Oilers Welcome Ryan Smyth Back

			2010-2011 NHL Statistics				July 1st Status
To Edmonton	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Years	Cap Hit
Ryan Smyth	F	35	82	23	24	47	1	$6.25 million
--------------------------
To Los Angeles	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Years	Cap Hit
Colin Fraser	F	26	67	3	2	5	1	$825,000
2012 7th Round Draft Pick

The whole deal took an extra day or so, but it appears as though the Edmonton Oilers will welcome back one of their favourite sons back into the fold, as Ryan Smyth got his wish to head back home, being dealt from Los Angeles back to Edmonton for depth centre Colin Fraser and a late round draft pick next year.

It had been reported that Smyth had requested a move back to his original NHL team some time ago and there had been some discussions in the works for some time, but the deal only was finished moments before the draft and not without some funny business from the rivals down South, as the Calgary Flames tried to get in on Smyth instead.

The Oilers are a very young team, even potentially younger with the addition of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as their 1st overall in the draft, so the addition of Smyth would definitely bring some veteran leadership and experience to this club, which may have enough firepower to make some noise in the Western Conference in the 2012 season.

On the other side, the Kings are able to dump a good chunk of change from their cap calculations, while picking up a depth centre in Fraser, who will likely fill in a spot on the 3rd or 4th line, possibly taking up a spot left behind by Wayne Simmonds in the deal that saw Los Angeles acquire Mike Richards.

This is a pretty big swing in cap space, as the Kings drop down to $48.2 million for 10 forwards, five defense and two goalies, while the Oilers are sitting at $44.6 million for 10 forwards, four defense, two goalies and a buyout.  You can see how far apart these two teams were before the deal, if you just do the math, but this trade should benefit both sides going into the 2012 season.