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Trade tree: How this terrible Oiler decision led to one of the best trades in McDavid-Draisaitl era
Edmonton Oilers Vasily Podkolzin
Photo credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
May 26, 2026, 21:00 EDTUpdated: May 26, 2026, 21:16 EDT
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Almost five years ago, the Edmonton Oilers made a trade so bad that it still has ramifications to this day.
On July 23, 2021, they sent the 20th overall selection to the Minnesota Wild for the 22nd overall pick and the 90th overall. Dropping down two spots made a massive difference, as the Wild used that pick to select Jesper Wallstedt, one of the best young netminders in the league.
Heading into the 2026 off-season, the Oilers are still looking for a goaltender to help Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl win the Stanley Cup.
The Oilers still had a chance to salvage this pick, as Wyatt Johnston was on the board. The right-shot centre has scored 30+ goals three times and is coming off a career-best 45 goals and 86 points last season.
Unfortunately, he was picked 23rd overall by the Dallas Stars, with the Oilers electing to draft Xavier Bourgault 22nd overall.
The L’Islet, Québec product’s draft year was hampered by injury, but he managed to score 20 goals and 40 points in 29 games. The next season, his Shawinigan Cataractes won the Québec Maritimes Junior Hockey League’s Gilles-Courteau Trophy, but then he turned professional.
Bourgault had a fine rookie campaign in the American Hockey League, scoring 13 goals and 34 points in 62 games. But the following season, his scoring dipped to eight goals with 20 points in 55 games. The Oilers decided to cut bait with the prospect in the 2024 off-season, resulting in one of the best strings of trades that the Oilers have ever made.

Adieu, Xavier

The trade itself was nothing special. On July 15th, the Oilers sent Bourgault and fellow prospect Jake Chiasson to the Ottawa Senators for Roby Järventie and a 2025 fourth-rounder. Järventie played three NHL games for the Oilers last season, but recently signed a two-year deal in Switzerland.
Bourgault’s first season in the Senators system wasn’t great, potting 12 goals and 26 points in 61 games. But last season, he scored a career-high 25 goals and 57 points in 70 games, earning a look in the NHL, where he was held pointless in two games.
As for Chiasson, he split his last two seasons between the AHL and ECHL his last two seasons, totalling just three goals and 16 points over 73 games, with all three of his goals coming in ECHL action and all but one of his assists also coming in the ECHL. For context, Chiasson scored nine goals and 20 points in his first ECHL season in the Oilers system.
What won the Oilers this trade was the fourth, or what they did with it. Just over a month later, the fourth was sent to the Vancouver Canucks for Vasily Podkolzin, a replacement for Dylan Holloway after he had been offer sheeted by the St. Louis Blues.

Podzilla

Podkolzin, selected 10th overall in 2019, had a solid rookie campaign in 2021-22, scoring 14 goals and 26 points in 79 games. But his play dipped from there. In 2022-23, he scored just four goals and seven points in 39 games, spending 28 games in the AHL. The following season saw him pick up just two assists in 19 games, as he played the majority of his season (44 games) with the Canucks’ AHL team.
But playing alongside Draisaitl for the bulk of his ice time, Podkolzin began to flourish. It didn’t translate into immediate success on the scoresheets, as the Moscow product scored eight goals and 24 points in 82 games in 2024-25, not even matching his career-high in his rookie campaign.
That said, Podkolzin performed well in the postseason, scoring three goals and 10 points in 22 games. It wasn’t until the 2025-26 season when he began to look like a top-six forward, finishing the year with 19 goals and 37 points in 82 games. He and Kasperi Kapanen were the Oilers’ best forwards in their short-lived playoff run, as Podkolzin scored three goals and six points before they were bounced in Game 6.
Turning just 25 next month, one has to assume that there’s even more untapped potential in Podkolzin. But this only gets better.
Needing to offload Evander Kane’s salary, the Oilers found a suitor in his hometown team, the Canucks. His entire cap hit was off the books, and the Oilers used that fourth to select David Lewandowski.
Last season with the Saskatoon Blades, the German native scored a career-best 17 goals and 65 points in 57 games, with four goals and nine points in 11 playoff games. The 19-year-old led his team in points and even got a game in with the Bakersfield Condors, where he picked up an assist. 
Time will tell how Lewandowski pans out as a prospect, but since the Bourgault trade, this is shaping up to be one of the best sets of trades in the Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl era.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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