Edmonton Oilers almost landed superstar defenceman Jakob Chychrun
The Edmonton Oilers made arguably one of the best trades in franchise history when they acquired Mattias Ekholm. While Ekholm's acquisition has proven to be a massive success, Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli reports that Ken Holland nearly pulled the trigger on Jakob Chychrun instead.
On a recent segment of Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer, Frank Seravalli disclosed that the Oilers were closing in on a deal with the Arizona Coyotes about acquiring Jakob Chychrun when they pulled the trigger on a Mattias Ekholm trade.
"The craziest part about the Ekholm trade," Seravalli revealed. "In the last hour before making the deal, I had the tweets queued up, ready to tweet that the Oilers were getting Jakob Chychrun."
"I think Ken Holland specifically was always leaning more toward Ekholm than Chychrun. Even that day, it was never 100 percent Ekholm."
"I think Ken Holland specifically was always leaning more toward Ekholm than Chychrun. Even that day, it was never 100 percent Ekholm."
According to Liam McCormick of Oilers Daily, Ekholm's steady two way game, and particularly his success in the defensive zone, was the perfect addition for the Oilers.
Chychrun is more of an offensive player, and had the Oilers acquired him instead, they'd still have a major zone problem with their first pair defence. Ekholm is the perfect compliment to the offensive defender in Bouchard, in a way that Chychrun wouldn't be.
While having a skilled player like Chychrun on the team would have been nice, I don't think Oilers fans are losing sleep over this one.
Mattias Ekholm has been a revelation on the Oilers blue line who provides leadership, quality minutes, and a stable presence to the team.
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