Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Oilers Rumors

Pacific Notes: Fischer, Sharks, Bowey

at CDT | by 2 Comments

With the deadline for players to accept their qualifying offers having passed earlier today, Coyotes beat writer Craig Morgan reports that the Coyotes are still working on a deal for restricted free agent forward Christian Fischer, even though there is no word on whether they requested an extension from the league. The forward does not have arbitration rights.

Fischer struggled significantly last season, seeing his playing time reduced by more than two minutes, going from 13:10 ATOI to 11:01 this season) and scored just six goals and nine points in 56 games. The 23-year-old just wrapped up his entry-level deal where he made $1.08MM.

  • The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz (subscription required) writes that the loss of center Joe Thornton will have a significant effect on the team. While his offense should be able to be replaced, the bigger effect is how the team will fare without his presence in the locker room, where the veterans had quite an effect over the years. Now with Thornton and Joe Pavelski gone, much of the leadership will fall on the shoulders of second-year captain Logan Couture, who will tough shoes to fill in the Sharks’ locker room. “You have to have a whole leadership group,” general manager Doug Wilson said. “It’s on a whole group of players, it’s not a one-person leadership mentality. … Yes, you’ve got some of the veterans that certainly know it’s their responsibility, but some of the younger guys, too — Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier, Kevin Labanc. It’s their time. They need to step up to the next level. We have to be the sum of all our parts.”
  • With Matt Benning gone and prospects Evan Bouchard and Philip Broberg still developing, the Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins writes that one player that the Oilers may consider adding is former Detroit Red Wings blueliner Madison Bowey. The Red Wings opted not to give the 25-year-old a qualifying offer, making him a free-agent. However, Oilers general manager Ken Holland is familiar with Bowey, who he traded for back when he was with the Red Wings and it could be a good fit. The 6-foot-2 blueliner averaged 17:54 last season in 53 games with Detroit, posting three goals and 17 points.

Oilers Sign Mike Smith

at CDT | by 8 Comments

The Oilers have found their second goaltender for next season and it’s a familiar one.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed Mike Smith to a one-year, $2MM contract.  CapFriendly clarifies (via Twitter) that it’s a $1.5MM base salary plus $500K in performance bonuses that break down as follows:

$50K in games played bonuses at 20 games, 25, 30, 35, and 40
$125K if they win the first round of the playoffs and he plays in two games
$125K if they win the second round of the playoffs and he plays in two games

The 38-year-old is coming back for a second stint with Edmonton after he played there last season as the second option to Mikko Koskinen.  While he slightly improved on his save percentage from 2018-19 by posting a .902 mark in 39 regular season games, his GAA jumped to 2.95, his highest since 2014-15.

Last weekend, GM Ken Holland indicated that they wanted to see what options there were on the open market before making a decision on what to do for that position for next season.  However, with goalies flying off the board quickly, the remaining free agent options were all short-term possibilities at best.  While a trade was certainly an option, they’ve instead opted to go back to someone that they already know.

Statistically speaking, Koskinen (.917 SV%, 2.75 GAA) out-performed Smith last season and given the latter’s age, it’s reasonable to expect that Koskinen will take on a bigger share of the workload after getting the smaller portion in 2019-20.  His first time in that situation came in 2018-19 and the results were mixed although he does now have more NHL experience at least.

Following this move and the addition of Tyson Barrie, Edmonton now has just over $700K in cap room per CapFriendly with defenseman Ethan Bear still in need of a new deal.  However, the Oscar Klefbom injury will likely make him LTIR-bound which should free up some short-term wiggle room when the season gets underway.

Tyson Barrie Signs With Edmonton Oilers

at CDT | by 12 Comments

1:15pm: The Edmonton Oilers have confirmed the signing of Barrie. The deal is for one year and $3.75MM, a great value even based on his disappointing production this past season nevertheless the immense potential he brings playing with the Oilers elite power play.

12:00pm: Things didn’t work out in Toronto for Tyson Barrie and now the mobile defenseman is going to take a year to revitalize his value. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that Barrie has agreed to terms with the Edmonton Oilers on a one-year contract. The value is expected to come in just under $4MM, well below Barrie’s expected market value.

