The Battle of Alberta has taken on an interesting dynamic today with the two clubs completing a trade. The Oilers have moved veteran defenceman Ladislav Smid and prospect goalie Olivier Roy to the Calgary Flames for a pair of prospects, they are goalie Laurent Brossoit and centre Roman Horak.
Smid, 27, is best known as a physical defensive defencemen. He was a first round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2004 who arrived in Edmonton as part of the Chris Pronger trade and has been an Oiler ever since. He has one goal and one assist this season for the Oilers, and 11 goals and 64 points in 474 career NHL games.
Smid will provide veteran stability to a Flames team that is missing captain Mark Giordano on the blue line. He should also be a boost to the team’s defensive game and their penalty kill.
Roy is a 22-year-old goalie who the Oilers drafted in the 5th round in 2009. He has struggled in the AHL and despite being in the AHL full-time for the first time in his third pro season, he has played just 4 games and has an .897 save percentage. He was likely moved to even out the number of contracts changing hands (with the 50 man limit in mind).
The Oilers are very familiar with Brossoit as he has been the starting goalie for the Edmonton Oil Kings (a team the Oilers also own in the WHL and has drafted multiple prospects from in recent years). The 20-year-old is in his first year playing pro and has split time between the ECHL and AHL so far. He was a 6th round pick for the Flames in 2011.
Roman Horak is a 22-year-0ld centre originally drafted by the New York Rangers in the 5th round of the 2009 NHL draft. He has been up and down between the AHL and NHL over the years, with 5 goals and 18 points in 82 career games.
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Analysis: I really don’t understand this move by the Oilers. This is a team that really needs defensive help and trading away one of the few reliable defenders they have doesn’t make a lot of sense for me. They also didn’t get a heck of a lot to do it, as Brossoit is a long-term project goaltender, and Horak is not exactly a blue chipper. Calgary wins this trade hands down, in my opinion.
Unless the Oilers are doing this to free up money and cap space (TSN’s Darren Dreger speculates it is to sign Ilya Bryzgalov), I really don’t understand what the team is trying to accomplish here. Even with Bryzgalov in goal, the Oilers need to find some defencemen to play in front of Russia’s favorite cosmonaut/goalie.
Update: The Oilers have reached a verbal agreement with Bryzgalov on a one year deal per the team’s official twitter account.
Analysis: This team needs to get rid of Kevin Lowe, Craig MacTavish, and any other remnants of the management team.
Lastly we leave you with Ilya Bryzgalov talking about the city of Edmonton from his days as a Duck.
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