Wayne Gretzky said recently on the “Oilers Now” show that Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid will go down as the greatest hockey player to have ever lived once he hangs up his skates. But in order to be considered one of the greatest to play the sport without an asterisk beside his name, he needs to win a Stanley Cup.
His Oilers’ club gave the eventual Stanley Cup winners the Vegas Golden Knights the toughest matchup en route to their championship win this past season, and the belief is that his team is only a couple of pieces away from hoisting the Cup themselves in the near future. That said, with the NHL Draft looming, I can’t help but think of Oilers’ “what ifs” when it comes to the draft — like what if Edmonton drafted Player A, instead of Player B — would McDavid have his name on the Cup already?
In retrospect, these are glaring cases of what should have been done differently, but let’s look at some bad decisions Edmonton made on NHL Draft Day during the McDavid era.
Oilers Trading Picks for Griffin Reinhart on 2015 Draft Day
Then Oilers’ general manager (GM) Peter Chiarelli had an easy first pick on the first day of the 2015 NHL Draft, taking McDavid first overall, and bringing a new era to the franchise. He also had another selection in the first round, when he traded David Perron to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Rob Klinkhammer and the 16th overall pick.
Related: Oilers’ 4 Burning Questions Heading Into Entry Draft & Free Agency
The first bad decision made on draft day in McDavid’s time was trading that 16th overall pick and the 33rd pick to the New York Islanders for defenceman Griffin Reinhart, who was a former fourth overall draftee from the 2012 NHL Draft. At the time, many in the Oilers’ organization were ecstatic about the move — the blueliner had an impressive résumé that included captaining his junior team, the Edmonton Oil Kings, to the 2014 Memorial Cup championship and he previously represented Team Canada at the World Juniors.
Yet, the 6-foot-4 blueliner struggled to keep up with the pace of the NHL in his first season, registered only a single assist in 29 games, and was demoted to the American Hockey League (AHL) and never suited up in an NHL game again.
However, with that 16th pick that was traded to the Islanders, they selected Mathew Barzal, and with the Oilers trying to find another top-six option in 2023 to replace Kailer Yamamoto, just imagine what Barzal and McDavid could be doing together. As well, the 2015 NHL Draft may go down as one of the best in NHL history. Some notable players still available after the 16th pick were Kyle Connor, Thomas Chabot, Sebastian Aho, Brock Boeser and Travis Konecny (currently on the Oilers’ radar).
Oilers Selecting Puljujarvi 4th Overall at 2016 NHL Draft
The Oilers took Jesse Puljujarvi, who was highly touted at the time, fourth overall in the 2016 NHL Draft. But what was most interesting on that day was Columbus Blue Jackets general manager (GM) Jarmo Kekalainen passing on his fellow Finnish countryman with the third overall pick, and perhaps that should’ve been a tell-tale sign from the start.
In hindsight, the Oilers selecting Puljujarvi was a bad draft day choice and as the story goes, he played in 111 games with the team from 2017-2019 tallying 29 points but failed to make an impact offensively and went back to Finland for a season and a half to find his game. When he returned to Edmonton, he scored 15 goals in the shortened 2020-21 season and the signs were showing that he was turning the tide. However, despite a hot start to 2021-22, for various reasons such as injuries and contracting COVID-19, his play waned near the end of the season and he only recorded three points in 16 playoff games.
This past season was the same story and he was unable to produce offensively. Despite altering his game to become defensively responsible and finding a way to impose his 6-foot-4 frame, he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 28 to clear cap space and was given a chance for a fresh start.
Now for the “what ifs? The player that was selected just two spots after Puljujarvi at sixth overall was none other than public enemy number one in Oil Country, Matthew Tkachuk. He’s the definition of the player that you hate to play against but would love to have on your team. His Florida Panthers lost in the Stanley Cup Final this past season, but he’d likely be the difference maker that could help an Oilers’ team reach Stanley Cup glory had they selected him instead of Puljujarvi.
Moreover, some other players still available in the draft after Puljujarvi that would be difference makers on this current Oilers’ squad are Clayton Keller, Mikhail Sergachev, Charlie McAvoy, Jakob Chychrun, Tage Thompson, Alex DeBrincat, Jordan Kyrou, and Adam Fox.
Will Oilers Regret Drafting Philip Broberg 8th Overall at the 2019 NHL Draft?
This one may be too early to say, but the Oilers picking Philip Broberg eighth overall at the 2019 NHL Draft may end up being one of the worst draft day decisions in McDavid’s time with the team. Back in 2019, TSN’s Bob McKenzie had him ranked at the No. 15 spot, so his selection at eighth may have been a reach.
The Swedish blueliner has size and smooth skating, but he’s failed to make an impact, or at least, become a regular in the NHL since being drafted. GM Ken Holland has mentioned that he expects Broberg to play 15-20 minutes a night next season, but that probably means doing so in the American Hockey League (AHL). Also, rumours have surfaced recently that the Oilers have made him available for trade.
But at the 2019 NHL Draft, there were many forwards projected to be impact players that were still available at the time, such as Trevor Zegras, Matt Boldy and Cole Caufield, who have already left their mark on the league. Of course, you’d have to manage their contracts within the salary cap, but imagine what Caufield would look like finishing off passes from McDavid right now.
Still, there’s time for the young Broberg to pan out and for all we know he could surprise everyone and turn into a top-four defenceman next season, but as it stands now, the pick looks like a miss. Additionally, Yamamoto could get considered on this list but gets leeway for having a 20-goal season under his belt.
Will Broberg turn out to be a bad pick for the Oilers? Have your say in the comments below!
