On this day in 2014, the Edmonton Oilers acquired forward Matt Hendricks from the Nashville Predators in exchange for goaltender Devan Dubnyk.
The trade for the Oilers meant a bit of change for the organization, at least in the eyes of Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish. Dubnyk wanted nothing more than to become the club’s number-one netminder, but MacTavish didn’t see it in the same light.
“I thought it was time for a change. Sometimes the burden of the task can be debilitating to the future and I thought [Dubnyk] was losing a bit of his spark,” MacTavish told the Edmonton Journal‘s Jim Matheson.
“All the losing has been tough on everybody… I still feel like he can be a starting goalie, but it wasn’t going to happen here.”
On the other hand, Hendricks was coming to the Oilers as a physical player who could kill penalties and was willing to drop the gloves occasionally.
However, the trade sparked a lot of controversy. Although Hendricks was a formidable forward, the market became concerned with his underlying numbers as his career high was nine goals and 25 points during this time with the Washington Capitals in 2011-12. People grew worried that he would hardly cut it as a fourth-line player.
However, his resilience on the ice became noticeable, and the market quickly began to favour the new forward. His numbers never shocked anyone, but he became an admirable glue guy during his time in orange and blue.
The most memorable moment for many was the gruesome blocked shot Hendricks took to a sensitive area that shattered his protective equipment thanks to a slap shot from Dallas Stars defenceman Alex Goligoski. Hendricks dropped to the ice in agonizing pain before standing and heading to the dressing room. He returned to finish the game, although the Oilers ultimately fell 3-2 to the Stars on January 21st, 2016.
As time passed, the Oilers’ roster began to fill with younger, faster forwards, and Hendricks slowly began to see less ice time; some nights, his sole role was to keep his teammates pumped up.
“I’d love to be back in Edmonton, but with the direction their going, I don’t think I fit in,” Hendricks told Matheson.
“I took pride in wearing that sweater. Not only has there been a great fan base in Edmonton, forever, but a lot of great players have worn that sweater before me and a lot of great ones after me. I’ll always have great memories of the city and how they took my wife and kids in.”
Hendricks recorded 20 goals and 38 points across 214 games and four years with the Oilers organization. He eventually signed as a free agent with the Winnipeg Jets in the summer of 2017.
As for Dubynk, he only played two games with the Predators before being traded in March of 2014 to the Montreal Canadiens but never played. He signed as a free agent with the Arizona Coyotes in the summer of 2014. Still, he was eventually traded to the Minnesota Wild. With the Wild organization, Dubnyk finally found his place as a starting netminder in the NHL. He played 171 games with the Oilers with a record of 61-76-21.
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