Tambellini Thinking About Trading the 1st Overall?

The title here is somewhat of a rhetorical question. It's highly unlikely that the thought of shopping the first overall pick in this years draft would be something Tambellini considers.

But, from an article today by Darren Dreger on TSN's website, while Tambellini may not be shopping the 1st overall NHL entry draft pick, nor is he sure what it would take to convince him to accept a deal for the 1st overall pick, he is doing his job and answering his phone.

This news may make some fans a tad nervous. It shouldn't. The likelihood that the Oilers would move that pick is slim to none. More likely, is that these comments by the Oilers GM are a way to get action stirred up for Tambellini to see what's out there.

Even in the event that the Oilers were to draft Seguin after swinging some kind of deal with the Bruins, I think it's important to the Oilers organization that they still draft first overall and they intend to do it.

The goal here is for Steve Tambellini to have a long book of options or offers to consider before making his selection. If something is out there that is simply too good to pass up, he'd better have it ready to go well in advance so that pulling the trigger is quick and painless.

Dreger reports that Nathan Horton and Steven Weiss are up for grabs in Florida. It's no secret the Oilers like what Nathan Horton brings and have shown some interest in the big forward before. Florida also drafts third overall. Would Nathan Horton and the 3rd overall pick be out of the question for the 1st?

Would I do it? Probably not. After all Seguin and Hall are projected to be superstars. Horton is good, but not that good.

What if Florida took some aging contracts back in the deal and gave us pieces we needed in areas of our depth we lacked? More attractive, but still probably not.

However; if after all the talk between Talon and Tambellini finally produced a trade proposal too good to ignore and I still could draft at #3, who knows. At #3 the Oilers get a franchise d-man to build the blueline around or, in some kind of miracle, Florida drafts Hall and Boston doesn't want Seguin at #2 because they're deep at center and draft a defenceman. In that case its possible the Oilers could still get Seguin at #3.

While Horton and Seguin for the first overall is an amazing what if (even though incredibly unlikely), the point here is weird things like this are often known to happen on draft day. If Tambellini didn't explore every option, he could never put together something beyond the obvious. If he didn't at least listen to what's being offered, he'd not be doing his job.

As Tambellini says, he can't imagine what it would take to convince him to move that pick. The likelihood is, very little if anything could do it. But GM's have been known to do some crazy things on draft day and if they start to, Tambellini better be prepared.