Edmonton Oilers acquire former first-round pick from Montreal in ...

Breaking news of a trade between the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens organizations, a one for one swap of AHL players.

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Coming to Bakersfield Condors is Jacob Perreault, the son of long-time NHLer Yanic Perrault, a decent scorer who was best  known as a legend of the faceoff dot. Not so for his 22-year-old son, who is listed as a right winger. Jacob was a late first-round draft pick (#27 overall) of Anaheim Ducks back in 2020.

Going the other way to Laval Rocket is left shot defenceman Noel Hoefenmayer, a career minor leaguer who was signed by the Oilers organization in the summer of 2023.

On its surface, a puzzling trade in which the incoming player has been struggling since turning pro and continues to do so.

Perreault could certainly score at the junior level with a pair of 30+ goal; seasons with Sarnia of the OHL. His pre-draft scouting report suggested a fine offensive player:

The freshly drafted youngster signed an entry level contract in the fall of 2020, then took the unusual step of turning pro at 18 when the OHL cancelled its 2020-21 season. He showed his promise as a teenager, scoring 54 points in exactly 82 AHL games over parts of two seasons in San Diego and even earned a 1-game cameo with the Ducks. Since then, he’s been spinning his wheels, recording back to back seasons of just 8 goals. He was traded from Anaheim to Montreal not 10 months ago.

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He started the 2024-25 season with Trois Riviere of the ECHL, then was recalled by the Rocket in November where he didn’t produce a point in 6 games. Now it’s on to Bakersfield for another fresh start.

In theory the Condors could use an offensive-minded player. The club is struggling to score, producing just 8 goals in their recent 5-game home stand, losing 4 of them in regulation. But there’s not a whole lot of recent evidence that Jacob Perreault is that player.

Hoefenmayer on the other hand was one of just two left-shot defencemen on the Condors, and had already scored 7 points in 11 games before the swap. At 25 he’s more seasoned pro than prospect, nonetheless his departure along with the recent trade of fellow lefty Ben Gleason leaves a very imbalanced group on the back end with just Cam Dineen as a natural lefty. Perhaps a good landing spot for Travis Dermott some day…

There’s been a significant trade in the NHL, where New York Rangers captain Jacob Trouba was dealt to Anaheim Ducks for (injured) depth defender Urho Vaakanainen and a fourth-round pick. An underwhelming return for the Rangers until one considers the Ducks took on the entirety of Trouba’s contract, whose $8.0 million cap hit runs for this season and next. Trouba will join forces with Anaheim captain Radko Gudas on a physically imposing right side.

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Worth noting that Anaheim still has a gigantic amount of cap space, enough that they would be in position to retain up to 50% should they choose to move on from one of their own expensive veterans. The name that jumps off the page is that of Cam Fowler, a left shot defenceman capable of playing either side who has a year-plus remaining on his own $6.5 million AAV pact. He celebrated his 33rd birthday on Thursday by returning to the Ducks line-up after a month on the shelf, logging 20 minutes of ice time in his 987th NHL game.

Fowler’s name has been dropped more than once in the past as a player of possible interest to the Oilers. Is it possible that the acquisition of Trouba is just a piece of a larger puzzle for the Ducks? Stay tuned.

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