Poor season turned Edmonton Oilers into sellers at trade deadline, GM says

A dismal season that will see the team miss the playoffs for the 11th time in the past dozen yearsturned the Edmonton Oilers from buyers to sellers and hurt what they had to offer on the market, says general manager Peter Chiarelli.

In a last-minute deal before Monday's 1 p.m. MT tradedeadline, the Oilers sentwinger Patrick Maroon to the New Jersey Devils for a third-round draft pick in 2019 and college player J.D. Dudek.

"It's not pleasant to be a seller but we felt comfortable with our returns,"Chiarellisaid Monday at a news conference at Rogers Place.

The Maroon trade followed two earlier deals the team made as the deadline approached.

On Sunday, theOilers acquiredforwardPontusAbergfrom the Nashville Predators.

In that deal, the Oilers sent fourth-line centre MarkLetestuto Nashville. The Predators quickly dealtLetestuto the Columbus Blue Jackets for a fourth-round pick.

The Oilers also tradeddefenceman Brandon Davidson to the New York Islanders for a third-round pick in the 2019 draft.

"We went into this deadline ... to try and get returns that would more immediately assist our organization," Chiarellisaid. "So, prospects. We did in one transaction, we didn't in two others. It was a tough market out there.

"Maybe part of it was our players, just in general,weren't as good as they were before. And I think that's part perception and part reality."

Chiarellisaid NHLteams nowput a high value on prospects.

Those prospects are often players who have already turned professional, asopposed to draft picks who may be three to five years from cracking an NHLlineup.

"I was trying the whole time to get a prospect. We did get a prospect. J.D. is a good college player, he's a junior. He's got speed, he plays with some intensity. [I] would have likeda prospect who was closer to playing [in the NHL]."

Dudek, 22, is currently playing in his third season for Boston College. He has six goals and 11 assists in 33 games this season.

Maroon, 29, scored 14 goals and chalked up 30 points for the Oilers this season. Last year, he scored a career-high 27 goals, mainly playing on the Oilers first line with Connor McDavid.

The winger is in the final year of a three-year contract that paid him $2 million per season.

Aberg, 24, appeared in 37 games with Nashville this season, registering two goals and eight assists. The native of Stockholm, Sweden, hasthree goals and seven assists in 52 career NHL games.