Now that we got all of that Ekblad non sense done. Lets continue on with the summer in Edmonton. As far as I can tell we are going to have three defensemen I’d Edmonton next year if we plan on being competitive. Belov is going to become an Unrestricted Free agent and I highly doubt he will be brought back. Some other teams might take a chance on him, but if we are going to get better. We have to move on without Belov.
Larsen is another guy who won’t end up back with the Oilers next year. He is the exact same type of player as Schultz and we all know who we’re keeping. Plus we need more responsible defenders to have a better chance.
I am hoping Marincin is going to end up back in the minors for another year of seasoning. I want him to take that next step with the Barons. To become elite in the AHL before coming to the NHL. We have a history of rushing players and ruining their development. I don’t want Marincin to be added to the list. Even though he has played good, he is in over his head right now. Same goes for Klefbom. He needs to play some hockey. he missed a whole year before coming here and injuries have slowed his development. He needs a full healthy season in the AHL to dominate before making the bigs permanently.
Nurse is another guy who is taking his game to the next level. He has blown the roof off the OHL since his Juniors snub. But another year in the juniors isn’t the worst thing for his development. He is dominating and has put on a bit of weight this year, which is all very good. But it won’t hurt him to season his defensive game a little more.
So that will leave us with two right handed defender and one left handed defender starting next year. Jeff Petry, Justin Schultz and Andrew Ference. That is, if they want to be competitive. You can always bring in a young player if you have decent defenders. But with Schultz being only in his third year. And then Petry not having too many more games. They are playing with fire if another rookie is dressed. A bottom pairing guy with some experience would be okay, lets say half a season under their belt. As long as they have a reliable partner with them. But we have neither of those here.
So I though we could take a look at the upcoming UFA flock that is going to be flying in this summer.
Weak doesn’t even describe this group. It’s by far the weakest group I have seen in a long time. When the group is lead by guys who will probably retire, or play a year or two while losing a step, its bad. Let’s take a look at the group of guys and see if there is a chance we could upgrade our back end through free agency.
The cream of the crop would be Andrei Markov. But he’s 36 so he’ll either end up back in Montreal or a contender. Dan Boyle will resign with the Sharks for a home town discount. Kimmo Timonen is coming to the end of his career, so the Flyers or a contender again. Kyle Quincey isn’t going to be any kind of upgrade over our current group. Brooks Oprik would help, but you can’t tell me he’s signing anywhere but Pittsburgh.
Another Penguin would be a definite upgrade, that being Matt Niskanen. But he’s another player that could fetch a decent contract on the market. I doubt he ends up on a bottom feeder, even though we could offer him a decent contract. Expect him to go to a playoff team for a decent price. That leaves guys like Derek Morris and Ron Hainsey etc. And non of those guys are going to upgrade our back end by any stretch of the imagination. So free agency might be a bust.
Or maybe no. There might be a few guys who actually could help our team, if they can regain their form from before. Let’s take a look at a few that could be signed for smaller contract.
A guy who might be okay as a sixth or seventh guy on our roster could be a guy who’s already on our roster. Mark Fraser brings an element that is lacking from our back end. He brings a physical element that we just don’t have right now. But if he want’s to earn himself a contract he is going to have to bring it more often. When he does play that way he is a very effective bottom pairing guy. The only problem is we haven’t seen it enough since being acquired.
Another left handed guy would have to be Jeff Schultz. He found himself out of favor in Washington and got bought out. Then he signed in Los Angeles and found himself the odd man out with their defensive corps. SO he find himself on the Monarchs. He has a huge frame at 6’6 and 223lbs. He once found himself with a whopping +50 season on the Capitals. Plus he only found himself in the minus column his last two yeas in Washington. He plays a shut down role very well. But only when he’s pairing with a partner that can move the puck for him.
He could be an asset that would find himself on our bottom pairing. Getting PK time and hopefully regain his confidence. If that works, he could also work his way up the rankings. As opposed to the garbage signing reclamation project Cam Barker. Schultz would come with no way to go but up. If he could regain the form that got him drafted 27th overall, this would be an excellent signing. What people who didn’t see him play a limited role would notice, he is already an excellent bottom pairing penalty that can block shots.
But there is a chance he could end up with a guy like Justin Schultz or even Jeff Petry and excel. He is a guy that is a bigger version of Ladi Smid. Just needs to build his confidence again. A gamble with a way better chance of working out than Grebby, Belov, Barker and Potter all combined.
If the Oilers want to make a big splash, they could always try and sign Andrej Meszaros. He brings a bunch of elements that our team sorely needs. He brings size, a howitzer of a shot, physicality and a great two way defender. The only problem with him is bring all these aspects on a consistent basis. Just imagine and defender who can throw a big hit AND play hockey. That’s unheard of, right? Another issue with him would definitely be keeping healthy. He is known for being an excellent player who can’t keep healthy.
Before being traded to the Bruins, he was arguably the Flyers best defender for the last couple months. He likes to throw big hits, which can put him out of position. He makes good decisions when to the jump into the play and has the wheels to make it back into the play when ill advised. He has cannon of a shot, which we haven’t had since Souray. That would desperately help our power play. And he just brings a bunch of elements that could help our defense. Before his time in Philadelphia he could stay healthy each year. So there is no reason to think he couldn’t do that here in Edmonton.
Any one of these guys could help upgrade our left side, which has been weak for a while now. Let’s take a look at who could shore up our right side and help this team.
Another guy that would be a perfect fit as a bottom pairing penalty killer would be Mark Fayne out of New Jersey. He plays a pretty un extraordinary game. Just a simple defensive game. He blocks shots and gets the puck out. As simple of a game as can be. What helps is he has size and strength to clear out the front of the net. So, all aspects that can help our team. He would make a perfect addition to shore up our right side. That is, if we can get him signed to a contract in the summer.
Last and definitely not least is a former Edmonton Oiler. As fans we are very familiar with his style of play. I’m talking about Matt Greene in LA. He’s big, he’s mean, he’s a great teammate and tough as nails. I was very upset to see him go, as were many Oilers fans. We haven’t had the same level of compete, or more so, toughness since he left town. He would be an upgrade to our back end in a big way. An actually functional big bruiser that can play decent minutes in the NHL. Awesome. He is coming back from a major injury, so there is risk to signing him. But the reward outweighs the risk in a big way.
Thank you so very much for reading! This is part one of a six part offseason series. Remember these are just a fun blog series. Kind of putting myself in GM drivers seat. I truly hope MacT makes these moves, but we’ll have to see if he does. I love to talk hockey with everyone so leave a comment or follow me on twitter @shawn_kelemen
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