Oilers get forward Trent Frederic in trade with Bruins
The Edmonton Oilers are positioning themselves for the playoffs, acquiring forwards Trent Frederic and Max Jones from the Boston Bruins in a multiteam trade on Tuesday.
New Jersey is the third-party facilitator of the transaction. The Devils retained 50% of Frederic’s salary in the deal, sending Boston the rights to unsigned draft choice Petr Hauser and receiving unsigned draft choice Shane Lachance from Edmonton.
The Bruins subsequently traded Jones and Hauser to Edmonton for prospect Max Wanner, St. Louis’ second-round pick in 2025 (belonging to Edmonton) and the Oilers’ own fourth-round selection in 2026.
The NHL trade deadline is Friday.
Frederic is the centerpiece of the trade, though. The 6-foot-3 winger is a physical scorer who’s strong on the forecheck, contributes on the penalty kill and adds some bottom-six depth for Edmonton going into the postseason. The Oilers will have to wait for him though since Frederic was put on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and is considered week-to-week. He was hurt a week ago against Toronto.
The 27-year-old was Boston’s first-round pick (29th overall) in 2016 but has struggled to find his place in the organization. Frederic has just eight goals and 15 points in 57 games this season for a Bruins team still fighting to stay in playoff contention. He’s also a pending unrestricted free agent this summer, further incentivizing Boston to capitalize on the trade market.
This could be the first move of the Bruins unloading players at the deadline for the first time in a long time. They are currently two points out of the final wild-card spot. The big question mark is what happens to captain Brad Marchand. He is also currently injured and talking to the team about a new contract. But he could be moved if nothing materializes.
Jones will offer the Oilers some insurance as well. He has played most of this year in the American Hockey League but could be another depth option for the Oilers if needed.
Edmonton is currently second in the Pacific Division.
Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans is off the trade market after he received a four-year extension. The deal carries an annual average value of $2.85 million.
Evans, 28, gets a raise after playing under a three-year deal that carries a modest $1.7 million price tag.
Evans is having a career year with 12 goals and 16 assists in 61 games. He had 29 points in 2021-22.
He’s been durable in Montreal, as well, skating in all 82 games last season, and is likely a fit on his new team’s second or third line.
Selected in the seventh round of the 2014 draft by Montreal, Evans is a study in perseverance and blooming into his NHL resume with time and patience on the organization’s behalf.
Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand is officially out and “week-to-week” with an upper body injury, interim coach Joe Sacco announced Tuesday.
Marchand missed Sunday’s 1-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild one day after being injured on a hit by Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph, with Marchand’s head hitting the boards. After receiving attention from a trainer for several minutes, Marchand was helped from the ice.
Sacco would not specify whether it was a head injury for Marchand, 36, who has a history of concussions. The winger has 47 points in 61 games this season, second on the Bruins.
“Obviously, a hard guy to replace. We’re going to miss him. But it creates opportunities for other guys now to step up,” Sacco said.
Georgii Merkulov, a 24-year-old rookie, skated in Marchand’s place on Boston’s No. 2 line next to Charlie Coyle and Elias Lindholm.
“It’s not one guy that’s going to come up and be Marchy. No one’s going to do that,” Coyle said. “He brings so many elements to the game that we’re going to miss. So we can all take a piece of that and help out that way.”
The timing of the injury couldn’t be worse for the Bruins. There was talk that Marchand, in his 16th season with Boston, could be moved before Friday’s NHL trade deadline, as he’s in the last year of his contract. But the Bruins are also in the Eastern Conference wild-card race, two points in back of Detroit for the final playoff berth, although the Red Wings have two games in hand. Stathletes currently gives the Bruins just a 4.9% chance of making the postseason.
Marchand won gold with Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off last month.
“He’s disappointed. Any time a player is injured and misses time, they’re disappointed. But he’ll be back,” Sacco said.
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Devils Acquire LaChance | RELEASE
The New Jersey Devils announced today that the team has acquired forward Shane LaChance from Edmonton for facilitating an existing trade between the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins for Trent Frederic. The announcement was made by President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald.
To receive LaChance, New Jersey trades the rights to unsigned draft choice forward Petr Hauser, and have agreed to retain 50% of all future obligations to Frederic’s contract for the 2024-25 season.
The Oilers and Bruins concurrently announced the larger transaction which includes sending Hauser to Edmonton.
LaChance, 21, is in his second season with Boston University (Hockey East) at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) level. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound forward has recorded 25 points (10g-15a) in 32 games this season. His goals, assists, and points totals all rank in the top five for Boston skaters in 2024-25, while his five game-winning goals rank second (tied) on the team.
The lefthanded shot has totaled 52 career points (23g-29a) in 72 games at the NCAA level and was named team captain for the 2024-25 campaign. Last season, LaChance was named Hockey East Rookie of the Week for the week ending on Dec. 4, 2023. He also earned Hockey East All-Academic honors in 2023-24.
Born on August 30, 2003, in Andover, Massachusetts, the Oilers selected LaChance in the sixth round, 186th overall, in the 2021 NHL Draft. Before his collegiate career, LaChance spent two seasons in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with Youngstown from 2021-22 to 2022-23. Youngstown named LaChance team captain in 2022-23, leading the team to a USHL Clark Cup championship that same season.
Shane’s father, Scott, played 819 NHL games over 13 seasons for the NY Islanders, Montreal, Vancouver, and Columbus. Scott is currently the Devils’ Head of U.S. Scouting.
Hauser was a fifth-round pick, 141st overall in the 2022 NHL Draft.
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NHL trade grades: Oilers take a chance on injured Bruins forward Trent Frederic
NHL
Oilers get: Center Trent Frederic and forward Max Jones
Bruins get: Second-round pick in 2025 (from Blues), fourth-round pick in 2026, defenseman Max Wanner
Devils get: Rights to forward Shane LaChance for retaining 50 percent of Frederic’s salary
Harman Dayal: This is an intriguing roll of the dice for the Oilers.
Oilers grade: B
Bruins grade: B+
Shayna Goldman: The vision is there for Edmonton. As easy as it is to point to goaltending as the Oilers’ biggest weakness, it shouldn’t have been their number one priority this week. The goalie market isn’t super inspiring, and there are more pressing needs in front of the blue paint to deal with. Edmonton needs to give their goalies more goal support, and limit some of the chaos Stuart Skinner is forced to face.
The Oilers need help up front because most of their offseason signings haven’t worked out as expected. Frederic isn’t a prolific scorer or an ace in transition, but he can add more versatility to a lineup. He brings some snarl, is a reliable forechecker and can contribute some offense at five-on-five. Frederic is a fine fit for a bottom-six that could use support. It would help to see what he can bring to the team the playoffs, but if his contract stays on LTIR until then, it will buy Edmonton more cap flexibility.
Oilers grade: B
Bruins grade: B-
Devils grade: B+
