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.
ESPN
Bruins trade Trent Frederic to Oilers as part of 3-team trade
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By Conor Ryan
With the NHL trade deadline set for 3 p.m. on Friday, Don Sweeney and the Bruins have started their sell-off.
The Bruins announced Tuesday that they traded forward Trent Frederic to the Edmonton Oilers as part of a three-team trade involving the New Jersey Devils.
As part of the deal, the Bruins dealt Frederic and Providence forward Max Jones to Edmonton in exchange for defenseman Max Wanner, a 2025 second-round draft pick (from St. Louis), and a 2026 fourth-round draft pick from the Edmonton Oilers. Boston also retains 50 percent of Frederic’s salary for the remainder of this season.
The Devils will retain the other 50 percent of Frederic’s salary in order to facilitate his trade to Edmonton, with the Oilers giving New Jersey the rights to prospect (and Boston University captain) Shane Lachance as part of the swap.
As the Bruins continue to see their playoff hopes dwindle (Moneypuck has them at just a 9.4 percent chance of clinching a postseason berth), moving on from a pending unrestricted free agent in Frederic felt like an inevitable outcome.
Not only was Frederic a player who Boston may not necessarily be comfortable with handing a sizable pay raise, but his blend of snarl and secondary scoring made him the type of player that most teams bracing for the playoffs would covet.
After tallying 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists) last season, Frederic has only scored eight goals and posted 15 points so far this season — with the 27-year-old forward currently “week to week” after suffering a lower-body injury last week against the Maple Leafs.
Even with Frederic sidelined, the Oilers clearly placed a premium on Frederic’s ability to add some heft to their lineup for the playoffs — with Edmonton currently tabbed with the fewest hits in the NHL this season.
By moving on from a soon-to-be free agent in Frederic, the Bruins will move back into the second round of the 2025 NHL Draft — where they should be able to restock what has been a barren prospect pipeline over the last few seasons.
Boston traded its own 2025 second-round pick in February 2023 as part of the deal with the Capitals that brought in both Dmitri Orlov and Garnet Hathaway.
Wanner, 21, has spent his entire career in the AHL ranks so far. The 6-foot-3, right-shot defenseman appeared in 22 games with the Bakersfield Condors (AHL) this season, recording one goal and one assist for two points.
If the Bruins were able to get a second-round pick for a banged-up rental in the midst of a down season, it stands as a further sign that the Bruins could take advantage of trade market with plenty of buyers looking to make a playoff push.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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