When Barrie was traded to the Maple Leafs last season, many expected that the talented puck-mover would excel on Toronto’s skilled roster. Instead, he had one of the worst seasons of his career, posting his second-lowest points per game since becoming a full-time NHLer and recording just five goals, the fewest in a season as a regular player. Suddenly, a player who had typically recorded 50+ points per year with the Colorado Avalanche was heading toward the free agent market for the first time with a sour season behind him, not to mention entering a market dictated by a flat cap and chock full of right-handed defensemen.

Barrie was unlikely to receive the lucrative, long-term contract that many expected prior to last season, but under $4MM as an AAV is still a major surprise. In fact, TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that Barrie turned down an offer with an AAV of $6MM to join the Oilers on a one-year deal. Why? Opportunity, especially with Edmonton’s Oscar Klefbom expected to miss the season due to injury. Barrie will be given the quarterback role on the power play that was the best in the NHL this past season. He will also become the team’s go-to source of even strength offense on the blue line, as only Klefbom and Darnell Nurse topped 30 points this year. Given the numbers that Barrie produced in Colorado, even in some pretty dismal seasons for the club, he has enormous upside if he can return to form in Edmonton playing alongside their superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. 

Barrie is banking on himself this year. It’s a risk, but it has a high likelihood of paying off. The skilled blue liner has the potential for a career season this year and will enter a 2021 free agent market where his only real competition for the title of top right-handed defender is Dougie Hamilton. A small payday today could transform into a massive payday next summer.

Edmonton Oilers Re-Sign Tyler Ennis

at CDT | by 2 Comments

As expected, veteran forward Tyler Ennis has returned to the Edmonton Oilers. The team has announced a new one-year deal for Ennis, who was acquired at the trade deadline. The contract is expected to be for $1MM.

Everything pointed toward Ennis re-signing with the Oilers. The Edmonton native was excited to join the club last year and stated that he hoped to remain there beyond this past season. Ennis then suffered a catastrophic leg injury in the postseason that will required months of rehab, hurting his value on the open market. With his contract potential capped by his injury, many assumed thathe would rather take a minimal deal in his hometown than anywhere else.

If Ennis can return to health, $1MM will be a bargain for Edmonton. Ennis’ 2019-20 season was his best in five years. With 16 goals and 37 points, the 31-year-old looked like his younger self. While Ennis is unlikely to be ready for the start of next season, or if he is will not be at 100%, Ennis played at a near-20-goal pace and would have surpassed 40 points i he had played a full 82 games this year. Anything close to that level of output would be a great value for the Oilers and could very likely earn Ennis an extension down the road.

 

Kyle Turris, Alan Quine Sign With Edmonton Oilers

at CDT | by 7 Comments

The Edmonton Oilers have signed Kyle Turris to a two-year contract, bringing him in just a few days after the Nashville Predators bought him out of the last four years of his previous deal. Turris, who is already earning $2MM from the Predators in each of the next eight years, will get another $1.65MM average annual value from the Oilers.

The Oilers have also signed Alan Quine according to Darren Dreger of TSN. Quine will earn $750K on a one-year deal. Though it won’t turn as many heads, PuckPedia reports that Seth Griffith is also headed to Edmonton on a two-year, two-way contract that carries a $725K cap hit at the NHL level. Not to be confused with a much-needed upgrade on the NHL roster, the club has also added some minor league depth in net with the addition of Anton Forsberg on a one-year contract. All of these deals have been confirmed by the Oilers.

Turris, 31, was what the Predators received in that infamous three-way Matt Duchene deal, but he never was able to live up to the huge contract extension they immediately handed him. Now bought out he can afford to take a much cheaper deal to play in Edmonton, where he can slot in as the team’s third-line center behind Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

That’s a pretty good place to get your career back on track and Turris could be a perfect fit for the Oilers. The veteran forward has shown an ability to score in bunches, even reaching a career-high of 27 goals a few years ago.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Jesse Puljujarvi

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Edmonton Oilers are welcoming back a familiar face. Jesse Puljujarvi has signed a new two-year contract with the team, bringing him back from Europe after he had previously vowed to never play for the team again. With new management in GM Ken Holland and a new coach with Dave Tippett, the relationship was mended between Edmonton and their former top prospect.

