Edmonton Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson continues to generate the fewest headlines among the players who made major news June 29. That doesn't mean he hasn't made an impact on his new team.
Larsson, 24, was traded to the Oilers from the New Jersey Devils for left wing Taylor Hall, 25, six months ago.
The Oilers, last in the Western Conference in 2015-16, have benefited from an upgraded defense that includes Larsson and veteran Kris Russell, and are contending for first place in the Pacific Division. Edmonton is 18-12-6 entering its game against the Los Angeles Kings at Rogers Place on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, FS-W, NHL.TV).
Most important, Larsson is comfortable with all that has happened.
"It was a big change for me," he said. "With everything, I'd say the travel has been a bit of a surprise. But everything's been good. The city's really nice; nicer and better than I expected, to be honest with you. And my teammates are great and [Rogers Place] is just unbelievable.
"So it's a team that's had some ups and downs, but overall we've been off to a pretty good start and that has made life a little easier."
The Oilers have not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2006, but Larsson said he has seen little or no evidence of frustration caused by that drought.
"There are a lot of new guys here, and if you ask me this rink brings a lot of excitement to the guys who have been here in the past," Larsson said. "Everything is new for me, the guys, the coaches, so I don't have anything else to compare it to, except for my time in New Jersey. But looking into this group, I think we have all the pieces to do well.
"I see a lot of excitement in the room from the guys who have been here in the past."
Larsson's precise value to the Edmonton lineup has been tougher to gauge with statistics; he has two goals and four assists in 36 games and is tied for eighth in the NHL in hits with 106.
But the Oilers have improved defensively. In their 35 games prior to the Christmas break last season, they gave up an average of 3.03 goals per game. After 36 games this season, that number is down to 2.64.
Cutting down on goals allowed was a major focus for the Oilers when they sent Hall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, to New Jersey on June 29 for Larsson, the No. 4 pick in the 2011 draft.
Twenty minutes after that announcement, the Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators made a trade that involved the League's two highest-paid defensemen. P.K. Subban, 27, was traded for Predators captain Shea Webber, 30.
Subban, the 2012-13 Norris Trophy winner and a 2014-15 finalist, had completed two years of his eight-year, $72 million contract that has a salary-cap charge of $9 million per season. Weber was four years into his 14-year, $110 million contract that has a salary-cap charge of $7.85 million per season.
Weber has been a valuable addition in Montreal. The Canadiens are first in the Atlantic Division with a 21-9-5 record, and Weber has 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) and a plus-17 rating in 35 games.
Subban, who has missed five games with an upper-body injury, has 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 29 games fo rte Predators. They are 15-13-6, two points out of the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
Four minutes after the Weber-Subban trade came confirmation Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos would not hit the free agent market. After months of speculation, Stamkos signed an eight-year, $68 million contract with the Lightning, an average annual value of $8.5 million.
Stamkos had a quality start to the 2016-17 season with 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 17 games before tearing the lateral meniscus in his right knee during a game at the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 15. He's expected to be sidelined about four months.
Hall, a four-time 20-goal scorer with the Oilers, has 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 27 games for New Jersey, but is day to day because of a lower-body injury and won 't play against the Washington Capitals on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CSN-DC, NHL.TV). He's in the fourth season of a seven-year contract worth $42 million, an average annual value of $6 million.
The Oilers were aware of the offensive talent they were trading, but coach Todd McLellan said making head-to-head comparisons is difficult.
"This summer's trades, whether it's Subban for Weber, ours, whatever, will be forever discussed, debated on who won and who lost," McLellan said. "That's called being a fan, and you're allowed to do that.
"We had a serious void and we went out and tried to fill it. You can't compare the two [players]. You can't look at the stats sheet here, look at goals and assists. It's unfair to both. As people, they're both tremendous and they both fit our team extremely well. They just happen to play different positions."
Larsson is in the third year of a six-year, $25 million contract, an average annual value of $4.16 million. McLellan said the Oilers have realized value and stability from the trade.
"I have trouble talking about this all the time, because when you talk about one individual, you tend to put a negative slant on the other," McLellan said. "Taylor is a tremendous player and you can see what he's doing in New Jersey. But with Adam coming here, first of all it was positional. We needed to do that and we've created much better depth on the back end.
"Adam has arguably been, especially since Darnell Nurse has been injured, our most physical defenseman and he's been able to play some real good minutes against real good opposition.
"We are a better team this year. We've got a better record and we feel better about our group and where we're going and he's a big part of that."
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