It looks like the Edmonton Oilers just acquired their own version of the Bash Brothers.
With the team dead-last in the NHL with 764 hits through 60 games played, general manager Stan Bowman swung a three-team trade with the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils on Tuesday to acquire forwards Trent Frederic and Max Jones.
The Oilers and Bruins have widely been speculated as strong trade partners and Frederic always seemed to be one of the players at the top of Edmonton’s list. The gritty forward’s link to the Oilers goes back to when he was drafted by Boston with the 29th overall pick in the 2016 draft. Keith Gretzky was the Director of Amateur Scouting for the Bruins at the time and left to join Edmonton’s front office a few months later.
A few picks earlier in the 2016 draft at 24th overall, the Anaheim Ducks selected Jones from the London Knights. The big winger came into his draft season expected to go as high as the middle of the first round but fell largely because of a 12-game suspension for an illegal hit.
Frederic and Jones both played for the United States Development Program before the former committed to the University of Wisconsin and the latter moved to the Ontario Hockey League to play for the Knights. The two of them also represented the United States at the 2018 World Juniors in Buffalo and earned a bronze medal.
After two seasons with Wisconsin, Frederic inked a three-year, entry-level contract with the Bruins in March of 2018. He started the 2018-19 season with the Providence Bruins of the AHL and got called up to Boston in January. The rookie immediately made in impact, getting into a fight with Brandon Tanev in his NHL debut.
Frederic suited up in 15 games with Boston in 2018-19 and didn’t score any points, though he did get into three scraps. He spent the majority of the following season with Providence, scoring eight goals and 32 points over 59 AHL games while leading the league with 148 penalty minutes.
After playing only two games with the big-league club in 2019-20, Frederic made the Bruins out of training camp for the shortened 2021 season. He scored his first NHL goal in February when the Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers in the Lake Tahoe Outdoor Game.
Unfortunately for Frederic, a solid rookie season playing in Boston’s bottom-six got derailed when he was sidelined in April with an illness. The Bruins acquired Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar ahead of the trade deadline to add to their forward depth and Frederic didn’t suit up down the stretch and during the playoffs.
After scoring eight goals and 18 points in 60 games for the Bruins in 2021-22, Frederic broke out in 2022-23 with 17 goals and 31 points. Frederic started to get going offensively when Boston’s new head coach, Jim Montgomery, moved him from centre to right wing alongside veteran pivot Charlie Coyle.
The Bruins inked Frederic to a two-year contract worth $2.3 million annually in the following off-season. He set new career-highs in 2023-24 with 18 goals and 40 points and added three goals and five points in 13 playoff games. Though Frederic mostly played with Coyle that season, he also saw time on a pest line with Brad Marchand.
The 2024-25 season has been a struggle for Frederic and many other players on the Bruins, who are outside of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a 28-26-8 record. Frederic scored only eight goals and 15 points over 57 games for the Bruins before the trade while Coyle only has 21 points this season after scoring 60 points in 2023-24.
The Oilers will be happy if Frederic can chip in some offence but they’re ultimately adding him to give the bottom-six some sandpaper. The 6-foot-3 forward has thrown 152 hits this season and was 22nd among all forwards last season with 204 hits. He isn’t afraid to use his size and weight in front of the net and along the boards to create space and look for rebounds.
With the ability to play both centre and wing, Frederic gives the Oilers quite a bit of flexibility when it comes to his spot in the lineup. He could be a fit next to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Adam Henrique on the third line and can also be used as the fourth-line centre in a pinch. Frederic might even be an interesting option for some reps with Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl given how he attacks the net.
We’ll have to wait and see where he lines up, though, as Frederic is currently on the shelf with a lower-body injury. He’s expected to be skating by the end of March but there’s no guarantee he’ll be back before the end of the regular season.
Nov 26, 2023; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Anaheim Ducks forward Max Jones (49) and Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) battle along the boards for a loose puck during the first period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
The Oilers are getting another very physical forward in this deal with Max Jones. The winger won the Memorial Cup with the London Knights in his pre-draft season in 2015-16 and finished second on the team with 106 penalty minutes as a 17-year-old.
Jones spent two more seasons in the OHL and turned pro in 2018-19, splitting the season between the Anaheim Ducks and San Diego Gulls, their AHL affiliate. He scored 14 goals and 29 points in 43 games with the Gulls, got called up to Anaheim in January, and scored five points in 30 games with the Ducks.
After splitting the 2019-20 season between Anaheim and San Diego, Jones spent the entire shortened 2021 campaign with the Ducks, scoring 11 goals in 46 games while finishing third on the team with 100 hits. In the summer, Jones inked a three-year contract with the Ducks worth $3.89 million.
Just two games into the 2021-22 season, Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle, which caused him to miss the entire year. He returned in 2022-23 and scored nine goals and 19 points with 110 hits in 69 games. The 2023-24 season was again riddled with injuries for Jones, as he scored five goals and 15 points in 52 games while throwing 127 hits.
The Ducks opted not to issue Jones a qualifying offer last summer and he inked a two-year, $2 million contract with the Bruins on July 1. He made the NHL club out of training camp but cleared through waivers in November and has spent most of the season in the AHL. Jones has 13 goals and 21 points in 38 games with Providence in 2024-25 and no points in seven games with Boston.
Given Frederic won’t make his Oilers debut for at least a few weeks, we might see Jones get a look with the team rather than him reporting to join the Bakersfield Condors. Jones has been effective in the AHL this season and would give Edmonton the physical element they’re looking for.