Canucks, Oilers Swap Josh Bloom And Jayden Grubbe

With Friday representing the AHL’s trade deadline, which also sets roster eligibility for the rest of the season, there have been a handful of moves made in recent days.  The Canucks and Oilers were among them, with the latter announcing that they’ve acquired winger Josh Bloom in exchange for center Jayden Grubbe.

Bloom was a third-round pick by Buffalo back in 2021 but never played in their system.  Instead, he was flipped to Vancouver near the trade deadline two years later in exchange for blueliner Riley Stillman.  Since then, Bloom has primarily played at the ECHL level, getting into 70 games over parts of three seasons compared to half as many at the AHL level.  This season, the 22-year-old has 15 goals and 13 assists in 19 games with ECHL Kalamazoo but has been limited to just one goal in 19 appearances with AHL Abbotsford.  Bloom is a pending restricted free agent and will need a qualifying offer in June for his rights to be retained.

That’s the exact situation that Grubbe also finds himself in.  Originally a third-round pick by the Rangers (65th overall) in 2021, New York opted not to sign him and flipped his rights to Edmonton two years later.  The 23-year-old played exclusively in the AHL with Bakersfield over his first two professional seasons, notching nine goals and 24 assists in 129 games.  However, this season, he hasn’t seen any action at the AHL level, instead playing with ECHL Fort Wayne, where he notched seven goals and a dozen assists in 28 contests.

Since the swap occurred after the NHL’s trade deadline, both Bloom and Grubbe are ineligible to be recalled for the remainder of the season.