Oilers and Canucks swap forwards in player for player trade!

We now officially have a trade between two bitter rivals.

According to a breaking news report from Sportsnet's National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman it appeared earlier today that the Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers were holding discussions for a trade involving former Edmonton Oilers first round draft selection Sam Gagner. The move peaked my own curiosity and that of others due to a number of factors, not the least of which is the fact that the Oilers are seemingly trying to get back a player they had previously given up on.

Gagner, a former first round pick in the 2006 National Hockey League Entry Draft, was selected 6th overall by the Oilers that year but has been largely viewed as a bust in spite of the fact that he has now appeared in over 750 NHL games. That's not to say that Gagner is a terrible NHL player, you can't play over 750 games in the league and be useless, but given the level of hype surrounding him when he was selected he has never reached the lofty heights that some fans had envisioned for him.

This has resulted in Gagner bouncing around from team to team for several seasons now with Gagner joining the ranks of the Arizona Coyotes organization, the Philadelphia Flyers organization, the Columbus Blue Jackets organization, the Vancouver Canucks organization and even playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs' American Hockey League affiliate the Toronto Marlies during this current season. All of this in the short span of just a few years has left Gangner in limbo with many wondering what he can still offer at the NHL level.

We now know however that in spite of this the Oilers were in fact willing to bring him back in if it meant that it allowed them to unload veteran forward Ryan Spooner. Sportsnet's National Hockey League insider John Shannon is now reporting that the Oilers and Canucks have made this player for player deal official with Gagner headed to Edmonton and Spooner going back  the other way to the Canucks. 

On the surface this would appear to be a cap saving measure from the Oilers, but considering the Rangers are currently still retaining a portion of Spooner's salary this trade is basically even when it comes to the salary cap. This appears to be a trade by two organizations who merely wanted to get a player out that has not performed well for them.

[pub]