Gritty Boston Bruins forward emerges as prime trade candidate
Photo credit: Oilers Nation
he Edmonton Oilers have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL for the past 8 weeks, but their 4th line continues to be a revolving door of players cycling in and out of the lineup. Now, analysts think Stan Bowman should target Boston Bruin's Trent Frederic at the trade deadline as he could solve the Oilers 4th line issues.
According to Oilers Nation, Frank Seravalli recently ranked the Boston Bruins' Trent Frederic at No. 17 on his latest Trade Targets board, and the 6-foot-3 forward checks many boxes for what the Oilers could be looking for.
Frederic is a former first-round pick, taken 29th overall in the 2016 NHL Draft, and made his NHL debut during the 2019-20 season. Over the last couple of years, though, he's started making more of an impact, hitting double digits in goals for the first time with 17 tallies in 2022-23 and he set career highs last season with 18 goals and 22 assists in 82 games. He also chipped in five points in 13 postseason games last playoffs.
«You're going to get a decent amount of offence from him. He's playing in a bottom six role.» He added, «Trent Frederic can score in a bottom six role. He can give you that little bit of grittiness that maybe you're missing right now, like Imagine rolling out a fourth line with Frederic and Perry on it for a playoff series?»
-Tyler Yaremchuk
-Tyler Yaremchuk
It was recently announced that the Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman John Klingberg to 1 year pro-rated contract worth $1 million, including a $350k signing bonus.
How does that relate to Trent Frederic you ask?
Well, if Klingberg manages to solidify his role on the team, the Oilers might not need to trade for a top-4 defender after all. Instead, Stan Bowman could use the spare cash to make a strategic 4th line acquisition, and Trent Frederic fits the bill perfectly.
Trent Frederic would add toughness to the roster
The Edmonton Oilers are currently ranked dead last in the NHL in hits, and Trent Frederic has proven to be a force to be reckoned with.
He hits, he scores, he's tough -- exactly what the Oilers need, especially that with uncertainties around top enforcer Evander Kane.
The 6-foot-3, 221-pound forward provides the grittiness and physicality that is severely lacking on this Oilers squad. He's currently second on the Bruins in hits with 124. As a team, Boston leads the NHL with 1,191 hits, while Edmonton is dead last in that category with only 533. Frederic will undoubtedly make the Oilers tougher to play against and add an element to their game that's missing.
Source: Oilers Nation
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