According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, the Edmonton Oilers have traded Ryan Spooner to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Sam Gagner. No salary was retained in the deal. 

With the Edmonton Oilers looking to shed dollars as we head into the trade deadline and offseason, Elliotte Friedman caused quite a stir on social media this morning when he reported that the Oilers could be closing in on a deal to bring Sam Gagner back to Edmonton. It wasn’t just because the Oilers are talking about bringing Sam Gagner back after five years apart, but also because what was rumoured to be going the other way.

Yes, friends, that’s right — Ryan Spooner. The same Ryan Spooner that was acquired only a few short months ago is now on his way out of town as the Oilers look to basically undo all of Peter Chiarelli’s work from earlier in the year. From a cap perspective, this trade doesn’t save the Oilers any money because New York retained $900K on the Spooner trade, but it does make the Eberle trade tree look even funnier. I can’t help but laugh when I think of Jordan Eberle being turned into Ryan Strome who turned into Ryan Spooner who was then moved for Sam Gagner. You can’t even make this stuff up, ya know? Even so, as funny as this is, it’s hard not to see this trade as a small win for the Oilers.

Considering that Gagner didn’t really fit into the Canucks’ plans nor does Spooner fit in Edmonton, this is a move that could make sense for both sides. Maybe both players would benefit from a reset? On the Oilers end of things, this team has talked about bringing in character players for as long as I can remember and if there’s one thing that Sam Gagner has in spades it’s a reputation for being a quality teammate. Combined with last night’s Talbot trade, the Oilers have shed over $3 million without having to retain any salary on either of the deals and, in my opinion, that’s some pretty decent work by Gretzky.

Obviously, it remains to be seen where Gagner will fit in with the Oilers down the stretch and into next season, but the team is already starting to accomplish some of the goals they set out for themselves as we approach the trade deadline. It this the perfect trade? Far from it. But one thing it does do is give the Oilers a dose of character that they were looking for while also ridding themselves of a terrible contract.

What do you guys think?