Oilers Claim Adam Pardy and Adam Cracknell

The Edmonton Oilers have claimed a pair of pending UFA’s in the form of F Adam Cracknell and D Adam Pardy. Both players bring size and toughness but more importantly, both can fill out the roster for the rest of the season and allow young players to develop on the farm.

Cracknell:

A 6’2” forward that weighs 210 pounds and plays a big boy game. Cracknell is a tough forward who is physical but is nothing more than a role player. He’s got minimal offensive ability and while he can help on the penalty kill if need be, he’s nothing more than a fourth line option for a hockey club.

In 44 games this season at the NHL level, Cracknell has posted 5-5-10. He’s a little bit more of a player than Rob Klinkhammer, but he’s not a guy I expect to hang around past this spring.

This move is pretty simple, it allows Edmonton to send Jujhar Khaira to Bakersfield to further his development and be eligible for the AHL playoffs. I’d expect Cracknell, who plays the right wing, likely slides into the bottom six immediately.

Pardy:

Another big and tough player, Pardy stands in at 6’4” and 227 pounds. He’s a left shot defender which is an interesting note, and he’s been in the NHL for a few years now. In 14 games with the Jets this season, Pardy has registered just 0-1-1 and a -3 rating.

As for playing style, Pardy struggles with the offensive parts of the game and is nothing more than a shut-down defender who can fill a depth role. Like with Cracknell, this is a case of Edmonton acquiring a player who can fill in for the rest of the season and then move on in the summer. This allows Jordan Oesterle and possibly Darnell Nurse to head back down to the AHL and play during the playoff push.

Final Thoughts:

Both of these players are bottom of the roster NHL options who are fighting for their careers at this point. The odds that either are back here next season are slim to none in my mind. These moves have a purpose, it allows Peter Chiarelli to send young players (Oesterle and Khaira were assigned earlier this morning) to the AHL to further their development.

We’ll see both of these guys down the stretch, but we’re looking at fill-ins until this regular season finally concludes, nothing more than that.