Give the Edmonton Oilers credit. After trading away Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for defenceman Adam Larsson, they were well aware of the fact there would be major pushback from much of the fan base after making such a deal. However, by pulling the trigger on the swap when he did, Peter Chiarelli gave both himself and the organization an easy out to help soften the blow. To their credit, they played it perfectly and after feeling the heat for the better part of 48 hours, all seemed to be forgiven after announcing the signing of Milan Lucic to a 7-year/$42 million pact.
It was a move we could all see happening but hoped would not come to fruition. Outside of the new shiny generational toy that is Connor McDavid, the best player to have pulled on an Edmonton Oilers jersey since the Dynasty Years was none other than Taylor Hall. The first of what turned out to be a quartet of first-overall selections for the Oilers over a six-year span was shipped out-of-town in exchange for former New Jersey Devils defenceman Adam Larsson on Tuesday afternoon in what was a crazy day across the NHL.
Yesterday was a very interesting day for fans of the Edmonton Oilers. From the moment TSN Insider Pierre LeBrun broke the news that pending unrestricted free agents Jason Demers and Milan Lucic were in town on Tuesday to talk shop with Peter Chiarelli and company, Oilers Nation was abuzz with excitement. If we are to believe the rumours that are already making the rounds, it would appear to be a forgone conclusion that both players have already agreed to sign on the dotted line to play in the Alberta capital.
When the first-round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft came to its conclusion and Vancouver Giants winger Tyler Benson was still available, there was little doubt as to where he would end up being selected on Saturday morning. After the Toronto Maple Leafs kicked things off by grabbing Russian winger Yegor Korschkov, theEdmonton Oilers surprised absolutely no one by taking the local product at No. 32. If not for an injury-plagued campaign in 2015-16 many felt the kid was a slam-dunk to be a mid to late first-round pick.
