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Oilers Acquire Frederic, Jones |
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The Edmonton Oilers have made their first move prior to the trade deadline. The full move is as followed:
The Oilers acquire Trent Frederic (salary retained by Boston and New Jersey) and Max Jones and Petr Hauser
Bruins acquire Oilers prospect Max Wanner, 2nd round pick (from St. Louis), and a 4th round pick
New Jersey acquires Oilers prospect Shane Lachance
The 6'3, 221lb Frederic adds size and goal scoring ability to the Oilers and a different mix to a bottom six that has lacked much consistency. Max Jones is an interested add who could slot into the bottom six as well but has spent most of this year in the AHL. In the 7 games he played for Boston this season he registered 14 hits. Call this one a depth add in case of injury.
Frederic is the main piece the Oilers are getting here and brings up a number of interesting questions. For starters, I think this could be a good deal for Edmonton, particularly if the pending UFA extends. Frederic is a player who can play centre or the wing, and in the two years prior to this year scored 17 and 18 goals. This season he only has 8 goals in 57 games but his PDO sits at 0.960 meaning this is a guy who should be producing more than he has. His 10.5 shooting percentage is also below his 11.4 career average.
The one thing I don't love is the Oilers giving up another young prospect on the verge of being a legitimate NHL callup in Max Wanner. A couple years ago the Oilers did something similar when they acquired Bjugstad by trading away Kesselring. Kesselring immediately became a legitimate top 4 option for Utah and is exactly the kind of player the Oilers could use right about now. If Frederic extends than that will make this a better use of that prospect and hopefully justify the cost.
The other big question mark with Frederic is his health which could be of benefit for the Oilers. Chris Johnston reported that Frederic may not be able to play before the start of the playoffs which would allow the Oilers to keep him on LTIR for the remainder of the season. This would give the Oilers more flexibility for additional adds.
The last big wrinkle in all of this is Evander Kane. There has been a number of stories and rumours that have appeared around Kane over the past few days. We don't yet have a firm grasp on the truth but there appears to be question marks on if Kane will be on LTIR for the remainder of the season or if he is pushing to try and make it back prior to the start of the playoffs. If Kane returns early than that puts massive pressure and a damper on any moves that Stan Bowman is going to be able to do. Frederic does appear like a good Kane replacement in a physical winger with some scoring ability.
This is a good start for Stan Bowman in adding a type of player that the Oilers have lacked this season but this also cannot be their big move. There are still major holes to be addressed and we will have a more clear idea on how the Oilers GM has done by the end of this week.
Thanks for reading.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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