If I’m Holland, I remind Grier that San Jose has been trying to dump this contract for years.If I’m a rookie GM, I have a hard time taking that proposal to the owner. Even then, retaining $4 million of Karlsson’s deal for four more years while already eating $2.7 million a year for two more years on Brent Burns and $2.4 million a year for four more years on the Martin Jones buyout is a LOT of dead money.If I hold the missing piece that might bring a championship to a desperate rival, and you want me to still pay part of his salary, I’m not accepting table scraps in return. If I’m Sharks GM Mike Grier, I’m not bankrolling Edmonton’s Cup bid without absolutely raiding their draft-pick and prospect fridge.Having to demote Vincent Desharnais and Dylan Holloway when they didn’t want to, and then having to play Friday’s game one man short because there was nobody to replace Klim Kostin (illness), isn’t the kind of thing that inspires confidence in the room. Trade rumours might not be a distraction in the Oilers room, but their roster situation is.The bottom end of it isn’t strong enough or experienced enough to withstand relentless post-season forechecking and the top end doesn’t move the puck well enough. This is not a Stanley Cup calibre defence.There’s been a little too much ‘We did a lot of good things,’ and ‘We probably deserved better’ after lost games. The standard needs to be higher than what we’ve seen since the All-Star break. It was good to see some genuine anger in Connor McDavid’s post-game interview Friday.Mixing a position of weakness with mounting internal pressure is a recipe for desperation, and desperation almost always bites you hard in the long run. If Ken Holland needed to bolster what was looking like a Stanley Cup contender when the Oilers were on that 9-0-2 run, there is an even greater urgency now that they’re starting to drift off course.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt.
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