As per the Edmonton Oilers official site, Steve Tambellini today traded prospect Tim Sestito to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a conditional draft pick.

The undrafted Sestito joined the Oilers’ professional system as a 22-year old in 2006, making his debut with the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder, and became a full-time AHL’er in 2007-08. This past season, Sestito made his NHL debut as part of Craig MacTavish’s effort to turn his fourth line into more of a crash-and-bang unit.

Sestito’s been a good soldier; he’s almost always described as a character player, and he is a willing mucker and grinder. Despite that, his offensive game is nearly non-existent, and he’s always been deep in the red in the plus/minus category.

This trade surprised me because the Oilers have always been enthusiastic about Sestito; he was signed to contracts while other players with comparable (or better)skillsets remained unsigned, and he was also named captain in Springfield last season. That said, this was probably a good decision; Sestito isn’t a difference maker even at the AHL level, and unlike many AHL’ers he was signed to a two-way contract. Given how many players the Oilers have had counting against their 50-man list the last few years, clearing away one with as a low a ceiling as Sestito simply makes sense.