Oilers Free Agency – PTO’s?

We’re about a month a way from training camp, roughly five weeks. I don’t wanna rush the summer away, but we’re closing in. What that means is that training camp rosters will begin to take shape in quick order here. Over the next four weeks, we’ll hear about the final free agents signing and teams inviting players to camp.

Last season, Edmonton invited one NHL’er to camp, F Kevin Westgarth, an enforcer. Westgarth was cut from camp, but his invite caught my eye because it was the first time Edmonton had used that tool for a player at that level in a long, long time.

Could Peter Chiarelli use the camp invite tool this season? He did it in Boston a few times, most recently last season with F Simon Gagne. If he does choose to go that route, he’ll have a number of options this year.

Center Mike Santorelli:

Sunil Agnihotri of Copper and Blue put up a very good piece on Santorelli earlier this week. He’s an option that I’m surprised is still out there, he could help the Oilers out in a number of different ways.

First off, he’s a center, which is still a position of need. Yes, the Oilers have Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid, Anton Lander and Mark Letestu, but what happens when injury hits? Edmonton doesn’t have a fifth center that can fill in, leaving the team exposed. Santorelli would fix that.

Santorelli isn’t a big time point producer, but he did score 14 even strength points last year in 79 games, and did post respectable possession numbers on a bad Toronto team and a solid Nashville one.

This isn’t an impact player, but he’d be a terrific 13th forward for the Edmonton Oilers and is well worth a training camp invite. That said, I can’t see the player reaching September without a contract, someone is going to get a solid player on the cheap.

Left Wing Jiri Tlusty:

If Edmonton wants to roll with three scoring lines, then Jiri Tlusty would be a solid option to come to camp this fall. Last season, Tlusty scored 14-17-31 in 72 games. He’s not a game breaking forward, but he can post offense and have an impact.

Tlusty has been a consistent performer the last three seasons, hitting 30 points in each and every season for the Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets, whom he finished the season with this year.

He’s not overly big, only 6′ and 209 pounds, but he’s very quick and, as mentioned, very skilled. I’m not sure he’s a top-six producer, but if the Oil want to give potential third line center Anton Lander another skilled option and give Leon Draisaitl some insulation, then this could be smart.

I can’t see Tlusty getting anything more than a one year deal at this point, and think it’ll likely come to an invite for the Czech forward. He’s my personal favorite option for a PTO.

Defender David Schlemko:

I know the Oilers have a logjam on the blue-line, but there is still room for improvement. If the Oilers want to add some speed and skill to this unit, the former Flame and Coyote might be a good option. Schlemko won’t put up a ton of points for a team, but he’ll help drive possession.

He posted positive possession numbers for three different teams a year ago (Arizona, Dallas and Calgary) while handling third pairing minutes. Again, he won’t push the needle, but he’d be an improvement over players like Nikita Nikitin and Andrew Ference.

Schlemko hasn’t signed yet, and likely will settle on a PTO this fall. There are a ton of solid defenders still on the market, meaning a player like Schlemko could miss out on a guaranteed deal.

Final Thoughts:

I can see the Oilers using this tool this year. The team still needs help in a number of areas, and a number of solid free agents are still looking for work. There’s no harm in this, because you can cut guys when you see fit. It’s a very appealing option for Edmonton, and one that a savvy GM would use. Will Chiarelli do so? I think he does.