup-latest-trade-buzz%2F%234086318139001&playerID=2513591680001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAGWRwLc~,cRCmKE8Utf5uJwBuioSF4psFywRcHOq4&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" name="flashObj" width="480" height="270" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object>
<div class="source source-img"><p><p>It's a possibility.</p></p></div>
https://www.coppernblue.com/2015/3/1/8130781/petry-to-the-canadiensDerek Zona2015-02-28T14:25:36-07:002015-02-28T14:25:36-07:00Petry's End as an Oiler<h3 class="link-title"><a rel="nofollow" href="https://twitter.com/JSportsnet/status/571747254312284160">Petry's End as an&nbsp;Oiler</a></h3>
<div class="description"><p><p>"Get good players, keep them" Once again, a very good Edmonton Oiler ends his career in Edmonton in the most Oilers-like way possible.<br> Petry joins the team of ex-Oilers that would absolutely throttle the current Oilers in any matchup.</p></p></div>
https://www.coppernblue.com/2015/2/28/8127019/petrys-end-as-an-oilerDerek Zona