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News from the waiver wire this morning, the Oilers have claimed Adam Clendening from the Anaheim Ducks.
The #Oilers have claimed defenceman Adam Clendening off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks. pic.twitter.com/bCmCXAhfXi
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 27, 2016
The Oilers will be Clendening's fourth team since last season ended. Near the end of July he was acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Vancouver Canucks, along with Nick Bonino, in the deal that saw Brandon Sutter sent to the west coast. Not even two weeks ago Clendening was again on the move when he and David Perron were sent to from Pittsburgh to Ananheim in exchange for Carl Hagelin. And now he's a member of the Oilers. That's a busy six months.
Originally a second round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2011, Clendening has played 30 games in the NHL - 4 with Chicago, 17 with Vancouver, and 9 with Pittsburgh - recording one goal and four assists. In 202 AHL games he's scored 23 goals and 103 assists. With numbers like that it's clear that there is some offensive skill there, that's likely why some many teams are interested in him, the obvious question is, will it translate to the NHL.
Oh, and can he actually play defence?
@coreypronman Scouting report on Adam Clendening?
— Malik (@DaRealMiikey) January 27, 2016
Very skilled puck mover, creative, poor defensive hockey sense, takes too many bad risks w puck. https://t.co/A31tOBh42X
— Corey Pronman (@coreypronman) January 27, 2016
Well that's not too encouraging.
As hypothesized by Bob Stauffer on Twitter, the acqusisition of Clendening could well mean that one of the Oilers right handed defenceman will be on the move in the near future. With the trade deadline approaching having a couple extra asstes is never a bad idea. Perhaps the next move will involve a defenceman who would be (generously) described by many in much the same way as Clendening but is a couple years older and costs a whole hell of a lot more. We'll have to wait and see.
Ultimately this is a smart, low risk move for the Oilers. Clendening will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, if they like what they see they can negotiate what would likely be a team friendly, two-way deal. If they don't see a place for him they just walk away and lose nothing. Aren't zero cost acquisitions great? And between now and the trade deadline having an extra defenceman gives Peter Chiarelli and company a couple options. It's hard to dislike this move.