The NHL is a business and as such, players get traded when they're not expecting it all the time, but that doesn't mean the news doesn't catch you at awkward times.
To make things worse, the furniture Podkolzin was getting was for his family's new apartment. He also mentioned that the Vancouver Canucks general manager was gracious enough to call him and wish him well before he officially talked to the Oilers.
This just goes to show you, that trades happen at any time, even when you least expect them to. In the National Hockey League you have to be prepared for anything and everything.
Podkolzin, 23, was the 10th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and hasn't been able to live up to the hype. In 137 games with Vancouver across parts of 3 seasons, he's only managed to score 35 total points.