Free Agent Frenzy saw the Edmonton Oilers pick up two players: a top four minute crunching defenceman and a bottom six centreman. Compared to the trades Chiarelli made earlier in the off season, the signings were much better. Mostly because of that defenceman they signed.
Signings
Andrej Sekera to a 6 year, 33 million dollar contract.
I loved this move and I still do today. In a free agency crop that featured Sekera, Green, Martin, Beauchemin and Franson, I considered Sekera to be the top free agent of the bunch. Free Agent Frenzy on July 1st is a day I always look forward to, up there with the Trade Deadline and the Draft. Why did I consider Sekera to be the best defenceman available?
I felt he was underrated while playing for Buffalo and Carolina. In Carolina during 13-14, he put up a career high 44 points. For the Carolina Hurricanes! From 11-12 to 13-14, Sekera posted some solid Possession numbers according to ownthepuck .
Why was he not re-signed?
Sekera was a rental pick up for the Los Angeles Kings in a playoff push attempt. Already being near the salary cap, Sekera was a long shot to re-sign with the Los Angeles Kings. I also believe not making the playoffs and being limited to only 16 games and four points also sealed his faith.
Sekera this Season
Sekera, like Cam Talbot, started off terribly slow. From Derek Van Diest of the Edmonton Sun, here were quotes in January about Sekera from McLellan
“He’s really starting to perform the way we thought he would,” said Oilers head coach Todd McLellan. “It took him a little while to adjust to two things — No. 1, going from East to West and (No. 2) a new team. Sometimes when a free agent joins a new team, he’s joining a mature coaching staff and a mature team and he slides in. But he had to learn like the rest of us, how to act around each other and how to behave and how we were going to play. It takes a little while, but he’s been really good.”
I was rightfully called wrong about Sekera’s tendencies of shooting the puck into opposing defencemen shin pads (I admit it! I’m wrong!) but I like Sekera on the power play because he actually takes a lot of shots. He has a lot of attempts. Sure, the Power Play has not been great and he could have hit the net more, but early on, I like Sekera. Overshadowed by the emergence of Klefbom and Davidson, in an ideal world Sekera is a second paring option, but can fill in admirably on the first pair. As our own WheatnOil pointed out, Sekera is surprisingly good at denying zone entries by forcing the opposition to dump the puck in.
Quietly, Sekera has hit 30 points for the second time in his career. No, he’s not a big bruising defenceman and I wonder how a Sekera and Petry pairing would have been.
Grade: B+. It took awhile for Sekera to turn the corner, but he’s been a good defender. I think he takes a bit too much flak from some people, but he’s filled in the top pairing. Hopefully next season with a healthy Klefbom and Davidson, Sekera would be a second pairing. Sure, the cap hit is much (it’s free agency, you’re overpaying).
Mark Letestu to a 3 year, 1.8 million deal
Why was he not re-signed?
It looks like it was about term rather than money in Columbus, according to David Baust of Along the Boards:
Losing Letestu is yet another veteran presence to stabilize the roster but the players pushing up from the minors and others within the organization that may offer more size, skill, speed or brains may push him out the door. Can Columbus afford to lose the experience in place of hope? I, for one, have a hard time believing the Blue Jackets and Mark Letestu can find an appropriate time-money solution to keep him in the fold for another year. Having another year on his contract would be ideal but there is little chance he will settle for another short-term contract.
Sure enough, Letestu came back to Alberta (he’s a native of Elk Point, close to Vermillion, Alberta) with a three year deal. Much more secure than living on a year to year contract. I can’t really blame the guy for that.
Letestu this Season
Letestu has become a bit of a whipping boy from Oilers fans and I’m not sure if it really is his fault. I think Letestu, with injuries to Connor McDavid and then Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, forced him to play more minutes than accustomed to. The biggest head scratcher was including Mark Letestu on the power play: of all the skilled players to be on the power play, we constantly see Mark Letestu taking valuable power play minutes, mostly because he can win a faceoff. There have been many times this season I have watched Letestu lack finish on easy plays. Most of them are noticeable in the rare times he plays with Connor McDavid.
It also doesn’t help that he plays with Nail Yakupov and is blamed for Yakupov’s lack of production, where there is certainly a case for.
From ownthepuck.blogspot.com, Letestu is not great at producing shots but rather suppressing shots. He plays limited minutes in the bottom six.
Again, I don’t think that’s necessarily Mark Letestu’s fault and more on the coaching of Todd McLellen (who I think is doing a good job with what is given to him, other than that dreadful power play). Letestu isn’t a bad player for what he’s brought into, which makes assessing him difficult: it’s not the player’s fault for playing in roles that he is traditionally not playing in.
Grade: C+. As mentioned, it’s a difficult assessment. If you’re assessing Letestu’s production on the power play, it would be much lower. However, while I think he should not be on the special teams unit, he’s done well enough in his role. Next season he should be in a fourth line role and I would be fine with that. As a free agent signing, he’s lived up to that part of the billing in my eyes.
Conclusion
For Free Agency, I thought Peter Chiarelli did well. I liked the signings on the day they took place. A year in I still like the signings. Sekera can play in the top pair when need be, but I would be more comfortable with him playing on the second pairing. He will never be a big physical banger, but he does his job well and silently produced 30 points so far this season. Letestu as a free agent signing was a bit tougher: Letestu was slotted in roles unsuited for him and if he played to where he should be, I think Letestu would receive a higher grade.
Overall, solid free agency. Chiarelli got the top defenceman available on the market and filled a hole vacated by Boyd Gordon and produced more than Boyd Gordon (with 24 points, 11 on the Power Play compared to Gordon’s four points this season in Arizona).
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