Kevin Lowe is building a winning team in Edmonton and added a couple of more pieces today while shedding some baggage at the same time.  Firstly he traded a disapointing Raffi Torres to the Colubus Blue Jackets for 21 year old Gilbert Brule, and followed that up by sending RFA Joni Pitkanen to the Carolina Huricanes for Left Winger Erik Cole.

What the Oilers gave up:

Raffi Torres – A very disapointing couple of season in Edmonton, Raffi can be a hard hitting, hard nosed type of player who goes to the net and scores goals.  Unfortunatly he is very inconsistant and for streches it is like he is not even there.

Joni Pitkanen – A very skillful defencemen who is great at moving the puck. He became a restricted free agent today and has a reputation of possibly being a bad apple in the locker room. This is the second time Pitkanen has been traded in his young career and that is unusual for such a talented player.

What the Oilers gain:

Gilbert Brule – At 21 the Oilers once again get a young forward with a truck load of potential.  Brule has yet to find his way in the NHL but may benefit from playing with other highly skilled young forwards on Edmonton.

Erik Cole – The heart of Ryan Smyth, the hitting of Raffi Torres…. Oiler fans will not be disapointed and I fully expect Cole to play on the top line with Horcoff and Hemsky.

Conclusion:

Thumbs up to Kevin Lowe and his staff.  In the last couple of days he has made some very nice moves that will not only benefit the team this season but in seasons to come. Just for kicks I’ve thrown together a possible forward lineup for the upcoming season:

Some possible guys for the last spot are Zack Stortini, MA Pouliout, or Marty Reasoner.

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