I guess August isn’t the Dog Days Of Summer after all.
On Sunday night, the Edmonton Oilers traded Defenseman Cody Ceci and a 3rd round draft pick in 2025 to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenseman Ty Emberson.
Ceci, 30, signed a four year contract with Edmonton as a UFA in the 2021 offseason and still has one year remaining on it. Since then, he’s put up 68 points in 237 regular season games and 13 points in 52 playoff games. He had some productive Game 7 moments, but his defensive play has come with heavy scrutiny among Oilers fans. I didn’t hate his play when he was on the third pairing with Brett Kulak. But every team has that one player who the coach pegs as their favourite to be overplayed, and Ceci’s minutes on the second/top pairing with Darnell Nurse most nights became a meme within the Oilers fanbase. It was said during this past season that the leadership group of the Oilers preferred having Ceci around instead of traded. But with the offer sheets signed by Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg last week, taking his $3.25M cap hit off the books was necessary. Will both of them be matched now?
Emberson was drafted 73rd overall in 2018 by the Arizona Coyotes, then traded to the New York Rangers but claimed off waivers afterward by the Sharks last summer. In 30 games this past season, he put up 10 points. I don’t know anywhere close to enough about this player to have an opinion of his abilities. But he does have a history with Kris Knoblauch, being coached by him in 2023 when he played for the AHL’s Hartford Wolfpack and was named the AHL Eastern Conference Best Defensive Defenseman.
Once An Oiler, Always An Oiler. All the best to Ceci on his new team. A Right-Handed spot is now vacant on Edmonton’s blueline. Will Emberson challenge Troy Stecher and Josh Brown for Oilers playing time this coming season?
