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Kyle Turris, Alan Quine Sign With Edmonton Oilers

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

Adam Cracknell Loaned To Esbjerg Energy

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The Edmonton Oilers signed Adam Cracknell this summer to bring him back from overseas, but they’ll let him stick around in Europe for a little while longer. The veteran forward has been loaned to Esbjerg Energy of Denmark’s Metal Ligaen for the beginning of the 2020-21 season.

Cracknell, 35, spent the 2019-20 season playing for Kunlun Red Star in the KHL, scoring 24 points in 52 games. He signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Oilers last month, re-joining one of the many NHL organizations he has suited up for in the past. Cracknell has played for the Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets, Vancouver Canucks, Dallas Stars, New York Rangers and Anaheim Ducks over a 210-game NHL career, spending the rest of his time in the minor leagues starring with the various AHL affiliates.

The Oilers have sent a number of prospects overseas to continue their development, but are also loaning out more veteran players that have experience in other leagues. Perhaps they believe that time on the ice in professional situations will bring them even more ready to compete when the NHL season finally gets underway.

Oilers Notes: Ekman-Larsson, Nugent-Hopkins, Wings

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Update 1:40pm: Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Oilers are not on the shortlist of teams that Ekman-Larsson would waive his no-movement clause to go to.

The Edmonton Oilers are a team to watch in the coming days and Frank Seravalli of TSN has some inside information on their plans as we head into the first part of the NHL offseason. On his latest Trade Bait board, Seravalli lists Arizona Coyotes captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson first and explains that the Oilers have had “preliminary discussions” on the star defenseman. Edmonton would need Arizona to retain some of Ekman-Larsson’s salary, while Seravalli suggests that top prospect Evan Bouchard and a first-round selection could be involved in any deal.

Now 29, Ekman-Larsson is under contract through the 2026-27 season and carries a cap hit of $8.25MM. He also holds a full no-movement clause but has been in the rumor mill for weeks now as the Coyotes are expected to have to cut payroll. Though some of the shine has come off his game over the last few years, Ekman-Larsson is still one of the most effective goal-scoring defensemen in the league, with 125 over his career and double-digit totals in seven of his ten partial seasons.

  • Speaking of goal-scoring, the Oilers are also making progress on a long-term contract extension for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins according to Seravalli. The 2011 first-overall pick is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent following the upcoming season and currently carries a $6MM cap hit. Though he has settled into more of a support role behind Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton, Nugent-Hopkins is coming off his most effective season to date with 61 points in 65 games and is only 27. Just to set the Twitter machine alight, Seravalli also suggests that if a deal can’t be done with Nugent-Hopkins, the Oilers might look at bringing back Taylor Hall.
  • Yesterday’s news of a repairing relationship between the Oilers and Jesse Puljujarvi puts the team into a bit of a bind on the right side, with too many right-wing options to fit into the lineup. Seravalli reports that the team has tried to make some wing swaps to balance out their lineup, including a potential Alex Chiasson-for-Anders Bjork deal. With so many balls up in the air at the moment, there’s no telling what will happen in Edmonton, but it will be a busy week to be sure.

Edmonton Oilers, Jesse Puljujarvi Nearing New Contract

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The Edmonton Oilers are looking for some affordable forward help this off-season and they may just get some assistance in that area from one of their own. The Jesse Puljujarvi saga could be coming to an end soon, as TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that the team and player are making progress on a new deal. Should they reach an agreement, Puljujarvi is expected to sign a one-year deal worth $1.2-1.5MM.

Puljujarvi initially left the Oilers back in August 2019 when the restricted free agent could not come to terms on a contract extension with Edmonton. The disgruntled young forward was unhappy with his role on the team, while the Oilers were not content with the production from the 2016 No. 3 overall pick. It seems the two sides are still working out what exactly that “fit” will be for Puljujarvi, but both sides are ready for a second chance.

If anything, Puljujarvi may have helped himself in the eyes of the Oilers this season. Playing for Karpat in the Finnish Liga, the big winger was one of the league’s very best. He recorded 24 goals and 53 points in 56 games and looked like a player ready to make an impact in the NHL. Edmonton hopes that is true, as the cap-strapped club would love to see Puljujarvi put up big points on a minimal contract, especially if he finds chemistry with stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Oscar Klefbom, Tyler Seguin May Need Surgery

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The Edmonton Oilers were one of the more disappointing return to play stories, ousted by the Chicago Blackhawks in four games despite having the Hart, Lindsay and Art Ross winner and Connor McDavid on the roster. Oscar Klefbom led all Oilers defensemen in minutes during that four-game stretch but may not see the ice again for some time.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Klefbom is “weighing options” regarding injuries he suffered this season and could be out long-term if he chooses surgery. Those decisions are likely complicated by the fact that no one knows for certain when the next NHL season will begin, but as Friedman points out Klefbom’s absence from the Oilers lineup “would need to be addressed.” The 27-year-old is one of Edmonton’s best defensemen and is under contract for three more years at a $4.17MM cap hit.

If you watched Tyler Seguin in the Stanley Cup playoffs it seemed obvious that he was struggling with an injury of some sort, but teams were not revealing any of those specifics while the series was still on the line. It turns out, it wasn’t just one injury. David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period tweets that Seguin was dealing with wrist, hip, groin, and knee injuries in the playoffs. Those ailments will be evaluated this week to see if surgery is necessary. Seguin had just two goals in 26  postseason games and both came in the second round against the Colorado Avalanche. Despite his lack of scoring, he still averaged more than 22 minutes of ice time during the finals.

Seguin still did manage to supply five assists during the six-game series, but it’s a disappointing finish for a player who carries a $9.85MM cap hit and is expected to lead the offense in Dallas. Because of salaries like his, the Stars head into next season without a ton of cap room to maneuver. Radek Faksa, Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov are all restricted free agents that need new contracts and Anton Khudobin has likely priced himself out of a return with a strong postseason.

Today, Friedman wrote that the Stars “will try to move one big salary” though doesn’t clarify which one and only says that trade protection is an issue. That doesn’t clear it up much, as Seguin, Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski, Alexander Radulov, and Ben Bishop—the team’s biggest cap hits save Esa Lindell—all have trade protection of some sort.

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