Revisiting the Hurricanes & Oilers Foegele-for-Bear Trade

After rather disappointing ends to the 2020-21 season for both the Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes, both teams were looking for a change. While sometimes big changes are the go-to, small changes to depth can spark a locker room, and that’s exactly what both the Oilers and Hurricanes were after.

In late July 2021, Edmonton sent defenceman Ethan Bear to Carolina in exchange for forward Warren Foegele. It was a small, under-the-radar type trade at the time; however, it became more than that later on.

Related: Trading Fabian Lysell to the Oilers Would Make Zero Sense

Before the trade, both players were having rather pedestrian careers. Bear was drafted by the Oilers back in 2015 (123 picks after Connor McDavid) but didn’t appear until the 2017-18 season. He played in the organization from then until the end of the 2020-21 campaign, appearing in 132 NHL games and posting 33 points. He was typically a bottom-pair defenceman who could handle average minutes. He could be a good defender, though he seemed to struggle in his later days in Edmonton and received some backlash from the fanbase. It was good for him and the team to part ways.

As for Foegele, he was drafted a year prior to Bear in 2014. Also making his debut in the 2017-18 season, he played in Carolina for parts of four seasons, recording 68 points in an even 200 games. He became a grinder with great speed in the Canes’ bottom-six. Though his point totals never reached amazing heights, he was usually reliable and could make an impact spontaneously.

Now, let’s dive into what happened post-trade for these two veterans.

Hurricanes Receive Bear

Bear was active for the majority of his first (and only) season with Carolina. He recorded an adequate 14 points in 58 games in the 2021-22 season; however, he averaged the second-least amount of ice time in his career that season with just over 16 minutes per game. He could contribute the odd time on offence, but was simply a non-factor on defence. His plus-1 rating was the worst among regular defencemen on the team that season, which likely correlates with his dip in ice time. Bear and the Hurricanes just weren’t the match they hoped it would be.

He would be traded in the fall of 2022 back to the country of Canada, but to a different team. The Vancouver Canucks picked him up for a fifth-round pick in hopes of getting a low-risk, high-reward deal for him. He put up very similar numbers for them, posting 16 points in 61 games in a disappointing season for the team. Despite a pretty good season, Bear was released and wouldn’t be signed until midway through the next season when the Washington Capitals gave him a two-year deal. Another chance, but it would not last long, as he appeared in just 24 games before entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.

Bear recently signed with the New York Islanders on a one-year deal, hoping for likely one more shot to prove his big-league worth. So all in all, not an ideal get for the Hurricanes and a tough aftermath for Bear.

Oilers Get Foegele

The Foegele acquisition didn’t seem like much at the time in Oil Country. Bear had more supporters than doubters, and Foegele was a question mark. Oilers fans were tired of bottom-six forwards not working out, and they thought Foegele was just another one added to a long list; boy, were they wrong.

He became a huge piece of Edmonton’s contending team in the long run. Though with the team for only three full seasons, he was just what they needed. He was an energy piece that mainly played on their third line that could hit and strike on offence at random times. His downfall was sometimes his consistency to score, and he could often blend in with the crowd; however, he always made up for it come playoff time.

Foegele recorded 95 points in 231 games, playing two 82-game seasons in his three years in Edmonton. He also added 12 points in 47 playoff contests. As mentioned, he was a key part of the third line for the Oilers; his hard work was second-to-none when he turned it on.

After his stint with Edmonton, Foegele decided it was time to cash in on his hard work. His value had slowly crept higher over the years, and free agency rewarded him. The Los Angeles Kings gave him a three-year deal with a $3.5 million average annual value (AAV) attached in the summer of 2024. Foegele followed that up by posting a career-high 46 points with the Kings and rode with them to the playoffs. He is still fairly young and primed for more success, making the trade a big move for his career, looking back.

Oilers or Hurricanes: Who Won This Trade?

So we know what the players did before the trade and now after. That leaves the question of who won the trade back in the summer of 2021? Bear definitely had his fans in Edmonton prior to and around the time of the trade. Oilers fans were not keen on letting go of a young defenceman their team had drafted and put a lot of effort into. However, opinions quickly changed when Foegele hit the ice for them. He was a solid third-line option for a reasonable price and stuck around much longer than Bear did in Carolina. He became a valuable piece of a championship contender and launched his value, as mentioned. Bear’s short tenure with the Canes and career roller coaster loses him the edge in this one. Foegele wins this trade for the Oilers.

This trade isn’t a landslide by any means, but now that both players have moved on, and it is four years in the rearview, a winner is clear. Foegele has the edge over Bear career-wise to this point, and the Oilers are better for it.