The trade deadline commenced last Friday, but don’t tell that to the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers.

Both teams announced on Friday that they had made a deal, with the Oilers sending centre Jayden Grubbe to the Canucks in exchange for winger Josh Bloom.

Trades can still technically be made after the deadline, but it just means that any players involved can’t suit up for their new teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

That’s clearly not an issue for either Grubbe or Bloom, who have spent all of their pro careers in the minors.

Josh Bloom was originally acquired by the Canucks from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for struggling defenceman Riley Stillman back in 2022.

Back then, Bloom was an 18-year-old winger in his draft plus-one season. He was an intriguing bet in return for a defenceman on a mediocre contract who couldn’t stay in the Canucks lineup, possessing some speed and physicality at the junior level.

However, he’s had no bottom-line at the AHL level, posting just one goal in 19 games this season, to go along with a minus -12.

Based on just the counting stats, though, he does appear to be a likelier bet to be a depth contributor than Grubbe. He has 28 points in 19 ECHL games, compared to 19 points in 28 ECHL games for Grubbe.

The Oilers’ prospect, who was also born in 2003, like Bloom, has spent the entire 2025-26 season with the Fort Wayne Comets in the ECHL after being a full-time AHLer in the previous two seasons. He’s also missed nearly half of this season due to injury.

While Bloom profiles more as a speedy, physical winger, Grubbe is a more defensive-minded right-shot centre.

The rationale for this trade is likely that neither player was going to receive another contract from their current club. Both players are in the third and final year of their entry-level deals.

Perhaps the Oilers want a closer look at Bloom, who appears to have the higher upside. For the Canucks, the entire organization lacks centre depth, which is true in Abbotsford as well.

In Abbotsford’s last game on Thursday night, they dressed only three centres: Nils Åman, Ty Mueller, and Chase Wouters.

Both Bloom and Gruube were selected in the third round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Grubbe was picked 65th overall by the New York Rangers, while Bloom went 95th overall to the Sabres.