The Edmonton Oilers have traded former Ottawa Senator defenceman Cody Ceci and a 2025 third-round draft pick to the San Jose Sharks for defenceman Ty Emberson.
Ceci is an Ottawa guy through and through, growing up in the capital, playing his junior hockey for the 67s, and being drafted in the first round by the Senators in 2012. He played six seasons for the Senators, who traded him to Toronto in 2019. He’s since played for Pittsburgh and Edmonton.
Ceci has a year left on his contract at $3.25 million and that’s money the cap-strapped Oilers really need right now. Over the past week, they’ve been scrambling to craft a response to the recent offer sheets that defenceman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway signed with the St. Louis Blues.
Last Tuesday, while most NHL executives are generally at the cottage, the Blues signed Broberg to a two-year offer sheet worth a total of just over $9 million. Holloway’s deal is two years and worth a total of almost $4.6 million.
The timing of the Ceci deal on Sunday is a clear sign that new GM Stan Bowman is planning to match at least the Broberg offer.
The Oilers have also acquired winger Vasili Podkolzin from the Vancouver Canucks. Podkolzin was the 10th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and only cost the Oilers a 2025 fourth rounder.
That fourth rounder was actually a pick the Oilers got from the Senators earlier this summer. Ottawa also gave up Roby Jarventie in the same deal, in return for forwards Xavier Bourgault and Jake Chiasson – two prospects Steve Staios probably knew well from spending the 2022-23 season in Edmonton’s hockey ops department.
As the Oilers get their financial house in order and make decisions on Broberg and Holloway, both former first-rounders, they can find temporary cap relief if they place Evander Kane on LTIR to start the year. Oiler broadcaster Bob Stauffer reported last week that Kane may require surgery and might not be ready to start the season.
There’s also been speculation that Podkolzin’s acquisition may be to prepare for the possible loss of Holloway. And don’t look at Emberson as just a throw-in with the Ceci deal. He played for Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch in AHL Hartford.
Here’s a breakdown of Edmonton’s options from PuckPedia.