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Edmonton Oilers Sign Patrick Russell To One-Year Contract

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The Edmonton Oilers have inked one of their pending restricted free agents, signing Patrick Russell to a one-year deal. The 25-year old Russell played for the Bakersfield Condors this season, scoring 27 points in 68 games. Though not specified, one can assume that Russell is signing a two-way contract, since he has still yet to make his NHL debut, and as such will be eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency next summer should he fail to play in 80 games with the Oilers in 2018-19.

Russell was born and played in Denmark for much of his junior career, before heading to Sweden and eventually making his way over to the USHL and NCAA. After playing two years for St. Cloud State the winger decided to sign his first professional contract, joining the Oilers system in spring of 2016. In two years with the Condors, Russell hasn’t been able to find the same offensive success he had in college but has still done enough to earn a new deal.

The Oilers now have nine restricted free agents left to sign this summer, two of which we looked at in closer detail here. Ryan Strome and Darnell Nurse represent some big decisions for Edmonton, but even players like Russell require quite a bit of work to get under contract.

Edmonton Oilers Trying To Rid Themselves Of Milan Lucic

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When the Edmonton Oilers signed Milan Lucic to a seven-year, $42MM contract in the summer of 2016, he was expected to bring a big, tough presence to a team that had lacked it in the past. The power forward had been a 30-goal scorer in the past, and was still in his late-twenties and expected to be effective for several years. Today, as Lucic celebrates his 30th birthday, speculation has risen about his future in Edmonton.

On Edmonton radio today, Frank Seravalli of TSN reported that the Oilers are talking to other teams to try and trade Lucic and get rid of his contract:

My understanding, and the reason that Milan Lucic is on our [TSN Trade Bait] list, is from my understanding they’re trying and talking to teams about potentially taking another contract back—even if that means sweetening the pot with a pick or some other roster player in order to make it happen—they’re pushing, or at least doing their due diligence and working to move on from Milan Lucic if they can. I just don’t know if it’s going to happen with that much term left, it’s going to be a really tough one to do.

Lucic is coming off the worst full season of his career, with just 10 goals and 34 points in 82 games. Though still able to protect the puck and help his team out through the neutral zone, Lucic looked a step behind the play at times and unable to really assert himself in the offensive zone. His minutes were reduced in the latter part of the season, averaging just 13:41 in his final 15 games.

The Oilers could perhaps have an ace up their sleeve if they are truly trying to trade the big winger. On July 1st, Lucic is owed a $3.5MM signing bonus on what was a front-loaded contract, meaning any acquiring team will only need to pay him $22.5MM over the last five years of the contract. Though his cap hit of $6MM is still troublesome for several clubs in the league, a team with ample space might be more amenable to a player earning an average of just $4.5MM over the next several years. If the Oilers were to retain salary in the transaction, they could reduce that number even more.

There is of course the chance that Lucic bounces back from his terrible season. He hadn’t posted a full season without at least 42 points since his rookie year in 2007-08, and had scored 23 goals as recently as 2016-17. Though he may not be the high-end scoring player he once was, an effective third-line player for less than $4.5MM doesn’t seem so bad. If Edmonton can find a team that is willing to take on the money in exchange for that “sweetened pot,” perhaps there is a deal to be made. Otherwise, they’ll have to hope for that bounce back season on their own, and try to fit Lucic into a roster that desperately needs to get back to the playoffs in 2018-19.

Oilers RFA Braden Christoffer Signs AHL Deal With Bakersfield

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  • Oilers pending RFA winger Braden Christoffer has signed a one-year contract with their minor league affiliate in Bakersfield, the AHL team announced. Christoffer was signed as an undrafted free agent by Edmonton back in 2015 but has yet to make it past the AHL.  This past season, he had 15 points along with 96 penalty minutes in 63 games with the Condors.  This makes it likely that he will not be qualified by the team in advance of the June 25th deadline.

Free Agent Focus: Edmonton Oilers

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Free agency is now a little less than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Here is a breakdown of Edmonton’s free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: F Ryan Strome – When GM Peter Chiarelli and the Oilers decided last summer that Jordan Eberle had to be moved out because of his high-priced contract, the eventual return was the underperforming but talented Strome. The team enjoyed a $3.5MM cap cut, while hoping that the 24-year old forward could find his footing in Edmonton. After all, Strome was a fifth-overall pick who had scored 17 goals and 50 points in 2014-15, and could perhaps be relied upon as a long-term option down the middle.

