First, the Other Team news. Sounds like Pittsburgh's signed Dupuis to a very reasonable 1.4mm/3 year deal. I've been a fan of Dupuis for a while, I always thought he was a suitable Dvorak supplement/replacement, and at 1.4 a year, the Penguins have him signed for a very reasonable number. Too bad, although I guess it's understandable he'd show the Pens some loyalty (and maybe leave some money on the table).
Torres for Brule? It's hard to know what to make of this. Salary dump, getting rid of a problem child, who knows? I do know his even-strength is good, and that's hard to find in a guy who can pot 15-25 a year while steamrolling players. This is almost like a mid-90s Oilers trade. I don't much like it, unless it's going to be matched with a signing or a trade later - and I don't believe that it let the Oilers trade for Cole, that was going to happen anyway. If he was causing problems on the team, then sure, ditch him, but without knowing that sort of inside information, this trade stinks. The team was already soft up front, Glencross is not certain to return and Moreau's brittle enough the last couple of years that even glass looks tough. Combine that with losing Greene on the back end while adding Vish, and this is a team ripe for the Regehrs and Prongers of the world. Brule's addition has got to have Schremp looking over his shoulder though - poor guy can't buy a break, he should just get traded already because it's pretty clear he's going nowhere fast in this organisation.
Pitkanen for Cole is understandable. I love the Finn's style of play, when he's healthy. And therein lies the rub. He missed an awful lot of 1-2 game streaks this past season, and it didn't sound like he had the coach's confidence by the end of the season. With Torres out, the Oilers needed some size on the wing, and Cole could fit the bill. I'm not as concerned about his previously-broken neck as some commenters are; Gary Roberts had a broken neck too, and that was about 600 regular season and 177 goals ago. Cole's broken neck didn't prevent him from playing 73 games last year and 71 the year before, or from winning a Stanley Cup against the Oilers. 29+22 goals and 61+51 points is doing pretty well. Cole will be a good Oiler, and Pitkanen was obviously the odd man out with two other $5m+/year blueliners on the team.