NHL History: Oilers trade Magnus Paajarvi to St. Louis Blues for David Perron

It was on this day in Edmonton Oilers history that Craig MacTavish traded former first-round pick, Magnus Paajarvi along with a second-rounder to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for David Perron.

On July 10th, 2013, Oilers GM, Craig MacTavish, swung a deal with the St. Louis Blues that saw former 10th overall pick, Magnus Paajarvi, being shipped out along with a second rounder in exchange for a more proven goalscorer in David Perron. At that point, the Oilers were still looking to climb their way up in the standings (spoiler: it didn’t happen) and this move arguably marked MacT’s biggest attempt to add more proven players onto the roster. To his credit, the deal worked out very well from an Oilers perspective, at least, in the early going.

In his first year with the Oilers, Perron played in 78 games and posted a career-high 28 goals goal and 29 assists for 57 points. Not only did he fulfil his end of the bargain offensively, but he also added an antagonistic angle to the team that they hadn’t had in quite some time. Perron would often crash the net, chirp goalies, start scrums, and mix it up wherever he could and that made him a fan favourite in his short time with the club. Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last as Perron demanded a trade out of town the following season and was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Rob Klinkhammer and a first round pick that eventually turned into Mathew Barzal. *sigh*