Grebeshkov to the Predators – Tambellini is alive!!!

Denis Grebeshkov will no longer be wearing copper and blue

After 61 games and with the Oilers firmly entrenched in last place overall, Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini has finally decided to do something; he has moved Denis Grebeshkov to the Nashville Predators for a second round pick in this years draft. Not a big move by any means but for Oiler fans who were starting to feel as if Tambellini’s reign as GM would be nothing more than one loss after another with no signs from the man in charge that anything would ever change, at least this proves that Tambellini is still alive.

Making trades in the NHL, especially the salary cap era NHL, isn’t as easy as simply picking up the phone but when your team has a 0.361 winning percentage at the three quarter point of the season you’d have thought that something, anything, would have happened by now. Placing a player on waivers, making a waiver claim, an inconsequential trade of fourth liners, something to give fans the impression that the GM is trying to improve his club. Although this is a move that doesn’t make the club immediately better it is a good move for the club.

Firstly the move adds a draft pick for the Oilers this summer as the clubs rebuild truly begins. With the Predators sitting twelfth right now in the NHL standing that pick could easily be one of the first 50 selections at this years draft. That isn’t bad return for the leagues worst plus/minus defenceman. Beyond the draft pick, and possibly more importantly, the move also clears cap space for the Oilers next season. As a restricted free agent Grebeshkov would have cost the Oilers a minimum of $3.15 million next season assuming that they had decided to qualify him and not allow him to become a free agent. So even through he isn’t signed past this season this move can been seen as clearing more than $3 million in cap space for a team with serious cap space problems looming.

Grebeshkov has skills that make him valuable – he is a good puck mover, a good skater, and is talented offensively – but his inconsistent play over his two plus season here in Edmonton would have made it hard to justify keeping him at a cost of more that $3 million. For all the good things Grebeshkov does he isn’t a physical defenceman (he doesn’t shy away from contact but almost never initiates it), he doesn’t shoot frequently enough, and worst of all can be a defensive nightmare at times. Nightmare might seem harsh but he makes plays that make you bury your face in your hands with amazing regularity. On top of that his skill set is very similar to what Tom Gilbert brings to the table and although Gilbert comes with a cap hit of almost $1 million more per season, Gilbert is a better player in almost every way.

What Oiler fans might want to brace themselves for is the possibility of Grebeshkov blossoming somewhat with the Predators. If he happens to be paired with either Weber or Suter the result would likely be a boost in offensive production and his defensive play will seem less terrible based simply on the skill level of his partner. Both Weber and Suter are on the verge, and perhaps already are based on what I saw during the Olympics, of becoming two of the NHL elite defenders and anyone who plays with them will look better simply because they’re on the ice with him. If that is the case for Grebeshkov then good for him but that won’t change the fact that those same results wouldn’t have happened with the Oilers.

In a weird schedule quirk Grebeshkov will suit up for his new team tomorrow night against his old team. Maybe Predator fans will get their first glimpse of his defensive downside, more likely he’ll score three points and help the Predators hand the Oilers yet another loss in a season that seems as if it might never end.