Oil be damned

Edmonton fans, already apoplectic over their best player requesting a trade, must now be going ballistic over the measly return Kevin Lowe managed for unloading Chris Pronger.

Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid, Anaheim's first-round choice in 2007, a conditional first-round pick and Anaheim's second-round pick in 2008 to the Oilers.

That’s it. There’s no word of Anaheim including any magic beans in their trade package.

Over the past year, Brian Burke has proven himself to be the best general manager in the NHL, beginning with the acquisition of Scott Niedermayer. Since the summer of 2005, Burke has completely re-worked the lineup to suit his image, in signing sniper Teemu Selanne for a ridiculously cheap contract; adding skilled, gritty role players in Todd Fedoruk, Todd Marchant, and Chris Kunitz; and most significantly, overhauling the defense with the additions of Niedermayer, Sean O’Donnell, Joe DiPenta, and Francois Beauchemin, whom Burke acquired when he traded Sergei Fedorov. It was pure genius to unload Fedorov's crippling contract at all, never mind getting a seriviceable asset back in return.

These key moves, in addition to others, put Anaheim in the playoffs for the first time since 2002-2003.

John Ferguson, are you taking notes?

And today, Burke robbed Edmonton of Chris Pronger, giving Anaheim easily the best 1-2 defensemen in the game. Maybe even the best two ever.

There’s no understating how badly Kevin Lowe blew it today. Golden rules of player trades are:

1.) Never trade an impact player to a team in your own division;
2.) Never be the team trading the best player in the exchange;
3.) Never trade from a position of weakness

In pulling the trigger, Lowe violated all these rules, although it's true he was compromised because Pronger put a gun to his head in going public with his demands.

Edmonton is a team trying to keep together the assets that took them within one game of the Cup Final in 2006; why trade for a package consisting mostly of prospects and draft picks? Lowe didn't even receive an NHL-experienced defenseman in this deal. There's a word for trades like this.

Lupul may turn out to be a decent player some day, but various internet sources peg him as a decent second-line player at best. As the centrepiece of Anaheim's package, he is not even close to equivalent value for a player of Pronger’s calibre.

Ladislov Smid, a defenseman, was Anaheim’s fourth-best prospect, behind Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf, and Corey Perry. All “prospect” means is that he hasn’t done anything yet at the major-league level. Since Edmonton’s position has to be “return to the finals”, Smid does not address their current need on defense. And by extension, neither do any of Anaheim’s draft picks, which may never help Edmonton, particularly since Anaheim is going to be a contending team for years to come. The picks in any of the rounds are going to be low ones.

This transaction qualifies as a rebuilding move by a team that is not in a position to rebuild.

Burke, on the other hand, made the no-brainer trade: prospects for the proven superstar (and Pronger isn’t just “proven” – he’s one of the best defensemen in the NHL), a trade you always make if you are given the chance.

Lowe managed to bungle the timing of the transaction as well; the time to move Pronger in a trade with any team was last week, before the free-agency period began. With uncertainty over player movement affecting team decisions, the trade value for Pronger was never going to be higher than it was before 12 pm, July 1st.

With the majority of teams addressing their defense needs over the weekend, there was no longer any urgency to trade Pronger before the season started.

What did Lowe have to lose if he waited until training camp to move Pronger?

Burke gave up one player off his roster, who is easily replaced, for a Hall of Fame-bound player in the prime of his career who will help the Ducks in the playoffs for years. And Burke still has his top-three prospects waiting in the wings to contribute.

How many sneering Edmonton fans wish they could roll back the clock to last week and accept any package from Toronto with Kaberle as the key player involved?

And for Toronto fans – why wasn’t Ferguson able to put together a trade package that rivaled what Burke assembled?