Audition Time – Oilers Options Emerge

When Peter Chiarelli claimed Adam Cracknell and Adam Pardy off waivers on Monday, he called them roster fillers for the rest of the season. Based on the verbal and off of a sense of the roster, most people assumed that these players would simply play out the string and then leave as free agents come summer time.

Fortunately for both of these players, there is an opportunity here. Both guys could give the Oilers value depth contracts for next season if they can prove something in the final month and a half of the season. Both guys fit lower level needs and both guys are Peter Chiarelli type players.

Cracknell:

Adam Cracknell has a real chance to be an Edmonton Oiler next season. Watching him in Buffalo last night, his style becomes apparent. He’s a bigger player who will throw the body around and who plays an overall low event game. He can function in the offensive zone (set up the Sekera goal that was offside by an inch) and he isn’t a liability in the defensive zone.

He’s not a sexy name and he certainly isn’t a game changer, but he is tough to play against and he does bring size to a lineup that is usually described as soft. That will have value in and of itself. In addition to that, Cracknell is a guy who can fight, something Chiarelli teams have excelled at over the years.

When I look at Cracknell, I look at him as a potential value signing in a depth role. He’s never going to be a top nine forward, but is it crazy to suggest that he could play on the team’s fourth line for a year or two? He’s not a black hole offensively, he can function as a player.

He’s at 45 games, 5-5-10 this season and was at 17 0-1-1 last year with Columbus. Depth folks, he’s a depth player in the NHL.

Remember, Peter Chiarelli employed Shawn Thornton for a number of years in Boston on his fourth line. Those teams were quite solid as well.

At a $515,000 cap hit, Cracknell could be an exceptional option to save some money on someone like Lauri Korpikoski on the bottom line next season.

Pardy:

When I look at the Edmonton Oilers next season on defense, I see Oscar Klefbom, Brandon Davidson and Andrej Sekera as bonafide NHL options. The club will likely keep Darnell Nurse up next season, and I’d wager that Peter Chiarelli brings home another legit top four option. That, folks, is five defenders set for the team next season.

You can argue for Mark Fayne to return, for Jordan Oesterle to get a real look, for another defender to be brought in or Eric Gryba to be extended. All are possible options to fill the final two spots. I also would not rule out Adam Pardy getting a look as the number six or seven defender next season.

Here’s why: Pardy is 6’4” and 227 pounds, he’s a big boy. He plays a shut-down style, is a physical defender and is hard to play against. That fits the mold for what Chiarelli has been trying to add. On top of that, he’s a veteran who has played in the NHL over parts of eight seasons.

Again, we aren’t talking about a sexy player here, we are talking about a depth option. Adam Pardy could serve as the number seven on an NHL team and I’d be more than okay with it. He fits with the desired style in Edmonton and plays a hard game.

We’ve only seen him once, but he looked pretty calm outside of a few instances on Tuesday in Buffalo. He looks a lot like Eric Gryba to me, and he could come in at a lot cheaper of a price point. Currently, Pardy is making just $1 million annually and is a free agent on July 1st.

If you can save close to a million dollars, would you pick Pardy over Gryba for the number seven role next season? It’s too early to say for me, but if he can play a smart and low event game like on Tuesday, then I’d consider it.

Final Thoughts:

These guys may just end up exactly like we thought they would when they showed up, as roster fillers who play 18 games in Edmonton and move along. That said, considering their contract situations, skill-sets and players ahead of them, I think we need to look at this as an audition period.

Keeping heavy players who are tough to play against around as role players is something Peter Chiarelli did in Boston. It would not surprise me at all if Adam Cracknell is on the fourth line next fall and Adam Pardy is the club’s seventh defender. These guys should be watched the rest of the season, they might just be fighting for a job with the Oilers.