A quick rundown of Western Conference action so far…

While I’m sure there will be a bounty of other deals taking place Monday that may dwarf those that came shortly before, here are some thoughts on a few trade deadline happenings and how they pertain to the Western Conference as of Sunday evening:

Oilers send Mark Letestu to the Predators for Pontus Aberg:

Along with a rumored Pat Maroon deal heightened by him being held out of Sunday night’s tilt with Vancouver, this is part of Edmonton being once again a serious seller. Who would have thought it in the preseason? The diminutive, 24 year-old Aberg has upside for sure, with 76 goals and 56 assists in 203 AHL contests, and brings the Oilers some needed speed at the wing as well as playoff experience that extends to last year’s Finals. His contract figures won’t hurt either, at $650,000 for 2018-19. That’s more appropriate at this time for Edmonton than keeping battle-tested Letestu and his expiring contract out of the playoffs. Interesting that Nashville swaps him for what ultimately becomes a fourth-round pick. Maybe they think his three goals and seven assists in 51 NHL games is a more telling stat than his minor league marks.

Predators send Mark Letestu to the Blue Jackets for a fourth-round pick in 2018:

Letestu might have been a solid, scrappy complement to another Cup run, but it looks like they’ll pick up their veteran savvy from familiar and apparently soon-to-sign Mike Fisher.

Oilers send defenseman Brandon Davidson to the Islanders for a third-round pick in 2019:

A restricted free agent next year, likely they would have let him go rather than offering a raise (he makes $1.4M this year) they can’t really afford. After picking him up on waivers from Montreal in December, they may as well get a decent draft pick for him. The Islanders need defense pretty badly, so I’d imagine this was about the best return they could expect.

Golden Knights acquire forward Ryan Reaves, a fourth-round pick in 2018, and 40% of Derick Brassard’s salary for sending Tobias Lindberg to the Penguins:

A Vegas/Pittsburgh Finals scenario just got even more interesting. Reaves is sure experienced and about as tough an element as you can get on a squad that could benefit from it in the postseason. They are in the NHL’s bottom five in total hits this campaign, and just like Pittsburgh thought Reaves an important protector of Sidney Crosby and company, Gallant could use him well in some six and seven game playoff series in which opponents might try to slow down the pace and get physical. Along with Brayden McNabb and Colin Miller (the only Knights in the top 100 in hits) they’re now more ready. Lindberg is just 22, but hasn’t scored much in the AHL (25 goals, 43 assists in 149 games) after a 78-point OHL campaign with Oshawa in 2014-15. He’s big at 6-02, 216 but has just 18 points in 49 AHL games this campaign. 

Coyotes send Tobias Rieder and Scott Wedgewood to the Kings for Darcy Kuemper:

We’ll see if Kuemper’s numbers hold up with a less effective defense in front of him, but this is a big upgrade for Arizona’s back-up (1B?) goalie spot. It’s not that Wedgewood doesn’t have promise, but Kuemper is the better get at this point. Their prompt two-year deal with the new netminder also might ease the pain of a potential Raanta free agent departure. Along with Aaron Dell and Carter Hutton he’s at the top of the 2018 summer class in net. And let’s not forget, Quick hasn’t been all that automatic in net this year. Losing Kuemper’s 10-1-3, .932, 2.15 security is a risk. Rieder has already shown a bit of simpatico with franchise cornerstone Anze Kopitar, registering a goal alongside his assist Saturday and firing six SOG.