The Edmonton Oilers have acquired forwards Adam Henrique , Sam Carrick, and a seventh-round pick from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a 2024 first-round pick and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2025. The Ducks will retain 50% of both contracts, and the Tampa Bay Lightning will retain 25% of Henrique’s contract to acquire a 2026 conditional fourth-round pick from Edmonton.
Henrique vaulted to the top of the list of available forwards after Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan were traded. The Brantford, Ontario, native has shaken off a slow start to the season — 19 points in his first 37 games — and has caught fire by recording 23 points in 23 games since Jan. 7. At the time of the deal, he was third on the Ducks in scoring with 42 points (18 goals, 24 assists).
Carrick is a hard-nosed bottom-six center who should add some grit to the bottom of the Oilers’ lineup. He’s recorded 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in 61 games this season. After spending the majority of his first 10 seasons in the American Hockey League, he became a mainstay in the Ducks lineup during the 2021-22 season.
Oilers Get Versatile Middle-Six Forward
Henrique gives the Oilers additional scoring depth beyond the big names of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. He can center a skilled third line and play on the second-line wing. Henrique’s shot has been an underrated asset throughout his 14-year career in the NHL with a shooting percentage of 15.4%. He’s on pace to reach the 20-goal plateau for the seventh time in his career.
Henrique is winning about 54% of his faceoffs this season, and he’s a solid net-front presence, so he should be able to find a home on Edmonton’s second power-play unit. Both Henrique and Carrick have been featured on Anaheim’s penalty-killing unit. The Oilers are a middle-of-the-pack penalty-killing team, so their arrival could be a boon to the unit, even if it isn’t the primary reason Henrique was brought in.
Health has been a concern for Henrique recently, with a combined 55 games lost to injury from 2020-2023. He has managed to buck this trend, as he only missed one game for Anaheim this season.
Henrique has appeared in 28 playoff games. He scored 13 points (five goals, eight assists) during the 2012 postseason for the New Jersey Devils. His overtime winner in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final helped the Devils advance past the New York Rangers and into the Stanley Cup Final.
Ducks Add Assets to Continue to Rebuild
The Lindholm and Monahan trades established a seller-friendly market, and Ducks’ general manager Pat Verbeek should be pleased with the return he got in exchange for Henrique and Carrick. Getting Edmonton’s 2024 first-round pick is a significant boon to the deal. This gives the Ducks seven selections in the draft’s first three rounds. While the pick will likely come at the tail end of the first round, Anaheim has done well drafting in the late 20s and early 30s, with recent selections including the likes of Nathan Gaucher, Olen Zellweger, and Jackson LaCombe from that range. The 2025 conditional fifth-round pick becomes a fourth if the Oilers win the 2024 Stanley Cup.
Both teams walk away from this trade feeling accomplished. The Oilers added some much-needed depth scoring and sandpaper to a potential Stanley Cup run, and the Ducks get assets to build for the future.
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