It’s rarely safe to work in absolutes or extremes, but the Edmonton Oilers would be crazy to trade their No. 1 pick unless a team threw a Lindros-for-Forsberg+Noah’s Ark type offer their way. Darren Dreger’s report that Oilers GM Steve Tambellini is willing to hear any and all offers for their top pick is pretty vague (saying they’ll “listen” is almost obvious), but it needs to be said: the Oilers must keep their draft choice.
The 2009-10 Oilers season was “Murphy’s Law” on ice. From Ales Hemsky’s season-ending injury to Sheldon Souray’s belly-aching down to the horrific season Nikolai Khabibulin experienced, it seemed like anything that could go wrong did go wrong for Edmonton.
That’s why, from a PR standpoint, it would take one ridiculous offer to justify giving up on Taylor Hall (or Tyler Seguin, I guess).
When you’re making decisions about players who aren’t even old enough to legally buy a beer in the U.S., the immediate future shouldn’t be your biggest concern. Still, after being rejected by Dany Heatley last summer and dealing with a miserable season, the Oilers need to instill a feeling of hope among their fans.
Besides, the last two Stanley Cup winners had a fair amount of success with their No. 1 picks ...