Oilers: Holland Attempts to Fix a Chiarelli Wrong

To suggest Peter Chiarelli left the Edmonton Oilers in cap purgatory and with a badly flawed roster would be kind. Ken Holland knew cleaning up said mess was part of the deal when he took the gig as the club’s general manager and that it wasn’t going to be easy. Though he still has plenty of work to do, trading Milan Lucic to the Calgary Flames for James Neal was certainly a step in the right direction.

After watching Kyle Dubas cough up a first-round pick in order to get rid of the final year on Patrick Marleau’s deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs, there was never going to be an easy out for the Oilers. Giving up a ton of futures to move Lucic wasn’t an option. So it came down to one thing, how big of a “poison pill” was the organization willing to swallow to make it happen.

Oilers Had Few Options

When it comes to a potential “poison pill” the Neal scenario is as good as anyone could have realistically hoped for. Edmonton did take on an additional $750k on the cap and had to add a conditional pick into the mix to make it happen but in the grand scheme of things, it was a mere pittance. Especially when one considers keeping or buying out the Lucic deal had cap disaster written all over it.

An added benefit to be sure but make no mistake, Ken Holland made this deal with the intent of improving the team today and allowing for more flexibility in the future. And while neither Milan Lucic nor James Neal are still viewed as the primary pieces they once were, it appears as though the Edmonton Oilers have actually won a “hockey trade”. This in itself is a massive step forward from the previous regime.