Oilers, Pens swap goalies

by James Mirtle on Jan 17, 2009 11:49 AM CST Comment 5 comments

Edmonton Oilers General Manager Steve Tambellini announced today the acquisition of forward Ryan Stone, goaltender Dany Sabourin and a fourth round draft choice in 2011 from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for goaltender Mathieu Garon.

>> team release

The Oilers' three-goalie carousel continues? Sort of.

Lowetide has a good take over at his site:

Stone is the player of interest in this deal. Drafted 32nd overall in the deep 2003 draft he was ranked as a possible first round pick that summer. He's described as a tough two-way player and he does have some NHL experience (8 games, 0-1-1) including 1 game this season.

Stone's 23 years old and hasn't yet put together the kind of pro career many scouts foresaw back in 2003, but there's potential there. He's got some size, toughness and was a 99-point player for Brandon in his 19-year-old season in the WHL.

Garon for Sabourin, meanwhile, is a swap of two struggling goaltenders. The Penguins really need someone who can carry the mail when Marc-Andre Fleury struggles or is injured and weren't happy with Sabourin's performance this season.

Pittsburgh will be happy with the deal if Garon regains some of his form from last season.

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I got to give the win in this deal to Edmonton.

by nuftjedi on Jan 17, 2009 1:57 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Disagree, the Pens upgraded their backup goalie from a guy who’s lost in the last eight games he played.

Stone doesn’t have the skating ability to take be an effective regular in the NHL. A 4th round pick two years from now isn’t much value.

by Hooks Orpik on Jan 17, 2009 8:24 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

It’s a win for the Oilers for the short-term for several reasons. For starters, they got far more than LA got for LaBarbera (a 7th rounder), well out of proportion to the relative talent difference between him and Garon. It also clears up a roster spot for a 14th forward, and if nothing else, Ryan Stone will temporarily shut up a certain minor-league owner who’d been moaning about the support the big club’s given him this year. Sabourin will either help Springfield or be tradeable for another asset. The only downside is that they arguably downgrade their backup from Garon to Deslauriers, though given how Garon’s played this year, that’s no certainty.

In the long-term, it depends on Garon. If he turns it around (plausible, even likely), Pittsburgh does get some kind of win. If he doesn’t, the Oilers still benefit from getting something for him, as opposed to nothing this summer.

by Doogie2K on Jan 19, 2009 10:09 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Garon has to be better than Sabourin and with the uneven goaltending of Fleury, the Pens needed someone they had confidence in. I think Fleury’s played 14 out of the last 16 games.
Stone hasn’t demonstrated enough footspeed to make it. The other parts of his game seem solid but he often has to play catchup.

by Larsen on Jan 17, 2009 2:23 PM CST reply actions 0 recs