The Edmonton Oilers have made their second trade this week.

Barely two days after trading Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene to the LA Kings for defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky the Oilers today dealt forward Raffi Torres to the Columbus Blue Jackets for forward Gilbert Brule.

It’s a move that’ll free up considerable cap space for the Oilers. TSN reports Torres had two years and $5.15 million left on his current contract while Brule has only one season at $765K left on his.

Oilers GM Kevin Lowe could be planning a major acquisition either today or later in the week , as he’s hoping to land a top line forward, leading to speculation Joni Pitkanen could be used as trade bait if Lowe fails to land what he’s seeking in the UFA market.

This move could also benefit the Oilers down the road if Brule should finally achieve the breakthrough season expected of him when the Jackets selected him 6th overall in the 2005 entry draft.

Torres seemed poised for a breakthrough in 2005-06, scoring 27 goals and 46 points  and 11 points in 22 playoff games for the Oilers during their magical run to the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, but his production declined the following season and last year injury limited him to only 11 points in 32 games.

Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson was assistant GM with the Oilers in 2006 and knows what potential the 26-year-old Torres could still have. The Jackets desperately need experienced depth at forward and Torres could be a strong addition to their third line.

Torres will be expected by demanding Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock to bring a more consistently serious effort to his game so it'll be interesting to see how he responds.