This past weekend, Craig MacTavish met up with Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal for a question and answer session regarding the upcoming Oiler off-season. One of the most interesting quotes was MacT again referring to running three scoring lines next year, and looking for someone to play with Nail Yakupov on that third unit.
Could Mason Raymond, a solid skilled winger that has had success in the Western Conference before, be an option for the Oilers to play with the Yak man?
Why Is He Out There?:
Last summer, injury concerns kept Mason Raymond on the market until near training camp, when he agreed to fight for a spot in Toronto. He won a spot in the Leafs lineup, and actually was one of the team’s better forwards this past season. Raymond is looking for a more stable contract, and considering the state of the Leafs, he likely won’t be getting it there.
What Does He Do Well?:
Mason Raymond is a good offensive player with speed and skill, but he’s a one dimensional forward. Raymond is a player that has excellent skating ability, and will be able to keep up with the Oilers’ young skill. He’s also a guy that isn’t huge, but can hold his own physically out there.
Offensively he’s an extremely talented player that is the perfect secondary scorer for a good hockey club. He posted 45 points in 82 games this past season, including 19 goals for the Leafs. He posted 22 points in 46 games in 2013 for Vancouver, while adding 20 in 55 games the year before, coming off of a major injury.
He doesn’t score at a superstar rate, but he scores at a good clip and is usually over half a point per game a season. There is value in players like that, especially for a team like Edmonton that struggled to score this past season in a major way.
That being said, Raymond is not a great possession player. He posted a 44.2% Corsi For on a bad Leafs team this year, but struggled on good teams in the past as well, posting a 48.8% mark in 2013 in Vancouver. Since his injury in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, he’s struggled a bit in this area, and seems to be a guy that goes with the flow of his hockey team.
In other words, he isn’t a difference maker, just a solid secondary piece.
Where Will He Play, and Where Should He Play?:
Raymond is a left winger, and if he joined the Oilers he would be the third line winger behind both Taylor Hall and David Perron, who are decidedly better than he is. Raymond ideally plays on a soft minutes third scoring line, which is a perfect role for him.
He’d be a top-nine depth forward on just about any good NHL team, so he’s right in the range here.
What Will He Cost?:
Raymond, like Pouliot who we last discussed, will likely want some security on this deal after having himself a nice season in Toronto. He’ll likely be asking for a multi-year deal in the $2.5-$3 M per year range, which is decent money for a player that can produce over 40 points a season.
Closing Argument:
The Oilers want to run three scoring lines, and will need to add some secondary weapons to make that happen. Mason Raymond is far from a superstar and he has his own struggles, like defensive play and to a degree the possession game. That being said, he’s still a valuable player and could help the Oilers see their vision through.
He’s a decently young player with a fair amount of skill and a lot of speed, and is a guy that can put up a good amount of points in a secondary role. The Oilers don’t have many forwards that can score behind their main cluster, and secondary scoring is a noted item on the shopping list this off-season.
He shouldn’t be the top option for the Oilers, but Mason Raymond should be on the team’s radar for secondary scoring this off-season.
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