Oilers just keep on taking L’s
And how is that?
Their window is now, a prospect taken in 2024 is more likely to help them while they have McDavid and Draisaitl in their prime than a prospect from 2025 and 2026 would.
They are still able to trade their 2026 pick, and if necessary they still can trade the player they just took as well, as they did in the Ekholm trade.
It's a bit of an unusual gamble, but that's the extend of it. Declaring it a loss at this point is asinine to say the least. If they somehow fail to make the playoffs next year and the pick ends up 13th overall, there might be a disparity in value between that and Sam O'Reilly, but even that would not be much of an issue if O'Reilly pans out. And if it ends up being just a normal late first, then it even works in their favour, as the prospect they got is closer to the NHL than anyone they would pick later on.
Of course it could backfire, but that risk always exists. This season they took a gamble with the Brown contract, using a cap-penalty for next season to bring in a player who would be more useful than anyone they could have gotten with the league minimum they had otherwise remaining. It didn't work at all in the regular season, yet Brown was essential in getting them within one win of the Cup.