Puljujarvi will earn $900K in 2020-21 and $1.45MM in 2021-22, giving him a cap hit of $1.175MM.

Selected fourth overall in 2016, Puljujarvi’s struggles in Edmonton have been well documented. He failed to make an immediate impact in the NHL, but the Oilers kept playing him on the fourth line or sitting him out, not committing to one development path or another. That first season he played 28 games in the NHL and 39 games in the AHL, a split that would become routine through his first stint with the Oilers.

By the time 2019 rolled around, Puljujarvi was finished with bouncing around in Edmonton and ended up returning to Finland to play for Karpat last season. Dominating in a league he started in before he was even drafted, the 22-year-old scored 24 goals and 53 points in 56 games. He’s back playing for Karpat right now but will now be back in the NHL when camps open this winter.

Because he’s so young, Puljujarvi will still be a restricted free agent at the end of this contract. We’ll see what kind of role he’s given in 2020-21, but after agreeing to such an inexpensive deal it does seem like he’s ready to give the team another chance to steer his career.

Edmonton Oilers Not Expected To Qualify Andreas Athanasiou

at CDT | by 14 Comments

Wednesday: The Oilers have made it official, extending qualifying offers to only Ethan Bear and William Lagesson. That leaves Athanasiou, Benning, Logan Day, Cameron Hebig, Ryan Kuffner, Ryan Mantha, Angus Redmond and Nolan Vesey unqualified. All of them will become unrestricted free agents on Friday.

Tuesday: The deadline to submit qualifying offers to restricted free agents is tomorrow evening and the Edmonton Oilers have some interesting decisions to make. After making his first-round selection tonight, Oilers GM Ken Holland spoke to reporters including Ryan Rishaug of TSN and explained that he doesn’t think the team will qualify Andreas Athanasiou or Matt Benning.

This is a scenario we discussed in our recent Free Agent Focus piece and is a disaster for the Oilers. Edmonton used two second-round picks (and Sam Gagner) to land Athanasiou from the Detroit Red Wings at the deadline and will now let him walk into unrestricted free agency just a few months later. The speedy forward ended up playing just 13 total games for the organization, scoring a single goal and being held completely scoreless in the Oilers four postseason games.

After scoring 30 goals in 2018-19, Athanasiou was a risky player to qualify for the Oilers given the flat cap landscape in the NHL. He would have required a $3MM offer just to retain his rights, but then could have earned even more than that through arbitration. Edmonton has just under $8.8MM in cap space and need to both re-sign restricted free agents Ethan Bear and Jesse Puljujarvi while also upgrading their roster considerably in free agency. If Oscar Klefbom is out for the season his cap hit can be placed on long-term injured reserve for a little more flexibility, but unless they thought Athanasiou was going to routinely play in their top-six his arbitration award was going to be too expensive.

Still, losing those draft picks and only getting a handful of games out of him hurts. The Oilers have several strong prospects but could have used the picks for a different trade upgrade this offseason. Instead, Athanasiou will enter the free agent market as a young, talented forward that could be a difference-maker in the right situation.

Connor McDavid Tests Positive For COVID-19

at CDT | by 10 Comments

The Edmonton Oilers have announced that earlier today, Connor McDavid tested positive for COVID-19. The superstar forward has entered into voluntary self-quarantine at his home and is experiencing mild symptoms.

The team did not include any information about where McDavid was tested, but NHL facilities are not yet open for groups to train together. Those changes are scheduled for October 15, when facilities will follow similar protocols to the return to play phase 2, limiting on-ice groups to 12 people at a time.

Obviously this isn’t an ideal situation, but the Oilers say McDavid is “doing well.” This will likely not be the last player to test positive for the virus as offseason training continues.

