Another formality was completed on Monday afternoon, as the Edmonton Oilers qualified three of their pending restricted free agents. Defenders Justin Schultz and Brandon Davidson were qualified, along with forward Tyler Pitlick, the last remaining player from the trio of second round picks in 2010.
Schultz was an obvious candidate to be qualified, so this isn’t a surprise. While Schultz has struggled the last two seasons, he has some good points to his game, and very well could be saved as an NHL player. He’s a prime candidate for a short-term contract, although I’d look to deal him for a more veteran option that can help in 2015-16.
Davidson was obvious as well, as he was arguably the best shut-down option for Edmonton in the AHL last season. Davidson has emerged as a real pro-prospect these last five seasons. He showed well in an audition with the big club late this past season, and provides a lot of the qualities Peter Chiarelli is looking for.
Honestly, I think Davidson can help the NHL club more than both Nikita Nikitin and Andrew Ference at this point. I’d like to see him as Edmonton’s number seven defender come October, but I suspect that’ll be tough to pull off with all the bad contracts.
Lastly, Tyler Pitlick will get a third contract, likely a last chance. When he has played in the NHL, Pitlick actually hasn’t been bad. He’s a solid role player who plays hard and does a lot of the little things right. His offense has yet to translate to the pro game consistently, but he’s been injured for large chunks of every season. I think he’s a worthwhile risk.
The Outcasts:
Not much of a surprise here, but goalies Frans Tuohimaa and Tyler Bunz were not qualified. Tuohimaa has already signed in Europe, but today’s actions mean Edmonton (I believe) loses his rights. Bunz, like Tuohimaa, simply was not good enough at the ECHL level. Both guys are failed picks, but I wish them the best of luck.
Also allowed to walk was center Kellan Lain, who was acquired for Will Acton back in the fall. Lain barely played for the Barons, as he suffered a season ending injury right after the trade. He’s a bigger body, but provided little offense and did not fit in moving forward. His spot in the AHL will go to a prospect with a chance at an NHL career moving forward.
The most surprising non-qualified players were both forwards, Matt Fraser and Curtis Hamilton. Hamilton had his best pro season this past year, and even got a call-up to the NHL. That said, injuries have impacted his development, and he simply has not delivered enough at the AHL level to warrant another deal with Edmonton.
As for Fraser, well he never put it together, his skating was simply too poor for the NHL level. He knew what to do, had the shot needed to be a scorer, but simply could not get to the areas he needed to be at quick enough. He was a non-factor for Edmonton after being claimed off of waivers back in January.
Lastly, newly acquired forward Brad Ross, who is signed in Europe, was not qualified. I’m slightly puzzled as to why he was included in this past weekend’s trade of Martin Marincin, but regardless, he is gone. Keith Aulie, who served as Edmonton’s seventh defender for chunks of last season, was allowed to walk as well.
The numbers game suggests that there simply is not any room on the NHL roster for Aulie. I think we can safely say that Eric Gryba stole his spot.
There were no real surprises here, but it’s another bit of news that we need to talk about. Aulie was decent as a depth option last season, but was too slow to be anything more at this level. Same goes for Fraser, while Hamilton was a case of injuries.
As of now, this has minimal impact on the NHL roster. The third line-wing spot, occupied by Fraser late, is now wide-open, although we can assume that Leon Draisaitl will slide into that spot. On defense, Schultz returns, likely to the second pairing.
More as it comes. Should be a busy week.
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