In the span of 48 hours, Oilers General Manager Kevin Lowe has acquired a top defeseman, a first-line forward, and a young forward who was drafted sixth overall in 2005.
Not bad, considering he hasn't even ventured into the unrestricted free agent market yet.
Lowe raised eyebrows last year when he snagged restricted free agent Dustin Penner from Anaheim. This year he has outdone himself in the players he acquired, if not by the means in which he acquired them.
Lowe picked up Lubomir Visnovsky from Los Angeles for forward Jarret Stoll and defenseman Matt Greene. A very good move on the part of Lowe, who gave up relatively nothing to acquire a top notch defenseman.
The Oilers' GM continued his shrewd moves today by acquiring forwards Eric Cole from the Hurricanes and Gilbert Brule from Columbus for defenseman Joni Pitkanen and forward Raffi Torres, respectively.
Though the Oilers will miss the leadership and offensive abilities of both Stoll and Torres, they didn't have to part with their offensive gems in Hemsky, Gagner, and Schremp.
Edmonton fans will miss Matt Greene's tough play on defence, while Pitkanen never had the opportunity to show Oiler fans what he could do.
It's definitely an exciting time to be an Oilers fan, Lowe has significantly changed the direction this team was headed in as little as three moves over 48 hours.
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3 months ago
good article conor. i think this is gonna be a good offseason for edmonton.
from 3 months ago
Thanks! I agree with you, Lowe has certainly gotten off to a quick start. So far he's done the best moves out there in my opinion. Even if Edmonton doesn't make another move I'd say they did a great job this offseason in putting together a winning team.
3 months ago
if they get hossa which the local media is reporting could happen things will be looking up in edmonton...maybe almost worth cheering for...maybe
from 3 months ago
Yeah, if they got Hossa that would be the icing on the cake. It would definitely be the one of if not the last touch they need for the team. Either way Edmonton will be a team on the rise over the next three years.
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