Jordan Eberle was working out the morning of June 22, 2017, and went to switch the song — he ran the music at the gym — when he noticed Edmonton Oilers senior vice president of hockey operations Craig MacTavish was calling his phone.
"I figured I should probably take it," Eberle chuckled.
He did, and learned that after seven seasons skating for the Oilers, he was Big Apple bound, traded to the New York Islanders in exchange for fellow forward Ryan Strome.
Eberle was selected 22nd overall by Edmonton in the 2008 National Hockey League draft and went on to total 382 points (165-217-382) in 507 regular-season games and two assists in 13 Stanley Cup playoff games as an Oiler. He was shocked. At the same time, he also expected it.
"I had an idea it might happen based on what I was reading in the media and what people were saying on social media," Eberle said.
The deal set in motion a big-time move both on and off the ice for the 27-year-old Regina, Sask., native, who to that point had mostly lived a sheltered life in the serene confines of western Canada.
