The Ryan Smyth Trade

It was a dark day in Oilers Nation. The Oilers had traded Ryan Smyth to the New York Islanders for 2 prospects and a 1st round draft pick. At the time the Oilers had been in the middle of the basement and 9th place.

According to many sources, it was a difference of $100K-$200K. But for Lowe, it seemed like the right move to make.

Over a year and a half after this deal was made, what do Oilers fans think? Smyth played 20 games for the Islanders, lead them to 8th place in the East and an exit of the first round of the playoffs. Giving the Oilers the 15th overall draft choice in the draft. Robert Nilsson played a few games in the minors having great chemistry with another Oilers top prospect, Rob Schremp. But it was Nilsson that got the call-up, not Schremp. And in those games Nilsson wow'd a few Oiler fans. In the draft, the Oilers chose Alex Plante with that pick. With big names like Alex Cherepanov and Angelo Esposito still on the board, it may have upsetted some Oilers fans.

The following season, the trade didn't look good at all, at the beginning. Robert Nilsson had a slow start to the season going down to the minors for a few games. Later getting called up. Ryan O'Marra, the 2-time World Jr. gold medalist got sent down from the AHL down to the ECHL. But he later came back to the Falcons in the AHL. During the later part of the season, Nilsson showed what he could do and wow'd Oilers fans once again. O'Marra wow'd some Springfield fans as well as the coaching staff later on in the season. But, Plante had an offseason, injuring himself, losing his powerplay time, losing some even strength time.

Now, how does the trade look? Excellent. It seemed like a bad deal at the time, but Lowe was patient and showed us how badly we ripped off the Islanders. O'Marra is still yet to set foot in the NHL, but he looks like a promising young prospect and possibly challenging for a spot on the roster as soon as this season. Plante has recently requested a trade from his junior club, likely giving him more powerplay time on another team. But by the way, Nilsson played at the end of last season, Nilsson for Smyth, straight up would look like a good deal. The only part of this deal I question, is Plante. And that's not exactly Lowe's fault, after all, he's not really in charge of scouting.