March 4, 2025 by Ryan Lotsberg

The Edmonton Oilers announced that they acquired Trent Frederic in a three-way trade with the Boston Bruins and the New Jersey Devils. The full trade details as found on the Oilers website are below:

Frederic has fifteen points in 57 games this season, one season removed from a 40 point season. The 2016 first rounder has 109 points in 337 NHL games for the Bruins. The 6’3”, 220 lb winger ranks 26th in the NHL with 155 hits this season.

Jones was also a first round pick in 2016, but for the Anaheim Ducks. Jones got 62 points in 258 games for the Ducks before joining the Bruins organization this season. He has played seven games for the Bruins this season, and he has 21 points in 38 games for the AHL’s Providence Bruins.

Hauser was a fifth round pick of the Devils in 2022. He has played in the Czech league ever since being drafted. He was a member of Czechia’s 2022 World Junior team, which was the summer edition of the tournament that was held in Edmonton.

Wanner was a seventh round pick of the Oilers in 2021. The physical right-handed defenceman had a tremendous rookie season for the Bakersfield Condors last season where he led the team in plus/minus, but he’s been limited to 22 games this season due to injury.

LaChance was also a late round pick of the Oilers in 2021 (sixth round). He’s a 6’5”, 220 lb winger that is continuously improving and increasing his production. He’s got 25 points in 32 games for Boston College this season. LaChance was not signed by the Oilers, but they had until August 15, 2027 to do so. There’s no guarantee that LaChance would have signed with the Oilers though. His father, Scott LaChance, played 13 NHL seasons and is currently the Head of US Scouting for the Devils.

The second round pick used in this trade was the pick that the Oilers received from the Blues as compensation for the offer sheet signed by Philip Broberg this past summer. The 2026 fourth round pick leaving the Oilers’ hands is the first pick to be lost from that draft. The Oilers now only have the 2025 third round pick they got for the offer sheet signed by Dylan Hollway last summer, and their own sixth and seventh round picks this year.

The Oilers only ended up taking on 25% of Frederic’s $2.3 million cap hit, which works out to $575,000. He will only be on the roster for 44 days, which equals an actual cap hit of $131,770. It’s a miniscule cap hit for a large player.

Frederic can play both centre and left wing. That will give Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch flexibility with his lines. Oilers GM Stan Bowman recently told Pierre LeBrun that he would want to add a bottom six forward, but whether that forward was to be a winger or a center would depend largely on how they want to deploy Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. If Nugent-Hopkins plays wing, then Frederic can play centre, and vice-versa.

I wouldn’t count on Frederic repeating his 40-point output from last season. His five-on-five points per 60 rate has dropped from 2.11 last season to 1.03 this season. It feels like the 27-year old peaked over the course of the last two seasons and reality is about to set in. I’m fine with Frederic as a fourth liner, but I wouldn’t create a third line around him.

Jones was in the AHL before the trade, and he will be in the AHL after the trade. He should give the Condors a bit of a boost as they try to hold down a playoff spot down the stretch. He will also add to the organization’s forward depth. Organizational depth at all positions is something that Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson said would be a focus recently on the 100% Hockey podcast.

I don’t think this trade gives us any more insight into what might happen with Evander Kane. The Oilers barely added any salary in this trade, so it really doesn’t change the cap situation at all. There are still a lot of possibilities for the Oilers before Friday’s trade deadline.

Related: Oilers trade deadline scenarios based on Kane’s status