The Edmonton Oilers have made another trade this afternoon, sending F Liam Coughlin to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for G Anders Nilsson.
Coughlin was Edmonton’s 5th round pick, number 130 overall, in the 2014 entry draft out of the BCJHL. He played in 54 games this season, registering 60 points for the Vernon Vipers. He did not blow the doors off the league in his draft +1 season, a bad sign for a prospect.
Coughlin is expected to go the NCAA route, meaning he is likely three or four years away from turning pro. For all intents and purposes, he was not a prospect of note for Edmonton. The writing was basically on the wall, as Coughlin did not attend the Oilers development camp this year.
As for Nilsson, well this is where things get interesting. He spent last season in the KHL with Kazan Ak-Bars, but refused to re-sign with the club this spring in hopes of landing a job in the NHL.
He posted a .936 SV% in 38 regular season KHL games this year, a solid number. He duplicated that with an equally as stellar .935 SV% in 20 post-season games this spring.
Nilsson has played in North America before, playing 23 NHL games with the New York Islanders and 50 with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers. In his last North American season, he posted a .901 SV% in 29 AHL games, and a .896 SV% in 19 NHL tilts. That season, by the way, was the 2013-14 campaign.
Nilsson is currently a restricted free agent, and must be signed by the Oilers. Regardless of what happens, the organization has obtained more depth in net, which is very important. I’m not sure Nilsson will have a big impact, but he has potential to help.
One final note on this, I think it could spell trouble for Ben Scrivens. If Nilsson wants an NHL job, it may in fact be him and Cam Talbot come opening night.
Another wrinkle added to the summer of Pete….We wait.
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