The trade deadline has passed and the Edmonton Oilers have replaced Jesse Puljujarvi and Tyson Barrie with Mattias Ekholm and Nick Bjugstad. The Winnipeg Jets meanwhile have added Nino Niederreiter and Vlad Namestnikov for second and fourth round picks.

Niederreiter and Ekholm will play their second games with their new teams, while Namestnikov and Bjugstad might make their debuts tomorrow in the second half of this home-and-away series.

The Oilers addressed their biggest weakness by adding an excellent defender in Mattias Ekholm. Bjugstad is having a great season and gives them some centre and right wing depth. The Jets’ offence, if they get fully healthy, could be dangerous. This is an important game, and weekend, for both teams.

The Oilers are looking to move up the standings in the Pacific, while the Jets are trying to stop their slide in the Central division. Suddenly the Jets find themselves in the second wildcard spot, five points ahead of Calgary. The Oilers are four points back of LA and Vegas and need points as much as the Jets. This should be a competitive, fast-paced game.

Bjugstad won’t play tonight. He is flying in from Phoenix, and was scheduled to arrive at 3:45 p.m, but his flight has been delayed and he won’t play. He wasn’t going to even if his flight was on time. He could make his debut tomorrow in Winnipeg.

He was very thankful to the Coyotes organization. It gave him a chance to rediscover his confidence and his overall game he said in a conversation with Craig Morgan.

“I needed to find my game a little bit,” said Bjugstad. “I feel like I’m making strides towards where I want to be and that goes along with trying to win a Stanley Cup at this age. You never know how many chances you’ll get and it seems like Edmonton can make a run.”

He talked about evolving as a player and battling injuries.

“It’s hard as a pro athlete to sometimes even get the opportunity to show your skill,” said Bjugstad. “I was able to do that early in my career and kind of lost it for a little bit, but then had a second chance. Not all of us get second chances to make mistakes while you’re trying to grow at age 30.

“I’ve gone through a decent number of injuries in my career which have allowed me to grow as a human and learn a bit about myself. I wasn’t really satisfied with where I was at. I wanted to continue to grow as a player. I felt I could change my game as I got older. I’m definitely more of a two-way forward than I was when I was younger. I think I can bring that.”

He mentioned he heard his name in trade rumours for a while.

“Edmonton was a team you kind of looked at as a possibility when you heard rumblings. This is a team I definitely wanted to go to. To be on the same side as Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will be nice.

“I’ve just been sitting here with my wife. It’s part of the deal. I’m not saying they shouldn’t have sat me but just not playing and not being around the guys and being home and getting texts… it was a long four days. I’m glad it came to an end.”

Like Ekholm, Bjugstad is excited about coming to Edmonton. Winning changes a lot, and the Oilers are hoping this is the start of many years of deep playoff runs.

RNH – McDavid – Hyman
Draisaitl – Yamamoto
Foegele – Mcleod – Janmark
Kostin– Shore – RyanNurse – Ceci
Ekholm – Bouchard
Kulak – Broberg
Desharnais

Connor – Scheifele – Wheeler
Niederreiter – Lowry – Ehlers
Barron – Stenlund – Kuhlman
Maenalanen – Gustafsson – Gagner

Morrissey – Demelo
Dillon – Pionk
Samberg – Schmidt

Hellebuyck

The Jets are battling injuries with Pierre-Luc Dubois, Mason Appleton and Cole Perfetti out of the lineup. Their depth scoring has dried up because of it.

GAME DAY PREDICTION: Oilers avoid being swept at home by the Jets and pick up a 4-1 victory.

OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Hyman scores.

NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Evan Bouchard ends his 40-game goal drought.