A month from now, the Edmonton Oilers will play their first preseason game.
But well ahead of that, there have been plenty of transactions the past few days, with a few not featuring the Oilers. A second-overall pick was traded north of the border, while that player’s former team moved the player they selected with their 2022 first-round pick.
Let’s dive into the latest in the newest edition of the NHL Notebook! 

Pittsburgh and Winnipeg swap prospects

Towards the end of June, the Winnipeg Jets first-round pick in 2022, Rutger McGroarty, requested a trade. Well, the Jets eventually moved him two months later, trading him to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Brayden Yager on Thursday.
Funny enough, both players were drafted 14th overall, with Yager selected in the 2023 draft. Last season, the newest Jets’ prospect scored 35 goals and 95 points in 57 games for the Moose Jaw Warriors. In the postseason, he scored 11 goals and 27 points, en route to the Warriors winning their first ever Ed Chynoweth Cup, given to the Western Hockey League winners.
McGroarty spent 2023-24 with the University of Michigan as a sophomore, scoring 16 goals and 52 points in 36 games. He scored 18 goals and 39 points in the previous season in 39 games. Announced in April, the 20-year-old will spend his junior season with the Wolverines.

Montréal acquire Patrik Laine

Patrik Laine was also selected by the Winnipeg Jets, as they picked him second overall in the 2016 draft. He was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets early in the 2020-21 season for the third-overall pick in the 2016 draft, Pierre-Luc Dubois.
On Aug. 19, the Blue Jackets traded Laine and a 2026 second-round pick to the Montréal Canadiens in exchange for defenceman Jordan Harris. The Canadiens will absorb his $8.7 million cap hit, which expires at the end of the 2025-26 season.
In parts of four seasons with the Blue Jackets, Laine failed to reach the 30-goal mark, a milestone he had hit in his first three seasons. That’s partially because of the pandemic (he had 28 goals in 68 games prior to the Mar. 2020 shutdown), but another reason is due to injury.
In the past three seasons, the most games he’s played were 56 back in 2021-22, and he had a 55-game season the following season. Last season, he missed all but 18 games (scoring six goals and nine points) before he had an injury and later joined the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program.
Jordan Harris is a left-shot defenceman who scored three goals and 14 points with the Canadiens last season. His rookie year in 2022-23 saw him score four goals and 17 points in 65 games. However, the Canadiens have one of the deepest defence prospect pools in the league, so they felt comfortable making this trade.

Seattle re-sign Matty Beniers

Matty Beniers was also selected as the second-overall pick as the Seattle Kraken’s first-ever pick back at the 2021 draft. On Tuesday, he and the Seattle Kraken agreed to a seven-year, $50 million deal (actually $49,999,999 if we’re being precise), carrying a cap hit of $7.14 million.
After playing ten games in 2021-22, where he scored three goals and nine points, Beniers made the 2022-23 Kraken as a full-time player, scoring 24 goals and 57 points. On top of winning the 2023 Calder Memorial Trophy, Beniers helped the Kraken make the postseason for the first time in franchise history, scoring three goals and seven points in 14 games as the Kraken made Game 7 of the second round.
The sophomore slump is real, though, as the 21-year-old scored 15 goals and 37 points in 77 games, a steep drop-off from the previous season. However, he’s still young, and the Kraken has significantly improved this off-season.

Ryan Johansen place on unconditional waivers

On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Flyers placed Ryan Johansen on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract due to a material breach.
Of course, this was disputed, Johansen’s agency denied the transaction, noting that the 32-year-old has a serious injury and is scheduled for surgery.
Johansen started his career with the Columbus Blue Jackets after they selected him fourth overall in the 2010 draft. He spent parts of five seasons with the Blue Jackets, but he was traded to the Nashville Predators during the 2015-16 season and spent parts of eight seasons with Smashville. Before the beginning of the 2023-24 season, he was traded at 50% retention to the Colorado Avalanche, who traded him before the Mar. 8 trade deadline to the Philadelphia Flyers.
In his career, Johansen has 202 goals and 578 points in 905 games, 19 goals and 54 points in 67 postseason games. A team he’s been on has made the Stanley Cup Finals once, as the Predators faced off against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals. However, Johansen missed that series due to a serious cut on his thigh.
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