Ken Holland reveals how the Milan Lucic trade went down.

The Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames pulled off a stunner over a trade this week, one that has left many pundits and fans alike scratching their heads and wondering how it all went down. 

Not only did the trade between the two teams include what was once thought to be an untradeable player, but the trade itself was conducted between two teams that have a long and bitter history between one another. I am of course refering to the trade that sent veteran forward Milan Lucic, the untradeable player I was referencing, to the Flames in exchange for veteran forward James Neal going back the other way to the Oilers.

Given that there were a ton of questions regarding this move NHL.com decided to take the oppurtunity to catch up with one of the general managers involved in this trade deal, Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland. Holland first revealed how the trade came about internally within the organization, detailing how every member of the Oilers management structure had been consulted, including some names that may surprise you. 

"My management style is to talk to all my key people," said Holland as per the NHL's official website. "Certainly I talked to [Assistant General Manager] Keith Gretzky and I talked to [VP of Player Development] Scott Howson. I talked to [Director of Pro Scouting] Archie Henderson and obviously, I talked to [Head Coach] Dave Tippett. I spoke with Ken Hitchcock and Bob Nicholson, who then talked to Daryl Katz, our owner.

"We've had lots of internal conversations. I've talked to a lot of people in our organization over the last few weeks and eventually worked our way towards today pulling the trigger on the deal. We're excited about the deal, and I'm hoping James can come in and play great and provide some more offence for us."

As for how he and Flames general manager Brad Treliving ended up discussing the deal? Well according to Holland this was a trade that was over a month in the making. 

"He and I were talking on and off in the lead up to the draft, so middle-to-late June," said Holland. "It heated up here over the last 10 days, then early this week it got cranked up to another level. We had to ask Lucic to waive his No-Movement Clause, which he obviously did, so a few weeks.

"Some trades go quick, some trades take time."

Given the rivalry between these two squads this will no doubt prove to be a big deal for both general managers, and I for one can not wait to see how it plays out on the ice.