With only one NHL game happening on Sunday, a 5-1 Vegas Golden Knights victory over the Arizona Coyotes, it’s a pretty slow night in the NHL, right?
Think again!
Peter Chiarelli made sure to give hockey fans something to talk about by making two deals in one day. Let’s rephrase; the 1st trade got them talking. The 2nd got them yelling.
This 2nd move saw former Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Brandon Manning join the Edmonton Oilers in a deal with his more recent team, the Chicago Blackhawks. This is noteworthy due to the fact that Manning has quite the history with Oilers superstar Connor McDavid. Not only did Manning end McDavid’s rookie season with an injury-causing trip, but he also openly feuded with McDavid on the ice, leading McDavid to call his action the “most classless thing he’d ever seen on the ice”, as well as claim admission of guilt on the part of Manning.
Not exactly who you’d expect to join McDavid’s Oilers, but here we are. To add a little more confusion to the move, the piece sent away was Drake Caggiula who is noted as to being close with McDavid.
With McDavid being arguably the most important player to his team in the league, it’s important that he’s happy. Bringing in Manning seems like a strange call to keep McDavid happy, but apparently Connor reached out to Manning and welcomed him to the team.
Connor McDavid continues to impress just about everyone on and off the ice, and this latest gesture is one of a classy captain.
As for the Oilers, they just hope Manning can help them out in getting somewhere a little closer to playoffs.
(H/T Edmonton Oilers)
