The Edmonton Oilers continue to form their NHL roster. After announcing that the club had cut D Jakub Jerabek yesterday, the Oilers have officially traded him to St. Louis in exchange for a 2020 6th round pick early this morning.
The move will open a roster spot on Edmonton’s 50-man list, and opens up $1,000,000 in cap space for the club. Jerabek lost the seventh D job to Jason Garrison this camp, and was also behind Evan Bouchard and Ethan Bear on the team’s depth chart.
With a number of young defenders in Bakersfield and a few AHL veterans already signed, there wasn’t a lot of room for Jerabek. The Oilers have now flipped him for an asset mere days before the season gets underway.
There is a condition on the pick. It can become a 5th rounder if Jerabek plays in 50 or more regular season games with the Blues this season. It’s not a major upgrade, but it’s something to keep an eye on during the season.
With the move, the Oilers now have 46 contract slots taken on the 50-man list. They could possibly be at 44 by the home opener, as Bouchard’s contract would slide back to the OHL should he be sent down and Pontus Aberg is currently on the waiver wire.
Credit is due to Peter Chiarelli here. He took a chance on Jerabek late in the off-season and he just didn’t pan out. That happens sometimes, but Chiarelli made the right move and flipped him for an asset. Essentially, the Oil got a free draft choice for trying a player out. This was an astute move by the GM and he deserves credit for it.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Aberg in about 90 minutes, along with the rest of Edmonton’s roster. My bet? Jason Garrison signs a one-year deal when the Oilers return from Europe, while the club assigns Ethan Bear to Bakersfield to further his development. I think Alex Chiasson will get a contract too, with Zack Kassian possibly being sent away via trade.
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