The Edmonton Oilers and St. Louis Blues made a trade on Sunday. The Oilers have sent prospect defenseman Dmitri Samorukov to the Blues in exchange for forward Klim Kostin. Kostin was selected in the first round (31st overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft and has recorded five goals and 11 points in 46 career NHL games with the Blues. Samorukov showed well in the Oilers’ preseason and was likely to get a few games on the NHL roster this season, even if he wasn’t pegged to make the team out of camp.
With injuries to Marco Scandella and Scott Perunovich, there were rumors the Blues were looking to add another blueliner. Samorukov is no guarantee, but he comes in with the potential to be a player for the Blues this season. Selected 84th overall in the same 2017 draft, Samorukov made his NHL debut last season. Samorukov was behind both Philip Broberg and Markus Niemelainen on the team’s list of available defensemen.
That he cleared waivers on Saturday potentially meant that the Blues and Oilers had discussed a deal, but maybe the Oilers were looking to move the player without adding additional salary. Kostin will likely not be part of the Oilers’ main roster plans and could start the season in the AHL. Kostin was also on waivers and cleared.
The deal saves the Oilers $25K on their current salary cap. It might not seem like much, but it does help. So too, as Puck Pedia reports, the Oilers could keep Kostin ($750K) in minors and Brad Malone ($762.5K) on the roster through Monday’s submission. Then subsequently they could flip them and gain $12.5K in cap space.
Season rosters have to be finalized by tomorrow for NHL teams so this trade might not be the only one that goes down on Sunday afternoon.
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