March 21, 2022 by Ryan Lotsberg

Per Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, the Edmonton Oilers have acquired Derick Brassard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

Brassard has six goals and 16 points in 31 games with the Flyers this season. This is the fifth time that Brassard has been dealt in-season (four if you include the one year he was traded twice before the deadline).

The 34-year-old centre brings the experience that Oilers General Manager Ken Holland covets. Brassard has 68 points in 117 career NHL playoff games. He helped the New York Rangers reach the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. He’s also been to the Conference Final with the Rangers in 2015, the Ottawa Senators in 2017 and the New York Islanders in 2020.

This is a smart bet by Holland. Brassard’s cap hit is a modest $850,000, and the acquisition cost was low. The Oilers have been aching for depth scoring, and Brassard can bring that. He’s primarily been known as an offensive minded player throughout his career, but he fit into Barry Trotz’s defence-first ideology with the Islanders during the 2019 playoffs.

Brassard should be a natural fit on the third line with the Oilers. He could play centre with any of Ryan McLeod, Warren Foegele, Derek Ryan, Kailer Yamamoto, or Jesse Puljujarvi. He could play left wing with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Ryan McLeod playing third line centre. Brassard will ensure that Devin Shore doesn’t play in the top nine.

Brassard could also slide into the top six to play left wing if Head Coach Jay Woodcroft were to decide that he would like to load up the third line by moving Zach Hyman down there to play with Nugent-Hopkins.

The bottom line is that Brassard is a player that is still producing at a nearly half of a point per game pace that has a lot of playoff experience. He offers more depth scoring at a reasonable price. He adds more depth to an Oilers forward group that is already the deepest one in the Connor McDavid era.

No one was really expecting Holland to add a forward. Holland said that he believed in this group when they were mired in their losing streak. The Oilers’ five game win streak and solid play under Woodcroft sent the message that the players heard him and they’re doing their part now.

Holland doubled down on his support of this roster by adding more scoring punch at the trade deadline as well as depth defenceman Brett Kulak.