During the first period of Sunday’s matinee game against the St. Louis Blues, the Nashville Predators swung a trade.
Nashville sent rarely used forward Pontus Aberg to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for center Mark Letestu. The Preds then flipped Letestu to the Columbus Blue Jackets, acquiring a fourth round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft in return.
Aberg, a second round pick in 2012, was thrust into action due to multiple injuries to the forward corps last playoffs. He amassed five points in 16 games during the run to the Stanley Cup Final but couldn’t find his way into the lineup on a regular basis this season. He tallied eight points in 37 games for the Preds before the trade. In Edmonton, he should find regular playing time.
Essentially, General Manager David Poile got a fourth round pick for a player who wasn’t in the plans of the future.
Nick Cotsonika of NHL.com has an interesting take on, perhaps, another reason Poile was willing to give up Aberg.
Wonder if NSH shipped Aberg to EDM and took the fourth-rounder from CBJ to keep Letestu from WPG.
— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) February 25, 2018
