It may not be the flashiest but the Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers came together for a small trade sending the Flyers’ Ronnie Attard for Oilers’ Ben Gleason.
It hasn’t been the most eventful Monday in terms of hockey news, though the NHL did see something happen during the evening as a couple of struggling teams looked to swap some depth and money around in a small deal.
It was announced on Monday night that the NHL had another trade, this time involving the Edmonton Oilers and the Philadelphia Flyers. Edmonton has revealed they traded depth defenseman Ben Gleason to the Philadelphia Flyers for depth defenseman Ronnie Attard:
It wasn’t a blockbuster trade, and really all it did was to swap some depth and make some money work. Neither man will do much in the NHL barring some serious injuries, so look to them to gain their chops in Bakersfield (Attard) and Lehigh Valley (Gleason).
Both teams are looking for some help though this may not be the quickest way to go about it. Philadelphia needs a lot of help when it comes to their team; sitting dead last in the Metropolitan Division with inconsistencies throughout the team.
Edmonton isn’t in as bad a spot as the Flyers though they come with their own concerns. The loss of Connor McDavid was tough, and the lack of defense and again, more inconsistent goaltending has led to Edmonton to a slower start than originally anticipated this season.
Attard, drafted in the 3rd round by the Flyers hasn’t done too much so far in his career, though he does have 29 career NHL games. He will help Bakersfield with their defense and could look to be a call-up for Edmonton down the line if he plays well enough. He has 6 points in his NHL career thus far.
Gleason, who has only four games experience will also provide just some depth for the Phantoms, and he’s a cheap cap hit and a UFA at the end of the season. He has one career assist in the NHL.
For many, this trade is nothing more than something to be ignored, but it could end up being the catalyst that teams need to start making phone calls and start the chaos of trade rumors much earlier than deadline day.
