Oilers trade Caggiula, Garrison to Blackhawks

Early Sunday, the Oilers made a splash acquiring Alex Petrovic in exchange for Chris Wideman and a 2019 3rd round pick.

Postmedia’s Jim Matheson and Sportsnet’s Mark Spector tweeted shorly thereafter the team likely wasn’t done, and now it appears the Oilers are looking at a deal with the Chicago Blackhawks.

The deal, now made official by the Chicago Blackhawks, isn’t a deal that gets me very excited.

Manning, who is infamously known for breaking Connor McDavid’s collarbone in his rookie year and allegedly admitted intent to do so, is not a good defenceman. He has three points in 27 games this year playing 15.5 minutes a game and his goals for/against is

He, without a doubt, is not a better defenceman than Kris Russell, Alex Petrovic, Matt Benning, or Jason Garrison, so what is the point in bringing in another bottom-tier defender?

Let’s not even get started about how bad the optics are of trading for a player who seriously injured your franchise player, and best player in the world.

While Caggiula is a player who has largely struggled during his time in Edmonton, he is quietly having his strongest NHL season. You could make a good argument that the Oilers lack of forward depth is a bigger need than that of an already busy defensive corp.

On top of that, Caggiula is due $1.5-million this year and next, while Manning is owed $2.25-million over the same time. No need to increase a payroll for a team that already has cap issues, if you ask me.

Norell isn’t a guy who checks many boxes in his own right. The 23-year-old, 5’11, 192 lb defenceman, has three assists in 28 SHL games this year.

He spent all of the last two seasons in the AHL, scoring a modest 18 points in 128 games.

I just… don’t get this trade. While I personally don’t have any information to suggest this, I can’t imagine this is the last of the deals to come.

Mainly, because the trades today don’t really make the Oilers better.

On Twitter: @zjlaing