Bring on the Backlash: Grebeshkov Gets Two Points Against the Oilers in a 4-3 Loss to Nashville

One day after being aquired by the Predators in deal that brought a 2nd round draft pick to the Oilers, Grebeshkov literally walked across the hall in Nashville to join his new team.

A player who in Edmonton spent more time at the end of a million complaints about his lack of defence and total ability to turn the puck over, Grebeshkov did what no team wants to see right after a trade -- he played a pivitol role in his former teams loss with a goal and an assist.

As it is, and will likely be tomorrow until another name is moved an occupies some of the conversation from an Oilers standpoint; those same fans who all year had terrible things to say about Grebeshkov are now set to jump all over the Edmonton Oilers for moving a player for "merely" a 2nd round draft pick, using his two point night as evidence the Oilers made a mistake.

But trust me, the Oilers didn't make a mistake.

Grebeshkov, who has been a thorn in the side of Oiler management since his arrival for Marc-Andre Bergeron, has proven to be one of Edmonton's best weapons at times from the blueline to one of the worst offenders of major collapses and sheer bonehead plays costing the Oilers victories. The same type of comparisons get made frequently to the likes of a Robert Nilsson and an Ethan Moreau, two players most Oilers fans would like to see added to the list of names headed to another NHL city on Wednesday and for nothing in return if it took that much.

If you compare the movement of players so far at this deadline since the Olympics broke, only Ponikarovsky was the target in a move by a playoff bound team, the rest being offensive minded defencemen. None of whom by the way have attracted more than a 2nd round selection. Give Tambellini credit for getting 2nd rounder of the bunch considering Nashville's standing in the NHL right now.

Add to that, Grebeshkov is a higher end cap hit, a player that the Oilers deemed expendable, with a plethora of the same style defensemen much harder to move and most importantly a contract, which if the Oilers chose to fight for next season would be forced to offer $3 million per season to keep. Grebeshkov wasn't worth $3 million when he got it this year, and he definitely isn't worth it in 2010/2011 when the Oilers can't afford to overpay any new contracts based on production, which Grebs hasn't provided.

As Oiler fans it's clear that the Edmonton Oilers have a lot of players that might be interesting to other teams if not for their contracts. Of the players to move to help the Oilers out, only a name like Fernando Pisani seems to be generating interest and he's one of the few names on the team with no contract restriction next season.

Oiler fans should be prepared for a slower day on Wednesday. One that won't likely return any fresh, new or exciting faces. Should the Oilers make moves, the odds are that 2nd, 3rd and 4th round picks are what comes back.

Of course, that won't be for lack of trying on the part of Tambellini. What may shock some people are the names people aren't expecting to move that might go.. ala Dustin Penner.

I won't put any money on it, nor do I think it's a likely scenario, but I've heard a few rumblings.