With the Edmonton Oilers falling in the standings and the team failing to score goals, now is a good time to mention a trade from the past that the Carolina Hurricanes really won. The Hurricanes acquired Ethan Bear from the Oilers in exchange for Warren Foegele going to Edmonton. The deal has been a big win for the Hurricanes thus far.
Immediately following the trade I was able to see how this seemed like a good move for both sides, but now it looks like Ken Holland has been fleeced again by an opposing team. The Hurricanes wanted to get a defenseman on their blue line and the Oilers needed to address their lack of depth offensively after getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs.
The issue is, Bear and Foegele are two completely different players. Bear is a 24-year-old defenseman experiencing the best season of his career analytically speaking, while Foelege has five goals on the year. The Oilers were going to need more depth scoring from someone that was traded for Ethan Bear.
Maybe the Oilers turn it around and Foegele has a big part to play in that, but even still the fact that the Hurricanes added a piece of their blue line that is still young and can be with the team for years to come makes this seem like a trade the Hurricanes are always going to look back on with a smile on their face.
The Hurricanes have a number of critical pieces of their team to re-sign in the offseason, none are more important that Bear who is still young and has a lot of upside to reach with this team. His current deal is for just 2 million a year and he is eligible to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland is getting a lot of criticism right now for how the team is doing. This trade is definitely one fans are looking back on and questioning right about now.