Edmonton Trades Anders Nilsson to St. Louis

The Edmonton Oilers were going to be a seller come deadline time since the team is near the bottom of the league once again this year.

The Oilers traded goaltender Anders Nilsson to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for goalie prospect, Niklas Lundstrom and a fifth round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. The Blues needed to go out and get some goaltending depth due to the injury to veteran goalie, Brian Elliott. Elliott has a lower body injury and will be out about four weeks. Nilsson has some NHL experience and is a restricted free agent at the end of the season, should they decide to resign him.

The last time that Nilsson saw game action was on February 7 against the New York Islanders where he allowed three goals on 10 shots. He has played in 26 games this season and has a record of 10-12-2 with a 3.14 goals against average and a .901 save percentage. Nilssson also has an assist. He has good size at 6’5″, 229 pounds and can cover a lot of the net. The goalie lets the puck hit him and he can recover pretty quick if he’s out of position. He is athletic and mobile, allowing him to get back into position if he has chosen to make an aggressive move.

Nilsson, however, gives up the occasional soft goal. He is also known to over commit on the play. In 49 games played in his NHL career, he is 19-21-4 with a 3.10 goals against average and a .900 save percentage. He has one shutout in his brief NHL career. The stats show that Nilsson has been a decent goalie at even strength throughout his career. He has faced 1131 shots and given up 97 goals for a .914 save percentage. Nilsson struggles on the penalty kill where he only has a career .839 save percentage.

The Oilers will get 23-year-old goalie prospect, Niklas Lundstrom back in return and will have yet another draft pick in the upcoming 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Lundstrom is 6’1″ and 194 pounds. He has split the season between the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and the American Hockey League (AHL). While in the ECHL, he played for the Elmira Jackals where he compiled an 8-3-0 record in 13 games played. Lundstrom has one shutout, a 2.92 goals against average and a .929 save percentage. While with the Chicago Wolves, the Blues’ AHL Affiliate, he played in four games and went 1-1-0. Lundstrom also had a 2.75 goals against average to go with a .901 save percentage.