Around trade deadline time, many observers of the Edmonton Oilers speculated that GM Peter Chiarelli could add a defender to his roster as we prepared for the postseason. Kevin Shattenkirk was the sexy and popular name, but Michael Stone also saw his name tossed around by Oiler fans and bloggers.
Stone would be moved to Alberta around the deadline, but he found himself south of Edmonton in Calgary with the Flames. His stint with the Flames was quite average, with Stone not being a liability but also not pushing the needle for a Calgary team looking to storm into the postseason.
He, like the rest of his teammates, was very ineffective in a quick first round exit this spring.
Why Is He Out There?:
The Arizona Coyotes are in the middle of a rebuild and decided that Stone, a pending free agent, would not be of use to them moving forward. The Flames picked him up at the deadline hoping he would be able to fill their number four spot on defense, but Stone underwhelmed there.
It’s possible Calgary re-signs him after the expansion draft, but the Flames have plenty of third pairing defenders and know that Stone doesn’t fill the hole that needs to be addressed. It seems like his stop in southern Alberta was purely as a rental.
What Does He Do Well?:
The right-shot defender is described as being an all-around defender who can help at both ends of the rink. He’s not an offensive dynamo by any means and is coming off of a poor season where he only posted boxcars of 3-12-15 in 64 total games before going 1-0-1 in four playoff tilts with Calgary.
That said, Stone has displayed solid offensive production before, posting seasons of 21 (13-14) and 36 (15-16) points while with the Coyotes. He can make and take a pass, which is important in today’s game, and he has a big point shot that could be appealing to the Oilers.
Stone can play a physical style and has size at 6’3” and 210 pounds, which is a big plus on a Chiarelli/McLellan team. Still, Stone is inconsistent defensively and has a habit of getting himself into trouble by trying to do way too much when he has the puck.
He averaged 19:49 TOI this past season.
Where Will He Play/Where Should He Play:
Stone is an interesting player because he is clearly a notch below Adam Larsson. That said, when Stone is on his game he can bring more than Matt Benning in my opinion. The problem? Stone is not on his game nearly enough and didn’t prove in Calgary that he belonged in a top-four role.
He filled that role in Arizona, but he was paired with Oliver Ekman-Larsson and a deeper look shows that OEL carried Stone around during their time together.
He’d likely be the second pairing RHD with Darnell Nurse or Kris Russell, but I think Stone is more of a third pairing defender at this stage.
What Will He Cost?:
Stone is coming off of a one-year deal that paid him $4 million. He signed that coming off his best season, so it is fair to assume that he’ll have to settle for a lesser contract this off-season. Would a two year deal worth $3 – $3.5 million per season get it done? I’d have to think it would, and honestly I think that may be even too much for Stone.
Closing Argument:
I believe that it is in Peter Chiarelli’s best interest to acquire a right-shot defender this off-season to help upgrade the defensive group. The question that I will ask is, is this player better than Kris Russell? I ask because the player being brought in would replace Russell on the second pairing, and if we are talking about an upgrade, well he has to be better than the guy he is replacing.
Personally, I do not believe that Michael Stone is a better NHL defender than Kris Russell, and to be honest I’m not a fan of his game. If I were the Oilers, I’d steer clear from Stone unless they believe that Matt Benning can move up to the second pairing full time or they trade Benning for help elsewhere (they won’t).
There may be interest in the player based off verbal from deadline time, but I would pass on the former Coyote and Flame.
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