One of the biggest needs in Edmonton is still the trigger man for franchise center Connor McDavid. While both Patrick Maroon and Leon Draisaitl were exceptional on 97’s line this past winter, it’s fair to ask if the club would be better off with Draisaitl centering his own line, something he did against Anaheim in the playoffs.
If that is in fact the case, and the Oilers move on from Jordan Eberle as expected, then the club will need to find a right winger to play on the McDavid line. It’s possible that Jesse Puljujarvi fills that role, but that is asking a lot for a second year player coming off a tough first season in North America.
The better bet for Edmonton is to head to free agency and try to find a scorer that can produce with McDavid. Veteran sniper Radim Vrbata of the Arizona Coyotes might just be that guy.
Why Is He Out There?:
If the Mike Smith trade signaled anything on Saturday, it was that this Coyotes’ rebuild is still very much underway and is going to take a little longer. Will Vrbata, a 15-year veteran who is still without a ring, want to go through that process as his career comes to a close? Without knowing his thoughts, I would assume not.
Cap space won’t be an issue, and it’s possible that Arizona wants the player back, but I have a hard time thinking Vrbata will want to end his career in this situation.
What Does He Do Well?:
The bread and butter of Radim Vrbata is his ability to fill the net. He’s got great hands, offensive instincts and a lethal shot that allowed him to score 20 goals even at age 36 and on a horrible Arizona club during the 2016-17 season.
Vrbata is a strong skater that still displays solid speed and should be able to keep up with Edmonton’s young guns up front. This is a very smart player too, one that knows where he needs to be in the offensive zone at all times. He has terrorized the Oilers for years by finding the small spots in the offensive zone to camp out and get his shot off from.
This isn’t a physical player by any means, but the Oilers wouldn’t be bringing Vrbata in to play a power game, he’d be in Edmonton to be the trigger man for McDavid. He averaged 16:53 TOI per night last season and scored 20-35-55 in 81 games for the Coyotes.
A few important things that may interest the Oilers are that Vrbata is a right-shot forward and that he fired 233 shots on goal over the course of last season.
Where Should He Play/Where Will He Play:
Forget age for a second, Vrbata is still a top-six forward in the NHL. He posted 55 points last season and would have ranked third on the Oilers behind only Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in that area. There’s really no doubt about where he should be on a team’s depth chart.
In Edmonton, his role would depend on what happens this off-season. If the club keeps Eberle and shifts Draisaitl to center, I could see Vrbata lining up on the McDavid line to start the season. If Eberle is moved and Leon remains at right wing, Vrbata would line up with Milan Lucic and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the second unit.
What Will He Cost?:
Late last summer, Vrbata signed a one-year deal that carried a cap hit of $1 million. That said, Vrbata had a number of built-in incentives that could have raised his deal to $3.25 million. He hit bonuses for playing in 30 games, and hitting the 20 goal and 40 point mark. He also had another $1.25 million in playoff incentives that were not reached.
Vrbata is probably looking at another one-year deal this summer, and I’d wager one that pays him around $1.5 – $2 million gets it done, especially if he has a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup.
Closing Thoughts:
The Oilers will be in need of players on cheaper contracts who can produce. Radim Vrbata, if he is willing to take a comparable contract to last year, could potentially be one of those players. He’s a very good fit in terms of his skills and strengths, and he’s also a right-shot forward.
Depending on what the club decides to do this summer, Radim Vrbata could be a solid option to bridge the gap between the current Oiler depth chart and Jesse Puljujarvi’s emergence as a top-six winger. To me, this could be a low-risk, high reward situation that greatly strengthens the Oilers up front.
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