Oilers Acquire Erik Cole for Joni Pitkanen
Dobber Sports
2008-07-01
The Oilers were at again this morning, shipping Joni Pitkanen to the Hurricanes for Erik Cole, relieving them of a contract (and injury) headache that they had already replaced last night in the Visnovsky trade.
The Oilers get: some more toughness with Erik Cole, who plays Brule's style of hockey – lots of hits with offensive upside. Edmonton has really done well these last 24 hours.
The Hurricanes get: that offensive defenseman that they have been covetting. However, they already had one in Joe Corvo and with Pitkanen's fragility this may come back to haunt them. However, they saw how the addition of Corvo improved their game, so they figured addiing Pitkanen will double the pleasure.
Fantasy Players Impacted: Frantisek Kaberle is now pushed down off the power-play unit. Pitkanen is one of those rare defensemen who has the talent to notch 70 points – but he'll never stay healthy enough to get there.
Dustin Penner and Robert Nilsson will now have to battle for a spot in the top six. I don't see Cole's points improving above 65 with this deal.