On Tuesday night, both Ryan Rishaug of TSN and Mark Spector of Sportsnet tweeted out comments preparing Oiler fans for a quiet free agency period starting Saturday. For fans and observers like myself, who feel that this club still needs to make an addition or two, yesterday’s comments were slightly disappointing.
The Oilers have cap space and needs, but it is being telegraphed that they are content as is. I have mixed feelings on that decision.
July 1 will likely be very quiet for the Oilers, barring any major unexpected happenings, don’t think they’ll be doing much. Roster is set
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) June 27, 2017
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With Russell and Gryba now signed, #Oilers fans can chill on Canada Day. Not expecting any press conferences to announce UFA signings.
— Mark Spector (@SportsnetSpec) June 27, 2017
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Now, of course, this doesn’t mean that the Oilers will be 100% inactive come Saturday. Two years ago Bob Stauffer was telegraphing that the Oilers weren’t going to dive into the free agency market for a defender, but out of nowhere the club signed Andrej Sekera on July 1st.
That said, Rishaug and Spector have been pretty bang on this off-season, so I’m strongly considering their word here that the Oilers will be quiet and not register a big move this weekend when the NHL hands out massive deals with long term.
Is This A Mistake?:
Depending on who you ask, Peter Chiarelli is making a big mistake by not making a move this weekend to help his club. I, personally, reside in that camp. With Connor McDavid on the best value contract in the NHL, I think it would be wise for Chiarelli to go and pursue options both at the wings and on defense. Without addressing those needs, I feel the Oilers have some big holes that can be exposed.
I totally understand the thought process that continuity will help this Oilers team, and I actually agree with that. However, I think people are really downplaying the loss of Andrej Sekera for at least two months of the season. Many are speculating Christmas as his return date, but even then it will take him time to get back to full strength out there. He was arguably Edmonton’s most consistent defender a year ago.
It’s nice to think that Matt Benning or Darnell Nurse could slide up and fill Sekera’s shoes, but both of those rearguards are young and still developing as players. Assuming they can handle bigger roles is a massive risk. Sure, you may be right, but as we all know defenders do not develop in a straight line. This could backfire big time.
With Sekera gone, the Oilers are playing with a weakened defensive group that has problems moving the puck. That could be a major issue if not addressed by Chiarelli before October 4th.
Meanwhile, up front, the Oilers traded a 20-goal scorer for a player yet to score 51 points in a single season in his career. With Eberle gone, the club simply does not have a single natural goal scorer on the wings. That could also prove to be an issue as the club searches for goals outside of the McDavid/Draisaitl combo.
If the Rishaug and Spector items are true, Chiarelli is willing to go into a season with only three top-four defenders and a severe lack of goal scoring on the wings. Your opinion may vary depending on your faith in the young players, but I think that is a massive risk and, from where I stand, a mistake.
I hope I’m wrong on that.
The Other Side:
The people who will call me a “hater” because I disagree with them will bring up development as the way this club improves. In a way, those observers are 100% correct. I think it is fair to assume that Anton Slepyshev, Drake Caggiula, Jesse Puljujarvi and even Benoit Pouliot and Milan Lucic will have better seasons than this past campaign.
There is also the chance that Ryan Strome sees time with Connor McDavid and has a ton of success in the same way that Patrick Maroon has had, although I’m skeptical the Oilers can find lightning in a bottle like that twice. There is certainly room for development here, and I do think we will see some this coming season.
The other aspect of this is the trade deadline, which will be at the end of February this season. I know it is a long way off, but Ryan Rishaug had a good point on Twitter when talking about Edmonton standing pat this off-season and waiting to see what they need for a playoff run.
Should be noted, while Oil may return largely same lineup, they also have cap space, and picks. That means flexibility to add at deadline.
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) June 28, 2017
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Waiting allows them to evaluate what they have/need. Is Benning/nurse top 4? Can Strome produce at higher level? Will 77 be pp qb again?
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) June 28, 2017
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Edmonton’s flexibility at the deadline could allow them to become a big time player and fill holes that develop during the season, something they really couldn’t do this past year. We could see Edmonton go all in and be able to fill specific holes, like top-four D, PP QB and Strome’s role, as Rishaug mentions.
It’s an interesting thing to ponder, and could mean that Chiarelli’s ‘all-in’ moves wait until the very last seconds before the push for the 2018 Stanley Cup.
Final Thoughts:
In my mind, there is no better time to make moves than the off-season. The Oilers have made a few moves so far, but have yet to really make any major addition that helps push the club even further up the ladder towards the Cup. If reports are true that Edmonton plans to sit on the sidelines this weekend, I’ll be disappointed.
I think the Oilers have a chance to really push for a title next season, but management disagrees. I could very well be proven wrong, but I think it is a mistake by Peter Chiarelli and his staff.
Will it sink Edmonton’s season? Probably not, because with health this is still very much a playoff club. The only saving grace here for me? That Rishaug is right and the Oilers will look to add come the deadline.
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