Every single July, after the initial rush, NHL teams are left to pick from a group of free agents who didn’t get a chair in the first round of musical chairs. Usually, these players include older veterans, under-performers, or guys with contract demands that were simply too high.
This is where NHL teams can really make or break their seasons. Useful players are still on the market and could be had at value contract prices. As anyone who knows this great game knows, winning teams need value contracts to help provide depth.
Sometimes these signings don’t work. Alex Semin was a disaster in Montreal a year ago, while Cody Franson didn’t pan out how the Buffalo Sabres would have liked. Other times, like last year when New Jersey brought Lee Stempniak to camp, it works out better than imagined.
Over the next two days I’ll take a look at some possible candidates for the Oilers when it comes to bargain bin shopping in the dog days of summer. Today, we look at some forward options.
The Candidates:
Brandon Pirri (Anaheim Ducks): The Oilers were rumored, as per Travis Yost, to be interested in the forward when he was still a member of the Florida Panthers. Pirri suffered a lower body injury and missed significant time before being dealt for a song at the deadline to Anaheim.
Shockingly, the Ducks did not qualify the forward and it doesn’t look like they are going to circle back to him. He could provide Edmonton with some goal scoring depth (14 in 2015-16 and 22 in 2014-15) and can play center. That said, Pirri is a left shot and is a smaller forward.
Kris Versteeg (Los Angeles Kings): Another secondary scorer, Versteeg is coming off of a season where he posted 15-23-38 in 77 games. He’s not a game breaker, but the Alberta native can post offense at the NHL level. He’s had success in the west (Chicago and LA) and is a right-shot forward. He’d fit in nicely and could be had at a discount from his previous cap hit of $4.4 million per season.
Radim Vrbata (Vancouver Canucks): The Oilers are in need of a right-shot goal scorer and could use a little depth behind Jordan Eberle on the right wing. He’s certainly not a long-term option (34 years old), but Vrbata fits the bill for the time being. He plays right wing, shoots right and is a natural goal scorer.
He had a down year in 2015-16 (13-14-27) but scored 31, 20, 12 (34 games), and 35 in his previous four seasons. He’s a good buy-low veteran option who could fit nicely next to Connor McDavid or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Shawn Horcoff (Anaheim Ducks): The Oilers will run a trio of McDavid-RNH-Draisaitl down the middle in their top-nine this season, but center depth is something you can never get enough of. Anton Lander, after a dismal season, is likely on thin ice, while Mark Letestu did not provide enough last season.
Letestu should be fine in a fourth line role, but Horcoff would be nice insurance on what would likely be a cheap deal. On top of that, he actually produced a decent amount (6-9-15) for a sparingly used depth piece in 59 games.
Josh Jooris (Calgary Flames): The Flames did not extend a qualifying offer to Jooris, who scored 4-9-13 in 59 games last season. Jooris is a right-shot center who has average size, decent speed and a little bit of offensive ability.
He’s a decent bet as a depth forward on the fourth line who can play a physical game and wear a bunch of different hats. Again, not a game changer, but at 25 years old he is a guy who can play and be a bottom-six solution for a few seasons.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