Oilers Won't Rule Out Re-Signing Mike Smith But Will Check UFA Options First

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Oilers intend to see what the free agent market looks like for goaltending before making a decision on Mike Smith, GM Ken Holland told NHL.com’s Tim Campbell.  Smith had just a .902 SV% in 39 games this season which is below average for a backup, let alone someone that was brought in to push incumbent Mikko Koskinen for playing time.  However, cap space is limited for Edmonton with less than $9MM in cap room and quite a few free agents to contend with beyond Smith.  Accordingly, they may need to shop at the lower end of the market to save some money and the fact that the 38-year-old is eligible to sign an incentive-laden deal may be appealing to give them a bit more financial flexibility to work with.  A decision on that appears as if it will occur on or after October 9th.

Free Agent Focus: Edmonton Oilers

at CDT | by 1 Comment

With free agency now just a few days away, teams are preparing for a frenzy of action. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Another disappointing exit awaited the Edmonton Oilers when the NHL came back this summer, making it another busy offseason for their front office as they try to capitalize on their superstar duo.

Key Restricted Free Agents

D Ethan Bear – If you weren’t watching closely you might have missed the fact that another rookie defenseman was logging huge minutes in the Pacific Division. Bear, a fifth-round pick in 2015, ended up averaging just under 22 minutes a night in his 71 games for the Oilers this season, coming in only behind Darnell Nurse in terms of even-strength ice time. That was good enough to earn Bear some votes for the Calder Trophy and perhaps an even bigger role next season. Now 23, Bear is still not arbitration-eligible but could be critically important to the Oilers, especially if Oscar Klefbom’s injury keeps him out long-term.

F Andreas Athanasiou – The Oilers used two second-round picks to acquire Athanasiou at the deadline this year, but may end up being forced to leave him unqualified this offseason. A qualifying offer for the 26-year-old forward would cost the team a minimum of $3MM for next season and potentially even more through arbitration. That blazing speed didn’t end up working as well as hoped in Edmonton, with Athanasiou scoring just a single goal in his 13 games for the team. Just a year removed from his breakout 30-goal campaign though, he’s one of the toughest decisions that GM Ken Holland (who happened to draft Athanasiou in Detroit) will have to make in the coming days.

Other RFAs: D Matt Benning, F Cameron Hebig, F Ryan Kuffner, F Nolan Vesey, D Logan Day, D Ryan Mantha, D William Lagesson, G Angus Redmond

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

G Mike Smith – Like so many other teams, the Oilers are on the lookout for an improvement in net this offseason and could be ready to move on from the veteran goaltender. Smith is now up to 610 games played in his 14-year career, good enough for 47th all-time among netminders. The puck-handling wild child recorded a .902 save percentage in the regular season, the second straight year he has been ineffective. With so many other goalies available, it’s hard to find a market for a 38-year-old Smith, even if he has been a consistent presence in the league since 2007.

F Tyler Ennis – While Athanasiou cost two seconds and never seemed to click in Edmonton, Ennis cost just a fifth and fit in right away. That seems to be the story with the undersized forward in recent years as he bounces around the league taking bargain-basement deals but performing whenever given the chance. 12 goals in 51 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018-19 playing fourth-line minutes and another 16 in 2019-20 splitting the year between Ottawa and Edmonton, all for the combined two-year total of $1.45MM in salary. If Ennis is still looking at a limited market, why not bring him back on another short-term deal?

Other UFAs: F Riley Sheahan, F Brad Malone, F Josh Currie, F Tomas Jurco, D Keegan Lowe, D Brandon Manning, G Shane Starrett

Projected Cap Space

Here’s the problem for the Oilers. The team has just $8.77MM in cap space for next season and still need to upgrade the roster. Spending a good chunk of that on Athanasiou’s qualifying offer or a long-term Bear extension would seem foolish, unless they can make room elsewhere by moving bad money out. If Klefbom does need surgery and can be put on long-term injured reserve it would provide some extra flexibility, but right now Holland’s hands are tied pretty tightly.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top