It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
With Friday’s trade deadline quickly approaching, there have been a handful of moves. The most recent saw the Edmonton Oilers acquire Trent Frederic, Max Jones, and un-signed prospect Petr Hauser in a three-way trade with the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils.
In reality, three separate trades made this trade work. The Bruins sent Frederic with 50% retention to the Devils for Petr Hauser. New Jersey then sent Frederic, whose contract was retained another 50%, for un-signed prospect Shane LaChance. 
Lastly, the Bruins traded Jones and Hauser to the Oilers for St. Louis Blues’ second-round pick in the 2025 draft, the Oilers’ fourth-round pick in the 2026 draft, and defence prospect Max Wanner.
Frederic was selected 29th overall by the Bruins in the 2016 draft and has eight goals and 15 points in 57 games this season. However, he’s coming off a career season where he scored 18 goals and 40 points in 82 games, along with three goals and five points in 13 post-season games.
Originally signed to a two-year, $2.3 million AAV deal before the 2023-24 season, Frederic has a cap hit of $575,000, allowing the Oilers to make moves before Friday’s deadline.
As for Jones, he’s a speedy left-winger who scored five goals and 15 points in 52 games last season with the Anaheim Ducks and had nine goals and 19 points in 69 games the season prior. He’s spent the majority of the season in the American Hockey League, where he has 13 goals and 21 points in 38 games, playing just seven games in the NHL this season where he’s been held pointless.
In terms of what the Oilers gave up – Wanner is a right-shot defenceman who was selected in the seventh round of the 2021 draft. This season, he has one goal and two points in 22 AHL games and has missed a large portion of the season due to injury. LaChance was selected in the same draft in the sixth round and has 10 goals and 25 points in 32 games with Boston University.

Vítek Vaněček sitting out for trade purposes

Another trade could be in the works, as the San Jose Sharks are sitting netminder Vítek Vaněček on the second night of a back-to-back for trade purposes, according to NHL.com’s Heather Engel.
Vaněček, drafted in the second round of the 2014 draft by the Washington Capitals, made his debut with the team in 2020-21. That season, he played 37 games with a 21-10-4 record and had a .908 save percentage and 2.69 goals against average. In his sophomore season, he had a .908 save percentage and 2.67 goals against average in 42 games.
The 2022-23 season was spent with the New Jersey Devils, where he had a career-best .911 save percentage and a 2.45 goals against average in 52 games played. However, his 2023-24 season saw him post an .890 save percentage and a 3.18 goals against average in 32 games played.
Before the start of the 2024-25 season, he signed with the Sharks where he has an .882 save percentage and 3.88 goals against average in 18 games, with a 3-10-3 record.

Jake Evans signs extension with Canadiens

One player who had his name in trade rumours was Montréal Canadiens centre Jake Evans. However, he signed a four-year, $11.4 million ($2.85 AAV) extension with the Canadiens on Tuesday morning.
Evans was selected in the seventh round of the 2014 draft by the Canadiens. His career-best season was in 2021-22 when he scored 13 goals and 29 points in 72 games, but is on pace to break that in 2024-25 as he has 12 goals and 28 points.
The right-shot centre is also a terrific penalty killer who has tons of speed, wins face-offs, and is physical. Any contender would’ve loved him, but the Canadiens will retain his services for the foreseeable future.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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