The Oilers didn't make as many "blockbuster" trades as I would have liked, but they did get rid of some hefty paychecks. As predicted, the Oilers went younger and cheaper.
In a rather interesting turn of events, the Oilers traded Oldie D-man Steve Staios to the Calgary Flames in exchange for 26 year old D-man Aaron Johnson. Don't expect much point production out of Johnson.. he has a total of 3 points in 22 games, however Staios is in the same boat with 7 points in 40 games. Let's face it, although you could make the argument that Staios was the most reliable D-man that the Oilers had, he is also old, expensive, and has been battling that nagging concussion for what seems like forever.
The Oilers traded their leading defensive scorer and power play specialist, not to mention part time comedian (Hey, the guy is hilarious!), Lubomir Visnovsky to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Ryan Whitney. Once again, the Oilers got rid of a large money sack when they sent Lubo away, he had $14 million and 3 years left on his contract, so much for "no trade clause".
Edmonton also sent yet another D-man away. This time, Denis Grebeshkov was the victim, and in return all the Oilers recieved was a second round pick. Oddly enough, the Oilers and Grebbers new home of the Nashville Predators played eachother mere days after the trade. During the game Grebbers got a goal and an assist against his former team, propelling the Preds to a 4-3 victory over the Oil. Who got the short end of that trade stick?
Overall, the Oilers seemed to favor getting rid of their defensive core, and going younger. I don't know if dealing out all of those reliable defenseman was the smartest of all ideas, especially when they also lost Sheldon Souray due to an infection he has sustained from surgery he had to fix his broken hand. But, what's done is done. Bring on the young guns!
Staios-36 Johnson-26
Visnovsky-33 Whitney-27
Grebeshkov-26 Second Round pick- 17
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