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Flashback Friday: Looking at the Oilers’ two most recent trades with Canucks
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Photo credit: © Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Jan 16, 2026, 18:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 16, 2026, 19:21 EST
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On Saturday, the Edmonton Oilers head on a brief road trip to take on the Vancouver Canucks.
The two Western Conference Canadian teams have a shared history. Mark Messier has been the captain of both teams and they’ve played a handful of postseason matchups against one another, the most recent being in 2024.
If we’re looking at recent trades that have happened, there have been two trades between the Canucks and Oilers since the Oilers eliminated their bitter rivals in Game 7. Funnily enough, it involved the same pick, with these two trades being what we’ll look at in this edition of Flashback Friday.
Before the two trades, it’s important to look at how the Oilers got the pick to begin with, the Ottawa Senators fourth-round pick in 2025. On Jul. 15, the Oilers traded Xavier Bourgault and Jake Chiasson to the Senators in exchange for their 2025 fourth and Roby Järventie.
When looking at the players involved in this trade, it’s been a solid move for the Oilers. Bourgault, drafted 22nd overall in 2021, made his National Hockey League debut in 2025-26, but has 12 goals and 33 points through 38 American Hockey League games this season. Before this season, the forward’s numbers were less than encouraging. Chiasson has spent his entire 2025-26 with the Belleville Senators, where he has one assist in 20 games, less-than-ideal numbers for a forward.
Bourgault has had a strong season in the AHL, but so has Järventie. In 29 games with the Bakersfield Condors, the 23-year-old has 11 goals and 23 points. If the Finn were to keep this pace and play 38 games, he’d have 14 goals and 30 points, so pretty similar numbers.
Now for the two trades with the Canucks. About a month after the initial trade, the pick was sent to the Canucks in exchange for Vasily Podkolzin. In 48 games with the Oilers this season, Podkolzin has 10 goals and 20 points and will surely set career-highs in 2025-26 playing alongside Leon Draisaitl. If he were to keep pace over 82 games, Podkolzin would have 17 goals and 34 points.
Of course, the fourth wasn’t used by the Canucks, as it was traded back to the Oilers shortly before the draft. On Jun. 25, the Oilers sent Evander Kane to the Canucks for the pick, not needing to retain any of his salary in the process. Kane’s stint with his hometown Canucks has been fine, scoring seven goals and 21 points in 46 games this season. Recently, it was reported that the Canucks have tried to trade Kane back to the Oilers, which would’ve made this trade tree even funnier.
Finally, it was time to use this pick that was traded on three separate occasions. With the 117th overall pick, the Oilers drafted German forward David Lewandowski from the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades. In his draft year, the winger scored 15 goals and 39 points in 52 games. Through 30 games with the Blades in 2025-26, he has eight goals and 33 points, while also representing Team Germany at the recent World Junior Championships.
Overall, this is a trade tree that has worked out quite well for the Oilers, as they acquired a player who has found a home on Draisaitl’s wing in Podkolzin, an NHL-ready prospect in Järventie, and an intriguing prospect in Lewandowski.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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