NHL Trades: The Edmonton Oilers acquire Mattias Ekholm
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The Nashville Predators have traded defenseman Mattias Ekholm and a 2024 sixth-round pick to the Edmonton Oilers for defenseman Tyson Barrie, forward Reid Schaefer, 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick.

The Predators are retaining 4 percent ($250,000) of Ekholm’s salary.

Cap Friendly: Edmonton #LetsGoOilers update after acquiring Ekholm:

LTIR Relief: $7.1M
LTIR Used: $5.1M
LTIR Cap Space: $2M

Puck Pedia: The Oilers will have $450,000 in cap space with a 21 man roster. That includes forward Drew Shore. If they returned him to the AHL, they would have $1.3 million in space.

Edmonton Oilers: “If all goes according to plan with travel, Ekholm will be ready to go tomorrow night vs. the Leafs. ”

Thoughts from the media

Jonathan Willis: “Tyson Barrie is a legitimately useful player, and it remains a shame to sacrifice him on the altar of the salary cap. That said, there’s no question in my mind that Mattias Ekholm’s 5v5 and 4v5 impact will make the Oilers a substantially better team.”

Lowetide: “Re: Ekholm. I think this will be a strong solution to Edmonton’s defensive issues. Ekholm-Bouchard should be better than Keith-Bouchard (63 pct goal share) last season. SHOULD be able to play v elites more than Kulak-Barrie, too. Is there another deal to come?”

Alex Daugherty: “That’s not what I was expecting.”

Alex Daugherty: “This return is… ok. A first round pick is great, a 4th round pick is meh, and don’t know much about Reid Schaefer. Getting Tyson Barrie doesn’t make much sense.”

Alex Dougherty: “Mattias Ekholm turns 33 years old this May and has three more years after this one. Having said that, he’s still very effective and having a good year considering the team is not good. This is a good time to sell. Let’s see the return, but this is the right move.”

Ryan Rishaug: “Oilers are a better defensive team – no question – and that was the goal. But Barrie is a heavy price to pay. – Critical to PP, critical in room, incredibly tight with McDavid. This wasn’t just about asset cost, there is risk here with this deal, but Ekholm is what they needed.”

Daniel Nugent-Bowman: “The two picks don’t help the Oilers now. Reid Schaefer is a nice prospect but wouldn’t have likely fit into their contention window. Tyson Barrie is a loss as the No. 1 PP QB and a very popular teammate. ”

Zach Laing: “i’m floored by this trade. surprised to see tyson barrie being moved here. evan bouchard instantly becomes the oilers powerplay quarterback now and into the future.”

Kurt Leavins: “I am sorry to see Tyson Barrie go. But a guy like Mattias Ekholm is what the #Oilers D has been sorely lacking. Feels like one more shoe to drop, though…”

Jim Matheson: “Ekholm big add for Oilers but Barrie big loss on PP. Can Bouchard run it? I am not so sure right now. Barrie also leader without A on jersey”

Jason Gregor: “Interesting. Wonder if Ekholm or Kulak possibly move to RD, or is another move coming?”

Puck Pedia: “The #LetsGoOilers started day w/ $562.5K Cap Space, but as Desharnais on $0 emergency, really had effectively -200K. Puljujarvi 3M + Barrie 4.5M out & Ekholm @6M in, cleared 1.5M net cap space. After calling up Shore 850K, they’re left with 450K of space”