Chiarelli: Oilers' trades 'weren't knee-jerk reactions'

Peter Chiarelli met the media Monday in an attempt to justify the two deals he swung a day earlier.

The Edmonton Oilers general manager and president of hockey operations tried to dispel the notion that his separate trades to acquire Alex Petrovic from the Florida Panthers and Brandon Manning from the Chicago Blackhawks were panic moves.

They "weren't knee-jerk reactions," Chiarelli told reporters, according to Edmonton radio station 630 CHED. He added that he felt "it was imperative (that) we shore up our defense."

While he stressed the importance of adding on the back end, Chiarelli also explained that better blue-liners simply aren't available.

"Puck-moving defensemen ... they're hard to find," he said, according to Sportsnet's Mark Spector.

"Right now, they're not out there," he added, according to the Edmonton Sun and Edmonton Journal's Trevor Robb.

Chiarelli acknowledged that Petrovic and Manning aren't "sexy players," but called them "good, solid defenders."

The Oilers have lost five straight games and are missing rearguards Oscar Klefbom, Kris Russell, and Andrej Sekera due to injuries.