Pick # 73

We put a web story on NYI.com yesterday listing all of our draft selections this year. That included the team’s two third round picks. # 66 overall and # 73 overall.

But here’s how #73 read: #73 (Edm to NYI to Edm to Ana to NYI)

The team abbreviations in the parentheses are the previous owners of the selection. Yup, Pick # 73 has been moved four times to be owned five separate times.

Well, here’s the story behind Pick # 73 and how Marc-Andre Bergeron was involved.

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The Edmonton Oilers were the original owners of the selection. Back on February 18, 2007, the Islanders acquired the # 73 draft pick and Marc-Andre Bergeron for Denis Grebeshkov.

However, in the summer of 2007, Edmonton wanted to make an offer sheet for Anaheim’s restricted free agent Dustin Penner. If you sign a restricted free agent, the signing team needs to give compensation to the team the player is being signed from. This is all negotiated in the CBA and the compensation is draft picks. But not any old draft picks. They have to be the team’s original draft picks.

So when Edmonton wanted to sign Mr. Penner to an offer sheet, they needed their original third round pick () back. You know, the one traded with Bergeron for Grebeshkov.

So Oilers’ GM Kevin Lowe swung a deal with Islanders GM Garth Snow on July 5, 2007 to acquire their original third round pick # 73 back (along with Allan Rourke) in exchange for a second round pick, which had no consequence on their offer sheet for Penner.

Edmonton signed Penner to an offer sheet and Anaheim declined to match the offer. So, in exchange for Penner, Edmonton had to give up a package of draft selections to Anaheim which included Pick #73.

But the story doesn’t end there.

At the trade deadline this past season, the Islanders traded Bergeron to Anaheim in exchange for Pick #73 on February 26. The Islanders got old #73 back. And it just so happens that Bergeron was traded only yesterday to Minnesota for … you guess it… a third round pick.

Fortunately, I don’t think the Islanders have any involvement with that third round pick.