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Ken Holland is jumping the NHL trade deadline Wednesday as he puts the finishing touches on a deal to land one of the higher profile free-agents on the market in Anaheim centre Adam Henrique.
He is also picking up depth centre Sam Carrick in the deal, landing two birds (Ducks, as it turns out) with one trade.
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The Oilers will be sending Anaheim their first-round pick in 2024 and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2025 (which becomes a fourth-round pick if Edmonton wins the Stanley Cup).
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Henrique, 34, was Anaheim’s first-line centre and put up 18 goals and 24 assists in 60 games while still managing to be a plus player on the 30th-place team in the league.
He’s also productive at five-on-five, which is important given that all of the spots on Edmonton’s power play are spoken for. Of Henrique’s 42 points, only 10 have come on the man advantage.
A veteran of 890 NHL games, Henrique spent the first eight years of his career with the New Jersey Devils and went four rounds deep in the 2011-12 playoffs, so he is comfortable playing two-way post-season hockey. He went to the Ducks in 2017-18 and averaged 20 goals a season in Anaheim.
Henrique shoots left and has been over 50 per cent in the face-off circle for the last six years.
Carrick was a right-shot third line centre with the Ducks who checks in a six-feet and 200 pounds. He’s a physical forward who has 90 penalty minutes and seven fights this season.
He fits the bill on a couple of fronts, proving the depth centre they’ve been looking for while also providing the grit and physicality they’d need in a series with Vegas or the LA Kings.
Both Henrique and Carrick are eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer.
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More to come.
E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com
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