The Pontus Aberg era in Edmonton is now over as the Anaheim Ducks have claimed the winger off of waivers. This also means that the Mark Letestu trade loop is now closed.

Aberg was acquired in a trade deadline deal with the Nashville Predators last season. Edmonton sent Mark Letestu to Nashville for Aberg and the Predators flipped Letestu to Columbus for a fourth-round pick in 2018. Knowing what we know now, the Oilers probably would have been better off getting that draft pick rather than Aberg.

Regardless, Peter Chiarelli’s goal here was to find NHL-ready players and Aberg, who had very good numbers in the AHL, was a fair bet to give the Oilers some added scoring depth on the wing.

I think Aberg had a pretty steep uphill climb at training camp this year. He put up a respectable eight points in 16 games down the stretch after being acquired by Edmonton, but he was also scratched from the lineup for some off-ice escapades including missing a practice. Alex Chiasson, who was brought in on a professional tryout contract, looked better than Aberg in the pre-season, so I don’t think this was a difficult choice for the Oilers to make.

Edmonton now sits at 45 contracts with Jakub Jerabek getting dealt to the Blues for a pick and Aberg getting claimed off waivers. Two of those spots, it seems, will be used on Chiasson and Jason Garrison on Wednesday when Andrej Sekera can be placed on the Long Term Injured Reserve.