Ekholm traded to Oilers by Predators for Barrie

Mattias Ekholm was traded to the Edmonton Oilers by the Nashville Predators on Tuesday for Tyson Barrie.

Ekholm, a 32-year-old defenseman, is in the first season of a four-year, $25 million contract ($6.25 million average annual value) he signed with the Predators on Oct. 13, 2021. He has 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in 57 games this season.

Selected by Nashville in the fourth round (No. 102) of the 2009 NHL Draft, Ekholm has 268 points (62 goals, 206 assists) in 719 regular-season games with the Predators and 35 points (six goals, 29 assists) in 75 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

“When you’ve been in the League for 12 years, you feel like you’ve been through it all and seen it all, but clearly I haven’t because I’ve never been traded before,” Ekholm said. “There is a lot of new stuff going on right now, but the initial thought is that I’m super excited. I know Edmonton is one of the top teams in the League and have some top offensive skill on their team, if not the best.

“For me to come in and join, hopefully I can contribute with my way and my style on the defensive side of things. But first and foremost, I’m super excited to come there. I had a great 12 years in Nashville; I’ve had two of my kids here and it’s been awesome. But for me to take the next step of where I am in my career, I feel like Edmonton is a great place, and I’m super excited and happy to get going.” 

Barrie, a 31-year-old defenseman, is in the second year of a three-year, $13.5 million contract ($4.5 million AAV) he signed with the Oilers on July 28, 2021. He has 43 points (10 goals, 33 assists) in 61 games this season.

Selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the third round (No. 64) of the 2009 NHL Draft, Barrie has 478 points (105 goals, 373 assists) in 744 regular-season games with the Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Avalanche and 20 points (two goals, 18 assists) in 46 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

“I think that was a real good addition,” Predators general manager David Poile said of Barrie.” We’ve really struggled this year on defense from an offensive standpoint. [Roman Josi] does it all, but he’s the only one that does it all. We’re getting no goals, no points from anyone [on defense].

“I acknowledge that the Edmonton power play might be the best power play ever in the National Hockey League. I know they have some other names, but he’s a part of that. He’s always been a really good defenseman with a definite accent on being an offensive guy.”

[RELATED: 2022-23 NHL Trade Tracker]

Nashville also received forward prospect Reid Schaefer, a first round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Edmonton received a sixth-round pick in 2024.

Schaefer, who has yet to make his NHL debut, has 47 points (23 goals, 24 assists) in 44 games with Seattle of the Western Hockey League this season. The 19-year-old was selected by Edmonton in the first round (No. 32) of the 2022 NHL Draft.

Earlier Tuesday, the Oilers traded forward Jesse Puljujarvi to the Carolina Hurricanes for forward prospect Patrik Puistola.

The Oilers (32-21-8) are third in the Pacific Division, four points behind the first-place Vegas Golden Knights.

The Predators (29-23-6) are eight points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference.

Nashville traded forward Tanner Jeannot to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday for defenseman Cal Foote and five NHL Draft picks.

“We weren’t looking to trade [Ekholm],” Poile said. “We signed him to a long-term contract and he’s playing really well, but [we] set kind of a price. A number of teams had called. Nobody had met that price until today.

“I didn’t want to trade him, but for us it was too good a deal in this little bit of a reset that we’re trying to do. The first-round pick is great. We have all these picks now. That can be used for something else.

NHL.com independent corrrespondents Derek Van Diest and John Glennon contributed to this report