Bye, Bye, Brodziak.

During the Draft we did a few interesting things: We somehow managed to draft Paajarvi, also drafted his linemate, and then we traded Brodziak and a late pick for two other late picks.

Now, Pajaarvi is a great choice. Great choice. I've heard nothing but good things about him, and he's got some size on his side, which is something that the Oiler organization has stayed away from in past years. Particularly in the first round it seems. Lowetide has a good quick glance at Paajarvi here.

In the second round we drafted his team mate and friend Anton Lander. This creates a bit of concern for Oiler fans. These Euros occasionally decide to make certain requests if they are to come to play in North America. One of those requests can, and has been to come across and play with a friend/desired team mate. I'm not too concerned at the moment, as the organization has stated that their team mate and/or friendship status is a coincidence. We shall see, Oilers, we shall see.

Then, out of the blue, we trade Brodziak for a couple of late picks...

From what I've read around it seems like people are expecting Gilbert Brule to come into Brodziak's empty slot next season. Our PK was brutal enough last year with a PKer as skilled as Brodziak, and I can't recall Gilbert ever taking a major role as a penalty killer. He's also yet another small young forward with little to no NHL experience. In exchanging Brodziak for Brule we lose 4 inches in height and about 30 lbs of weight. Personally I was under the impression that we were attempting to head in a new direction: one that involved a team that could compete physically and didn't need to rely on it's speed and it's production off the rush. A team that could cycle down low and crash the net.

Also we've got how many guys with contracts that just aren't being met production and/or performance wise, and we decide to toss away one of our value contracts? Unless Brodziak was expecting too much money I don't see how this makes sense. If they wanted to make room for the up and coming, then there were more viable options out there in my opinion. Pouliot anyone?

Now, clearly there's more to this. There has to be someone else coming to town, or at the very least a player that management is chasing after.

And if the player booking a flight to Edmonton this coming season is Dany Heatley then this club is in trouble defensively.