Big Buff Might be The Oilers Answer on D

When I go out to enjoy a few pints with friends the conversation inevitably ends up surrounding the Oilers and what we’d do if we ran the team. The last year or two the talk quickly turns to which of the young Oilers forwards we’d trade to bring in a number one defenseman that the Oilers or at least their fans are so desperate to acquire.

After seeing Seth Jones traded to the Preds for center Ryan Johansen, then hearing that Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli offered Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for Jones services, the “what defenseman should the Oilers get” has been the focus of most of my Oilers related banter with friends. We again started talking about the Oilers bringing in guys like Travis Hamonic, or Kevin Shattenkirk, both viable options but someone at the table piped up and said “Why Trade anyone when Byfuglien might be available for free in July”.

“He’s going to cost to much for to long”

“He’s to old for a 7 year deal isn’t he?”

“Takes to many bad penalties”

“He’s out of shape”

These are all valid points, but at the same time there are other defensemen in the NHL that are on long term contracts that take them into their late 30’s who still play big roles on their team.

Zdeno Chara for one, Shea Weber and Dion Phaneuf are going to get there in a few seasons, what about Brian Campbell who at 36 is on the last year of an 8 year deal? I don’t think any of us fans would be complaining about Campbell’s contract right now.

Byfuglien is going to be 31 at the end of March and this offseason he’s most likely going to receive a 7 year deal for very good money. Rumor has it that he’s asking for an 8 year 55 million dollar deal from the Jets, that’s 6.875 million per. If Buff hits free agency and wishes to sign in Edmonton (We have better winters then Winnipeg) then the Oilers should do whatever it takes to get this man signed, and here’s why.

He’s a proven number one d-man. That’s a given, there aren’t many teams in the league that wouldn’t want him in their line up every night. He can play big minutes in all situations and bringing Buff in would move players like Klefbom, Nurse and Davidson down the depth chart to where they should be.

He can quarter back a power play too, Buff has a sense for offense but is also responsible defensively. But perhaps one of his best assets, and one I feel Peter Chiarelli covets, is in unpredictability when it comes to demeanor on the ice. He’s a mean SOB and opposing players always have to have their heads on a swivel when he’s out on the ice. It’s something the Oilers have been missing for a long time and P.C has shown, by bringing in Kassian, that it’s a quality he covets.

There’s a concern that the last few years of a 7 year deal for Buff would be wasted years and that he wouldn’t be worth his money at 36, 37, 38 years old. But if you look at the list of players I named above, they are all still serviceable. Brian Campbell at 36 is still averaging 21 minutes per night, Zdeno Chara is logging 24 minutes each game, Weber and Phaneuf are ice time leaders on their teams albeit younger then the first two mentioned. What I’m getting at I guess is, even if Buff has slowed down after year 4 of a seven year deal there is probably little chance he’s logging less then 18 minutes a night at a conservative glance. The other option that Buff has that most other defensemen don’t have is the ability to play forward. If the Oilers have younger defensemen emerge and pushing for ice time then Buff can always move up to a bottom 6 forward role, still killing penalties and playing a checking/shutdown role. That is a rare quality in a player.

There could be some cap concerns going forward however, The Oilers are going to have to re-up Draisaitl, Nurse, and McDavid in 2 and 3 years respectively and those 3 players aren’t going to come cheap. Add to that the current contracts of Hall, Eberle, Nuge and Sekera, well there just won’t (Probably, depends where the cap goes) be enough room for all of them. But that’s fine in a way to. Signing Buff now gives Chiarelli a few years to make room on his roster cap wise. If you can get a number one defenseman without having to trade any assets then why wouldn’t you. It enables us and the Oilers brass the possibility of getting a few more years with out having to break up the “core” of the young skill up front.

If everything works out, maybe another need arises and a player like RNH, or Ebs will be moved then. But for a team that’s lacked depth for so long there presents an opportunity to continue improving the roster with out sacrificing said depth.

Of course for this to happen Byfuglien has to make it to free agency, there’s a chance he’ll be traded to a contender or even remain with the Jets to help with their playoff hopes. But the Jets have a few players who need signing and they aren’t going to be able to keep all of them. Let’s hope Buff is the odd man out there, because if he is then this is a no brainer for the Oilers.

Thanks for Reading.

PS. The Oilers signed goalie Cam Talbot to a 3 year contract extension this morning as I wrote this. I like the term, but to me the money is a bit high (12.5 million over 3 years), I would have been ecstatic if the number came in closer to 3.5 million per year, at 4.17 I’m kind of meh about it.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think about the Buff idea, and the Talbot signing. Either way it’s kind of fun to look at a coveted free agent and think, hey he may actually want to play here.

#OilersRigLive4MS – Don’t forget about our upcoming MS Charity Fundraiser at On The Rocks Jasper Ave, February 26th. It’s going to be a fantastic time and tickets are only $12.50 with 100% of the proceeds going to the MS Society. Also it was mentioned on our twitter account the other day that the next 25 tickets sold will be entered into a draw for your choice of an autographed Taylor Hall puck or a signed Eberle hat. There are still spots to get in on the draw. Get Your tickets now by clicking the ad below.