Breaking: Scouts from 16 teams spark major trade rumor on Wednesday night.

It seems almost certain that either the Chicago Blackhawks or the Edmonton Oilers, or even possibly both are on the verge of a trade.

While it's not unusual to have scouts from multiple teams at a game, tonight's activity represents something far more than typical scouting behavior, with scouts from 16 teams, that's more than half of the NHL's total teams, on hand to watch the Blackhawks take on the Oilers in Edmonton.

It was Edmonton Oilers radio analyst Bob Stauffer who originally noticed the abnormally large number of scouts on hand, although no one has any idea what kind of trade could be in the works.

Chicago and Edmonton have both been the subject of trade speculation mutliple times this season already, with players like Bryan Bickell and Nikita Nikitin being the players most often mentioned.

It seems almost certain at this point that a trade is near.

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There are pro scouts from 16 different NHL organizations represented at Rexall Place tonight. Abnormally high amount.

— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) November 19, 2015