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Oilers trade tree: Mattias Ekholm trade fallout
Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
May 29, 2026, 16:00 EDTUpdated: May 29, 2026, 14:10 EDT
The Edmonton Oilers have only really “gone for it” at a trade deadline once in the Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl era.
They’ve made the playoffs every season since 2019-20, but often add depth pieces. In 2020, they acquired Andreas Athanasiou and Mike Green, then Dmitry Kulikov in 2021. The next season saw them add Brett Kulak and Derick Brassard, helping them make the Conference Finals for the first time since 2006.
Before the 2024 trade deadline, the Oilers added Adam Henrique, Sam Carrick, and Troy Stecher, going all the way to the Stanley Cup final. They made the finals again in 2025, adding Trent Frederic, Max Jones, and Jake Walman before the deadline. This past season didn’t pan out well, but it was at no fault of Jason Dickinson, Connor Murphy, and Colton Dach.
All those moves, except for the Athanasiou and Green trades, were solid. But the lone time the Oilers added a big name ahead of the trade deadline was in 2023.
On Feb. 28, 2023, the Oilers sent defenceman Tyson Barrie, prospect Reid Schaefer, a 2023 first-rounder, and a 2024 fourth-rounder to the Nashville Predators for Mattias Ekholm and a 2024 sixth-rounder.
Since acquiring Ekholm, the veteran left-shot defenceman has been a staple of their top pairing, mainly playing with Evan Bouchard. Following the trade, Ekholm scored four goals and 14 points in 21 games to end 2022-23, giving him nine goals and 32 points in 68 games. That postseason saw the Swedish product add a goal and seven points in 12 games.
He proceeded to have a career-best season in 2023-24, scoring a career-best 11 goals and 45 points in 79 games. Ekholm had already been to the Stanley Cup Finals before 2024, scoring a goal and 11 goals in 22 games in 2017. However, he scored a career-high five goals, with 10 points in 25 playoff games in 2024.
When healthy in 2024-25, Ekholm was the ever-steady defenceman the Oilers acquired. Over 65 games, he scored nine goals and 33 points in 65 games, but missed a large chunk of the second half of the regular season due to injury.
The left-shot defenceman didn’t return to the lineup until Game 5 of the Western Conference final, scoring a goal and six points in seven games, as the Oilers lost in six games to the Florida Panthers. It was pretty clear Ekholm was not 100 per cent healthy at that point, a contributing factor to their second consecutive finals loss.
Before the start of the 2025-26 season, Ekholm signed a three-year extension worth $4 million annually, meaning that at 36 years old, there’s a good chance he’ll retire as an Oiler. The veteran had a slow start to the season, but ended up scoring six goals and 41 points in 82 games. It was the third time in his career he hit the 40-point plateau. Then in the postseason, he added two assists as the Oilers were bounced in six by the Anaheim Ducks.
What makes this trade so good, on top of getting a key player like Ekholm, is what they gave up for him. With Bouchard’s emergence as a power-play quarterback, the Oilers had no use for Barrie, shipping him and his cap hit to the Predators.
He finished the season with three goals and 12 points in 24 games, then spent the 2023-24 season in and out of the lineup. Playing 41 games, Barrie scored a goal and 15 points, with an assist in a playoff game. After just 13 more NHL games, Barrie retired.
But Barrie being included in the trade, as well as the ensuing Jesse Puljujärvi trade was just to free up cap. Schaefer and the two picks were the notable assets the Predators received in return for Ekholm.
In his draft year, Schaefer scored 32 goals and 58 points in 66 games, with six goals and 21 points in 25 playoff games. He ended the 2022-23 season scoring 28 goals and 61 points in 55 games, with eight goals and 19 points in 19 playoffs games, helping the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds win the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
Schaefer’s first professional season in the American Hockey League was okay, scoring seven goals and 21 points in 63 games, with a goal and three points in 14 games. The Edmonton native missed most of the 2024-25 season, but made his NHL debut in 2025-26, scoring six goals and eight points in 47 games.
With the Oilers being eliminated in the second round of the 2023 playoffs, the first-rounder they gave up ended up being the 24th overall pick. The Predators used it to select left-shot defenceman Tanner Molendyk, who scored four goals and 23 points in 60 AHL games this past season.
As for the fourth that the Predators received from the Oilers, it was traded alongside Ryan McDonagh to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2024 seventh (used to select Erik Pahlsson) and a 2025 second-round pick.
That second-round pick was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights, as the Predators moved down three spots to select netminder Jack Ivankovic, who had a .921 save percentage and 2.15 goals against average at Michigan in 2025-26. They also got a fourth-rounder, using it to select right-shot defenceman Alex Huang, who helped the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League’s Chicoutimi Saguenéens win their first Gilles-Courteau Trophy since the early 1990s.
On top of acquiring Ekholm, the Oilers acquired a 2024 sixth-rounder, using it to select right-shot Swedish defenceman Albin Sundin. Last season in the Swedish Hockey League, he scored four goals and nine points in 51 games as a 21-year-old. If he isn’t signed to an entry-level contract by Monday, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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