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On this day in 2015, the Edmonton Oilers acquired forward Rob Kinkhammer alongside a first-round selection in the 2015 draft from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for David Perron.
For Klinkhammer, the 2014-15 season saw him find a new hockey home every handful of games. He started the season with the Arizona Coyotes, scoring three goals throughout 19 games before being traded to the Penguins. In Pittsburgh, he was surrounded by the hockey delicacy of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for all of 10 games before getting the news he was being relocated once again.
“It all comes with the territory; you just never know what’s going to happen, but I’m excited to be an Oiler,” Klinkhammer said as he packed his bags to head to Alberta’s capital city.
“Anytime you get traded, you try to look at the positives. I’m just going to come and try and help out and do my thing for this new team.”
The selling point for Klinkhammer was the opportunity to become a regular in the lineup, where in Pittsburgh, star players and others returning from injury were likely to outshine the 28-year-old.
Despite playing 40 games for the Oilers in 2014-15, scoring one lone goal and three points, Klinkhammer meshed well with forwards Matt Hendricks and Boyd Gordon, fuelling a chemistry-filled fourth line. However, the biggest prize was the birth of his son and inking a one-year deal just days apart in February 2015.
The following season proved to be slightly different expectation-wise. With the rise of new prospects entering the Oilers’ lineup, Klinkhammer was placed on waivers for reassignment to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors after 14 games with the Oilers.
He struck out the remainder of the 2015-16 season in the AHL, scoring 14 goals and 24 points throughout 27 games. However, he opted to take a different direction that no longer included the NHL.
Klinkhammer spent six years in the KHL with the Dinamo Minsk, Ak Bars Kazan, Avangard Omsk, and Dynamo Moskva. He last played in 2021-22 games with the Moskva, scoring six goals and 16 points throughout 41 games.
As for Perron, he had one of his best seasons with the Oilers in 2013-14, scoring 28 goals and 57 points. Following the trade, he only lasted 86 games with the Penguins (43 games in 2014-15 and 43 games in 2015-16). He scored 16 goals and 38 points during his time but was ultimately traded to the Anaheim Ducks for the remainder of 2015-16. He signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Blue in July 2018 following the inaugural season with the Vegas Golden Knights. With the Blues, he became a Stanley Cup Champion in 2019. After four years with St. Louis, he signed as a free agent with the Detroit Red Wings, where he’s currently in his second season with the team. In 2023-24, he scored seven goals and 13 points across 30 games.
The 2015 first-round pick that the Oilers picked up alongside Klinkhammer was traded to the New York Islanders, where they selected Mathew Barzal 16th overall. Barzal has played for the Islanders across eight seasons and currently has 10 goals and 36 points across 34 games.
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