Edmonton Oilers try out new acquisitions against Columbus Blue Jackets

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The Edmonton Oilers wasted no time taking a couple of their early NHL trade deadline acquisitions out for a test drive.

Then again, considering they were already bought and paid for, it was more of a maiden voyage than anything else for centremen Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick. The pair slotted into the lineup Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, just one day after being traded by the Anaheim Ducks.

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“Just pack up and kind of go. That’s that,” Carrick said at Nationwide Arena following his inaugural morning skate with his new teammates. “The best thing was to just get in and jump right in. Get to meet the guys, jump into a game right away, go play. And kind of go from there, take it for what it is.

“Me and Sam, we’re both excited to be here and get to know the guys and the group, and hopefully we’re a great fit.”

There was one guy Henrique didn’t have to introduce himself to. Corey Perry was picked up by the Oilers as a free agent on Jan. 22.

“I played with him for a few years. A tremendous person, a tremendous guy and on the ice he’s a competitor,” said Perry, who suited up with Henrique during his final two seasons in Anaheim (2017-2019). “He’s got that attitude that he wants the puck and he’s going to do anything to have it.

“And I think he’s going to be a great addition to this team. He’s going to help this lineup a lot.”

With all the question marks about how exchanging pieces at this point might affect the chemistry of a squad currently sitting second in the Pacific Division after managing to turn things around on its own following a 2-9-1 start to the season, at least Henrique and Carrick won’t have to wait and see.

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“Yeah, whirlwind’s probably a good way to describe it,” Carrick said. “I woke up yesterday morning expecting to play a home game in Anaheim and got to morning skate and that’s when the news kind of broke.

“I’d heard rumours before and, obviously, Adam was a guy who was pretty confident that he would be moved sooner or later. But it never really sinks in until it happens, and now that I’m here it’s starting to feel pretty real.

“I’m just grateful for the opportunity here and looking forward to making the most of it.”

It doesn’t hurt going from the 30th-place team in the league to a club in the top 10 that’s loading up in pursuit of its own Stanley Cup aspirations.

“For sure, I’m still kind of making sure that this is all real,” Carrick said. “It’s super special. Obviously, I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my career and a lot of hard work to get here. I think what you work for is this opportunity.

“Obviously, we had some rough patches in Anaheim. We made some good progress over my time there and I think the future is definitely bright there, but at this stage of my career it’s pretty exciting to be in this situation.”

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Connor McDavid was quick to douse any flames on the question of chemistry in the room, which welcomed Henrique and Carrick at the same time it bid farewell — at least temporarily — to Dylan Holloway and Connor Brown from the lineup in order to make room Thursday.

“I thought yesterday was a great day for our team, obviously not only adding two great players but two great people as well,” the Oilers captain said. “Character guys that can help our room and, obviously, their on-ice game is strong as well.

“And obviously the fact that we don’t have to send anyone away (via trade) helps a lot.”

As will the pieces added in hopes of filling holes in Edmonton’s roster ahead of what could turn into a lengthy and arduous playoff push.

“Certainly, I think they can bring some grit, some compete, for sure,” McDavid said. “I think Adam is having a career year and has been on a (run of) having good years, back to back to back here scoring goals, killing penalties and doing lots of really, really good things.

“And Sam is just a hard player to play against that makes it difficult for other teams. I know when we were in Anaheim, he makes it a long night on the face-off dot and plays hard and does all the right things.”

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Henrique appeared as left wing on the Oilers second line next to Leon Draisaitl, while Carrick centred the fourth line next to Mattias Janmark, bumping Derek Ryan over to right wing.

The Oilers now have seven centremen available, accounting for over half of the 12 forwards in their lineup, should head coach Kris Knoblauch so choose.

“It means you’re strong on the face-off dot. Usually, centremen are pretty smart players,” McDavid said. “I think all seven centremen in the top 12 are smart players. You can’t have enough hockey IQ on a team, so I think that’s a good thing.”

E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge

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