Two players who were traded for each other in the summer go head-to-head when the Edmonton Oilers host the Carolina Hurricanes Saturday night.
Ethan Bear played 132 games with the Oilers before being traded for Warren Foegele on July 28.
“It’s a place with a lot of memories.
“It’s a place I called home. It’s going to be exciting,” said Bear after the morning skate on Saturday.
Bear’s tenure with the Oilers didn’t end well on or off the ice. In game four of the team’s playoff series against Winnipeg, Bear’s turnover led to a Jets goal. He was benched for most of the remainder of what turned into a triple-overtime loss. Then, he was the target of racist comments online.
When asked if he feels any tension coming back to Edmonton he said he tries to think past the negative comments that happened and tries to think of all the positives he had while donning the orange and blue.
“I really did love playing here. When I got traded, I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or sad.”
This season, Bear has six points in 18 games. He missed some time while in COVID-19 protocol. He also didn’t play Thursday in Calgary because of a non-COVID illness. Bear is expected to play against the Oilers.
“It was my time to leave and I think I’m in the right place now,” he added.
Foegele played 200 games for the Hurricanes before the trade.
“It’s obviously bittersweet a bit. I’m excited to play these guys. I went out for dinner with a couple of them last night just to catch up,” said Foegele.
“I’ve had this date circled for a long time.”
The Oilers are hoping for more offence out of Foegele and his mates on the third line. He’s gone 18 games without a goal.
“This year has been a couple of ups-and-downs for myself. The one thing I’m learning is just control what you can control. I thought the last couple of games our line has been going here. We just gotta keep playing that way and build off it,” Foegele explained.
Defenceman Kris Russell is expected to miss at least a couple of weeks after being injured Thursday against Boston. The Oilers expected lineup versus the Hurricanes is:
Hyman – McDavid – Puljujarvi
Nugent-Hopkins – Draisaitl – Yamamoto
Foegele – McLeod – Kassian
Shore – Ryan – Scevious
Nurse – Bouchard
Lagesson – Ceci
Niemelainen – Barrie
Koskinen
The Oilers and Hurricanes are on 630 CHED with the Face-off Show at 6:30 p.m. The game starts at 8 p.m.
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