Peter Chiarelli has developed a reputation over his time in NHL front offices as a man willing to make the unpopular move. While with the Bruins, Chiarelli brought the hockey world such gems as the Tyler Seguin trade and the Johnny Boychuck deal. Now with the Edmonton Oilers, it seems that Chiarelli has not wavered in his approach. According to a report from Frank Seravalli of TSN, Chiarelli and the Oilers would "like" to find a taker for defenseman Nikita Nikitin and captain Andrew Ference.
As part of an article discussing the - surprise, surprise - Boston defensive injury woes - captain Zdeno Chara went down on Friday and Dennis Seidenberg, he of the entirely ill-advised, lucrative late-career contract, is on the shelf for at least a couple of months - Seravalli posited that there could be a deal to be made between the Oilers and the Bruins for either Nikitin or Ference, especially after Chiarelli spent considerable resources this offseason attempting to upgrade the Edmonton blueline, adding Andrej Sekera and Eric Gryba, trading for Griffin Reinhart and signing Oskar Klefbom to a seven-year, $29 million extension.
Of course, the Oilers and Chiarelli would likely prefer to deal Nikitin considering his ample cap hit - $4.5 million - and expiring deal. Not to mention he doesn't provide quite the same calming veteran presence that Ference does. Really, within the new-look Oilers 'D,' Nikitin isn't even a viable top-six option.
But that being said, there's simply no denying that Ference is the more desirable trade option of the two and, therefore, much more likely to be dealt. At 36 he's certainly no longer the player he once was - his Corsi for percentage at even strength dipped down to 43.0 and 45.4 the last two seasons in Edmonton - but he's cheaper and more durable than Nikitin. And considering the abysmal play of the entire Oilers organization the last couple of seasons, there's certainly every possibility that he'll up his stats playing alongside the likes of Sekera or Gryba in 2015-16.
In the end, Ference very well may remain an Oiler, but it's interesting to note that the team and Chiarelli would like to find a taker for his services and cap hit. While a Ference trade may not be popular amongst the fanbase, it would at least solve those "who will be captain?" problems that have been popping up of late.
