Here at the Nation Network, we’re committed to bringing forth content even with the NHL season being suspended. Thus, I’m going to start taking a look at some of the trades that shaped us.

Today, we’re going to take a look at how the Edmonton Oilers traded Esa Tikkanen in 1993, and wound up with David Deharnais in 2017.

To start this trade tree, we have to go all the way back to 1985 when the Edmonton Oilers brought Esa Tikkanen to town. Drafted by the Oilers in the fourth round of the 1983 draft, Tikkanen started his career playing in Finland before joining the Oilers for the ’85 playoffs. . In Edmonton, Tikkanen played 522 games scoring 436 points.

On March 17, 1993, the Oilers traded Tikkanen to the @New York Rangers in a one-for-one deal for @Doug Weight. The deal was straight forward and Edmonton shipped off Tikkanen, who wasn’t performing to expectations for a young centre in Weight, who despite scoring 40 points in 65 games in his rookie year with the Rangers, was underperforming.

The trade worked out great for the Oilers as Weight went on to play nine seasons in Edmonton scoring 577 points in 588 games. He was the face of the Oilers franchise during a tough stretch in the 90’s.

The Weight era came to an end on July 1, 2001 when, largely for financial reasons, the Oilers had no choice but to ship him off for the best possible offer. It was deal that saw Edmonton recieve forwards Marty Reasoner and Jochen Hecht, and defenceman Jan Horacek for Weight and prospect Michel Riesen.

Reasoner went on to play six years for the Edmonton Oilers that included a brief stint with the Boston Bruins in 2005-06 with Marty being included in the deal that brought Sergei Samsonov to town. Reasoner ended up leaving the Oilers in 2008 to sign with the Atlanta Thrashers.

Horacek never played in the NHL, while the trade tree continued with Hecht.

 

Hecht only played for Edmonton for one year — a season that saw him score 40 points in 82 game in 2001-02 before being traded to the Sabres for two second-round picks in the 2002 draft.

Edmonton made two daft choices taking G Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers 31st overall and C Jarret Stoll 36th overall.

Deslauriers appeared in Edmonton for parts of two seasons in 2008-2010 playing in 58 games. He eventually left the Oilers signing a two-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks in 2011.

Stoll, meanwhile, was a staple in Edmonton for five years playing in 286 games scoring 165 points.

Stoll’s time in Edmonton came to an end in 2008, when along with D Matt Greene, he was traded to the LA Kings for D Lubomir Visnovsky.

In Visnovsky, Edmonton got themselves a puck mover who helped an Oilers backend that sorely needed someone to produce from. He played in Edmonton for only two seasons, but amassed 63 points in 107 games during his time.

Now with Visnovsky’s short time in Edmonton coming to an end, the Oilers still needed help moving the puck and that’s where Ryan Whitney enters the equation. Visnovsky was flipped to the Anaheim Ducks in 2010 for Whitney and a sixth-round pick that later turned into Brandon Davidson.

Whitney was in Edmonton for four seasons scoring 59 points in only 139 injury-plagued games and eventually left the Oilers in free agency to sign with the Florida Panthers in 2013.

Davidson’s time has been documented well in two different stints with Edmonton. His first time with Edmonton came to an end on Feb. 28, 2017, when the Oilers traded him to the Montreal Canadiens for David Desharnais, who left the Oilers that offseason.

And with that, the Esa Tikkanen trade tree came to a rest.