Oilers acquire 3 new defencemen in pair of trades

The Edmonton Oilers acquired three new defencemen, including one Connor McDavid once called "classless," while swapping out two blue-liners and a forward over a pair of trades on Sunday.

Edmonton first picked up Alexander Petrovic from the Florida Panthers, then added Brandon Manning and Robin Norell from the Chicago Blackhawks hours later.

Florida received blue-liner Chris Wideman and a conditional third-round pick in the 2019 NHL draft while the Blackhawks took forward Drake Caggiula and defenceman Jason Garrison in their trade.

Manning has a contentious history with the Oilers, dating back to his hit on McDavid in 2015 that resulted in a broken collarbone for the then-rookie. McDavid later called Manning — at the time a member of the Philadelphia Flyers — "classless" following a 2016 game that included a minor scuffle between the two.

In his first year with Chicago, Manning has a goal and two assists in 27 appearances, while Norell currently plays in the Swedish Hockey League with Djurgardens.

Caggiula had spent his entire three-year career with the Oilers, accruing 27 goals and 22 assists since debuting in the 2016-17 season. Garrison, who has one goal in 17 games this season, signed with Edmonton as a free agent in October after playing for the Vegas Golden Knights last season.

Wideman on the move — again

Petrovic, 26 has one assist in 26 games with Florida this season.

He has appeared in 254 regular-season games over his five-year NHL career, posting 49 points on five goals and 44 assists.

The Edmonton native was originally selected by Florida in the second round, 36th overall, at the 2010 NHL draft.

Wideman, 28, has two assists through five games with the Oilers this season since he was traded to Edmonton from the Ottawa Senators last month.

Wideman has 16 goals and 27 assists in 175 NHL regular-season contests, mostly with Ottawa. He was drafted by the Senators in the fourth round in 2009.