Jordan Eberle was unsurprisingly shipped out to Brooklyn; however, the return wasn’t what was expected. Eberle was dealt for Ryan Strome in a player-for-player trade, and the relentless Travis Hamonic rumors came to an end. The move was simply made to free up cap space, and allowed the Oilers to re-sign Kris Russell to a four-year extension.
Days later, Hamonic was shipped out to Calgary in exchange for draft picks. Considering Hamonic’s asking price wasn’t too high, many Oilers fans were curious as to why Edmonton didn’t make a move for him. The right-handed, puck-moving defenceman seemed like just the player Edmonton needed.