Oilers re-sign Zack Kassian

Kassian Re-Signs with Edmonton

After some early morning speculation from TSN’s Bob MacKenzie, The Edmonton Oilers made it official: Zack Kassian agreed to terms on a one year contract.

The #Oilers have agreed to terms with forward Zack Kassian on a one-year contract. Welcome back, Zack! pic.twitter.com/9S9TpbjOoj

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) May 19, 2016

1.5 for Kassian. 1 year.

— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) May 19, 2016

Kassian, once public enemy number one in Edmonton from his days as a Canuck, was acquired on December 28th from the Montreal Canadiens for Goaltender Ben Scrivens.

Kassian was earlier placed on waivers but cleared after completing a stint in rehabilitation for substance abuse. Since arriving from Montreal, Kassian would play seven games in Bakersfield of the AHL and then 36 games with the Oilers. In those 36 games, Kassian had three goals and eight points.

My Take:

I like the move. I was a fan of the move back in December because Kassian was a buy low option and the Oilers gave up a goal tender that was no longer in the plans with the organization. The Oilers won that trade quite handedly: Ben Scrivens struggled in Montreal and was sent back down to the AHL and his NHL days could be done.

Number 44 meanwhile brought a much needed different element to the Oilers: Size and Nastiness. Sure, his production was lacking (his career Points per Game average is 0.32 while this season it was a 0.22) and Kassian seemed to slow down during the stretch and fought several bouts of inconsistency.

Still, I like the signing because it’s a buy low at only one year and 1.5 million dollars. It’s very little term and money, especially compared to other expensive bottom six options in Matt Hendricks, Mark Letestu and Lauri Korpikoski.

Kassian was one of the Peter Chiarelli’s acquisitions towards a bigger and meaner team. While his production is stagnant, I’m really curious to see what he can do with a proper training camp and playing some hockey in the fall months rather than starting the season in January. His underlying stats are not great at all but there are some value in the nasty edge that he brings to a team that has long been pushed around like a bunch of marshmallows.

Combined with Patrick Maroon (who has two years and only 1.8 million), the Oilers are a lot bigger and nastier offensively. Just like the trade with Montreal, the Peter Chiarelli does another low risk, potential reward signing. The worse case scenario is that the signing does not work out and the team walks, but I’m rooting for Kassian.

He’s just too mean and too much of a disturber on the ice. He’s a deterrrent that we’ve sorely lacked for so long.