With the NHL Trade Deadline inching closer with every passing day, it is no surprise that the rumour mill is starting to kick back into gear during this weekend’s All-Star Weekend festivities. At the top of that list, we have an oldie but goodie involving the Edmonton Oilers and New York Islanders. From the moment Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman broke the news of Travis Hamonic’s trade request back in mid-November, the two franchises have been linked as potential trade partners and it is easy to see why.
It is no secret that heading into training camp, Edmonton Oilers forward Iiro Pakarinen was nothing more than an afterthought in the mind of head coach Todd McLellan. While a guy like Anton Slepyshev made enough of an impression to start the year in Edmonton, Pakarinen was sent back to the AHL to wait his turn. Well, it may have taken a little longer than he had hoped, but the 24-year old has clearly grabbed the attention of his head coach.
After ignoring repeated cries from his fan base to jump into the endless carousel that is the NHL waiver wire over the last number weeks, Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli finally decided to give them something to talk about. In what was really nothing more than a “shot in the dark” sort of move, the Oilers claimed the well-traveled Adam Clendening from Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday morning in hopes of improving their paper-thin backend.
When the Edmonton Oilers return to action from their extended NHL All-Star break to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets on February 2, we will be just 27 days away from the 2016 NHL Trade Deadline. As of this moment, the Oilers sit in the basement of the Western Conference standings and find themselves 10 points out of the playoffs. Meaning they are once again facing the harsh reality of playing nothing but meaningless hockey over the final two months of their season.
Despite having missed 37 of the Edmonton Oilers first 50 games, Connor McDavid sits at No. 18 among NHL rookies in scoring. His points per game average of .92 is still tops among first-year players, just ahead of Chicago Blackhawks forward Artemi Panarin’s impressive total of .88, albeit over a span of just 13 appearances.
