'The whole league should be furious': Upset around NHL over San ...

In Edmonton, there was respect paid to Cody Ceci but also relief when his trade to the San Jose Sharks was announced. The respect was earned by Ceci’s stalwart defensive play. The relief is expected, as Edmonton got vital cap space and a decent player, Ty Emberson, in return for Ceci and a third round Oilers draft pick.

Ceci has one year left on a deal that pays $3.25. million, cap space that is needed if the Oilers are going to match the St. Louis offer sheets for Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway.

Article content

In some places around the NHL, though, there was less enthusiasm for the move. Some fans and observers were hoping that the Oilers would not be able to get out of cap hell, thus making it inevitable that the team not match the St. Louis offer sheets and get a poor return while losing two top young players.

Hockey podcaster Mike Bartner complained about the low price Edmonton had to pay: “Steve Yzerman attached a 2nd to dump solid 2nd pair defenseman Jake Walman making $3.4M, meanwhile the Oilers dump Ceci at $3.25M for only a 3rd and get a 24 year old d-man back.”

Article content

Article content

Prominent San Jose Sharks blogger Fear the Fin also didn’t like it. “I’m not happy with this trade. Sharks trade Ty Emberson to the Edmonton Oilers for Cody Ceci and a 2025 third round pick.”

And the Empty Netters podcast tweeted out: “Really curious why San Jose would bail out Edmonton and help them out by taking Ceci. Weird move to be honest.”

Perhaps the most emotional response came from Toronto blogger Anthony Petrielli of Maple Leafs Hotstove who fumed: “The whole league should be furious at the Sharks for letting the Oilers off easy like that.”

1. Cody Ceci was under-rated in Edmonton. He played strong hockey in his first year in Edmonton, then OK hockey for the past two seasons, though his pairing with long-time partner Darnell Nurse fell flat on its face during the second half of the 2023-24 season and the 2024 playoffs. The two leaked Grade A shots and goals against, though Ceci himself played solid hockey in that time when he wasn’t paired with Nurse.

Ceci did well paired with Brett Kulak and would have helped the Oilers win games this year in that role. But his current price was too high for the Oilers, who were in cap trouble even before the St. Louis offer sheets.

Article content

2. It’s yet to be seen what kind of player Ty Emberson is in Edmonton, but there are plenty of good reports about him.

It cost the Oilers a third round pick to move Ceci and his contract for Emberson, not the first or second round pick that Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen reported it might well take, but if Emberson turns out, this trade could work out well for the Oilers. It allows them to match on Broberg or on Holloway and brings in a solid young right shot d-man prospect in Emberson.

3. Ceci will help San Jose. He’s still a solid NHLer, and that’s a team that lacks real NHL players. He could easily win a new contract there, or be traded to a contending team at the deadline, maybe even earning San Jose another third round pick.

4. As for the upset among some around the NHL, I get it. If a rival team gets out of cap hell in a smart and low-cost manner, I don’t like that either. I don’t expect pundits or fans in Toronto to necessarily be happy about it. But I find their upset to be delicious.

Article content

STAPLES: What will Edmonton Oilers do on D-Day with Dylan Holloway, Philip Broberg?

McCURDY: The Ceci for Emberson trade

STAPLES: Oilers acquire Vasili Podkolzin from Canucks. Does this mean goodbye to Dylan Holloway?

STAPLES: Oilers will regret if they move on from Broberg without giving him the full Paul Coffey treatment

Article content