The Edmonton Oilers fan base and even their organization was waiting very patiently for Ken Holland to make a big splash at this NHL trade deadline, and he sure did.
It was a surprising one to say the least, trading away Tyson Barrie, the Oilers powerplay quarterback and also the league-leading point holder for poweplay points.
The official trade details can be seen below:
Mattias Ekholm trade details Oilers receive: D Mattias Ekholm, 2024 6th-round pick Predators receive: D Tyson Barrie, F Reid Schafer, 2023 1st-round pick, 2024 4th-round pick
Since joining the Oilers, it has free'd up a spot on the Oilers poweplay, where Evan Bouchard has greatly stepped up to provide his best offensive abilities in impressive ways. On the back end, defending, Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard as a defensive pairing is an ideal combo that will provide the Oilers amazing puck retrieval abilities, and Bouchard will be able to compile his puck-moving abilities very well to compliment Ekholm's play.
It sure has paid off, as Ekholm has scored his first as an Oiler last night, take a look for yourself: