Oilers Qualify Four + Rumors Galore

Yesterday afternoon, right before officially inking Zack Kassian to a three-year extension, the Edmonton Oilers qualified four restricted free agents. The deadline to do so was yesterday at 5:00 pm est, so this was an expected bit of news. For the most part, the results were also as expected, save for one slightly surprising qualifying offer.

The #Oilers have issued qualifying offers to Leon Draisaitl, Joey Laleggia, Dillon Simpson & Bogdan Yakimov: https://t.co/jSHXd00jI7 pic.twitter.com/HpCCaJ4vBM

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) June 26, 2017

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Leon Draisaitl was a top-ten scorer in the NHL last season and will likely sign a major extension with the club in the next two weeks, so it’s no surprise he was qualified.

Joey Laleggia earned a new contract thanks to a switch to left wing that saw him explode offensively last season. He posted 20-18-38 in 67 games, playing forward from January on. He shoots the puck a ton and will likely get a long look in training camp this year. It’s an odd story, but hey, the kid can play.

Dillon Simpson was a strong veteran AHL’er in Bakersfield last season and could be Edmonton’s seventh defender if the club doesn’t bring back Eric Gryba. If they do, I suspect Simpson is the first call-up option and builds on the three NHL games he got into during the 2016-17 season.

Yakimov, for all intents and purposes, is the surprise here. He played in the KHL all of last season after bolting overseas during the 2015-16 campaign. He played in 50 games for Neftekhimik and is signed for the 2017-18 season in Russia. Looks to just be a case of Edmonton hanging onto a player’s rights just in case.

In the mix, Edmonton cut ties with a few players. Zach Pochiro, the player acquired in th
e Nail Yakupov deal, did not receive a qualifying offer. He played well in the ECHL last season, but clearly wasn’t in Edmonton’s plans. Ditto for David Musil, who was loaned to Arizona’s AHL club late in the season, and Henrik Samuelsson, who was shut down only a few games into his Oiler career in Bakersfield.

No surprise on Pochiro or Musil here, but I’m a little surprised Edmonton let Samuelsson go after trading for him in February. He’s struggled mightily at the AHL level, failing to stay healthy and failing to create offensive chances or post crooked numbers. This was the right move by Edmonton.

Rumors!:

Is Tyler Pitlick bound for another NHL city? The Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson had an interesting tweet on Monday indicating that the Minnesota Wild weren’t interested in Pitlick despite Matheson thinking it was a good fit.

Thought Wild might be interested in MInny native UFA RW Tyler Pitlick, but apparently they aren’t.

— Jim Matheson (@NHLbyMatty) June 26, 2017

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David Pagnotta at The Fourth Period did bring up Pitlick and the Oilers, and mentioned that it appears like the player would be moving on from Edmonton along with a few other pending UFA forwards.

Oilers will have a retooled bottom-6 next season. Pitlick, Hendricks, Desharnais all appear to be moving on. Sense is DD open to return

— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) June 26, 2017

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Personally, I’m a little disappointed to see Pitlick moving on. The Oilers invested a lot of development time in him and he finally started to produce and look like an NHL’er this past season. His torn ACL robbed him of a double-digit goal season, and I think he could be a fine depth option for a team next season. I like him better than options like Iiro Pakarinen and Jujhar Khaira at the bottom of the roster.

As for Desharnais, it is nice to see a player open to a return, but I don’t think there is a fit for him moving forward in Edmonton. He was the hero in game five against the Sharks, but was largely ineffective otherwise in Edmonton.

Encouraging early talks with Edm and UFA Gryba. I’m sure he’d like two-year deal, not one as last year though

— Jim Matheson (@NHLbyMatty) June 26, 2017

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I’m not sure about a two-year deal, I think it is a little too much term, but I think Eric Gryba would be a fine option for Edmonton as the seventh defender. He knows the team and system very well, plays his role perfectly, is good in the locker room, and he’s a solid shut-down defender. On another cheap deal, Gryba is perfect for a veteran depth role and I do think he ends up re-signing with the Oilers here in short order.

Lastly, The Fourth Period has their annual look at the “Top 30 Free Agents” up. You can read the full piece here, but I’ll quickly go through the players they have the Oilers interested in signing.

C Joe Thornton: I see the connection, but I don’t see the fit unless Leon Draisaitl AND Ryan Strome play on the wing full-time next season. The only other way to fit Thornton in would be to trade Nugent-Hopkins, but I’m not sure that is a wise decision at this time.

D Karl Alzner: Without a doubt this is a Chiarelli/McLellan player, but with Kris Russell now signed up for four years, I’m not sure there is a fit for Alzner. Complicating matters is the fact that he is also a left-shot defender.

C Brian Boyle: Chiarelli was interested at the deadline and he certainly fits this team. That said, his contract demands could simply be too much. Not a bad depth option if he’s reasonable on both term and money.

D Michael Stone: Right-shot defender that could platoon with Matt Benning to help replace Kris Russell’s minutes while he fills in for Andrej Sekera. Not big on this player however. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was an option.

D Dan Girardi: Gritty veteran that fits, but he’s deep into his decline and is a left-shot. Oilers should take a hard pass on this player.