While the other Western Conference contenders were taking huge bites out of the trade market on Friday, the Edmonton Oilers were left sitting in front of an empty plate. They’ve been nibbling around the edges this week,

With Frederic heading straight to IR in Edmonton, the Oilers decided to give Jones a look with the big club, and he responded with an excellent game that featured flashes of speed, physical play and skill. More than enough to earn a second opportunity tonight. Going forward, who knows?

The defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers made their first big move ahead of the NHL trade deadline by acquiring hard-nosed forward Trent Frederic from the Boston Bruins

There’s a big difference between a team on paper and how it performs on the ice. The Edmonton Oilers know all about that, especially after how good the team looked this past July 1 when they signed forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner.

Though Walman, Hyman, and McDavid were the Oilers' standouts, they were far from their only key players on Saturday. Connor Brown scored the eventual game winner, his first in nine games, while Stuart Skinner robbed Rantanen of his first goal as a Star with one of the best saves of his career early in the third period.

Overall, it’s solid but not spectacular work by Jeff Jackson, Stan Bowman and the Oilers' management and scouting groups.

NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, and with it came many interesting moves. Central Division teams in particular loaded up on offensive firepower and shot-blocking defenders. While the Vancouver Canucks didn’t make nearly as many moves as their fans hoped they would,