McKenzie evaluates Penguins-Oilers Perron trade

Bob McKenzie was on Vancouver’s TSN 1040 on Friday morning.

On the return for David Perron in the Penguins-Oilers trade:

“Well, I’m kind of torn on how I look at it because there’s part of me... I think there’s a lot of cynical people who look at the Edmonton Oilers right now – and rightfully so with the way their season has gone – and think, ‘Oh great, they got another first round pick. That’s really going to help them.’

“I think the common cynical line on Twitter after the trade was, ‘Oh good. They’re into the rebuild of the rebuild of the rebuild.’ And there’s a part of me that feels that way. That ‘Oh great. What are they going to do with another first round pick.’

“The flip side of that is first round picks are great currency and who’s to say what Craig MacTavish and what the Oilers will do with that between now and the draft. Which is to suggest that it could be used to help them in another area.

“There’s also a part of me that looks at it and says, ‘I can’t believe they didn’t get a live body.’ That when I heard that Perron was on his way, I thought, ‘Are they going to get Derick Pouliot? Are they going to get Brian Dumoulin? Are they going to get a live defenseman that Pittsburgh has an abundance of in their farm system that are almost NHL-ready and can help the Edmonton Oilers down the road, but in short order. As in next season.’ And they didn’t get one of those guys, so I was kind of disappointed.

“And then I turned around and said, ‘You know what? A first round pick for David Perron is not too shabby, just in terms of trade value on the open market. He’s not lighting it up this year, although he scored 28 last year. But he certainly does have potential to go to a situation to play with a Crosby or a Malkin and fill the net. And he’s under contract and he’s cost-certainty for the Penguins, so I really, really like it from the Penguins’ side of things. It’s harder to evaluate from the Oilers’ side of things. In a vacuum I would say a first round pick for David Perron is good. I’d feel a little bit let down if I was an Edmonton fan thinking that you might have been able to get a guy like Pouliot or Dumoulin.”

Source: TSN 1040/ Transcript: Nichols on Hockey