Now, after another disappointing season where Strome’s below average skating was exposed on a team that lacked speed, and he struggled to maintain any kind of offensive consistency at center or the wing, there’s some uncertainty about where his future lies. As a restricted free agent, he doesn’t have a great case for a substantial raise over the $2.5MM cap hit he carried each of the last two seasons. After scoring just 34 points in 82 games—an even worse pace than his final year in New York—it’s not clear if he’s part of the problem or can still be part of the solution in Edmonton. He certainly won’t cost as much as Eberle’s $6MM cap hit in 2018-19, but neither side may look for a contract that stretches far beyond next season.

D Darnell Nurse – Perhaps the biggest problem in Edmonton this year was that several of their defensemen took substantial steps backwards, but one can’t really say that about Nurse. The 23-year old set career highs in games played, minutes played, goals, assists, points, +/-, penalty minutes, shots, hits and blocks, essentially leading the entire Oilers defense corps in nearly every category. He followed that with a big role on Canada’s IIHF World Championship team, and looks ready to blossom into the player Edmonton was hoping for when they selected him seventh-overall in 2013.

Still, it’s not clear exactly how long a contract the Oilers can afford to give their young defenseman. With so much money tied up in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the team has to be careful how they spend the rest of their cap. Nearly $20MM of the remaining funds are already committed to Andrej Sekera, Oscar Klefbom, Kris Russell and Adam Larsson for the next three seasons, meaning any deal buying out unrestricted free agent years for Nurse is likely too expensive to take on right now. That still leaves plenty of room for a short-term deal, but he’s the one heading into negotiations in a position of leverage after a career year.

Other RFAs: F Anton Slepyshev, F Iiro Pakarinen, F Drake Caggiula, D Matt Benning, F Braden Christoffer, D Ben Betker, F Patrick Russell, F Kyle Platzer

Key Unrestricted Free Agent: F Mike Cammalleri – A few seasons ago, the idea of Cammalleri walking in free agency might be a big story. Now, the veteran forward is just hoping for another contract. Cammalleri came to the Oilers in a midseason swap with the Los Angeles Kings, and found some of his old offensive juice for the team. With 22 points in 51 games he was relatively effective, and cost them very little in terms of salary. That could be a reason to bring him back on another incentive-laden contract, but there are likely bigger fish to fry in the coming weeks, as the team prepares for the draft and negotiates with the above listed RFAs.

Cammalleri will turn 36 in just a few days, and isn’t by any means a necessary piece for the Oilers to bring back. After agreeing to a $1MM contract with $200K in performance bonuses last season, he may be even less expensive if they decide his experience is worth the money and roster spot in 2018-19.

Other UFAs: D Yohann Auvitu, G Laurent Brossoit, F Brian Ferlin, D Mark Fayne, D Dillon Simpson, D Joey LaLeggia, F Grayson Downing

Projected Cap Space: It’s never a good thing when a team that missed the playoffs doesn’t have a lot of cap space, but that’s the situation the Oilers find themselves in. With just around $15MM in projected cap space for next season depending on where the upper limit lands, they won’t have a ton of space to find upgrades after re-signing their restricted free agents. That, and the lack of success despite another fantastic season from McDavid, is a reason why Edmonton is linked to nearly every rumored player on the market at one point or another.

There have been rumors in the past about Ryan Nugent-Hopkins potentially being available as the team looks to clear money, but after finding a home alongside McDavid on the top line he likely is now off limits. If the team could find a taker for Milan Lucic or one of their aging defensemen they likely would jump on the opportunity, but it won’t be easy. Chiarelli and his staff also need to prepare for their upcoming goaltending conundrum, as Cam Talbot and the newly signed Mikko Koskinen are unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2019.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Josi, Condors, Kempny

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Roman Josi couldn’t drag the Nashville Predators or Switzerland to victory this year, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort. As reported in swisshockeynews.ch today, Josi broke his hand in the IIHF World Championship semi-final game against Canada, but still suited up in the final for nearly 30 minutes of ice time. Apparently the Swiss team needed to get permission from the Predators to have him continue to play, likely meaning it’s not a serious injury for the Nashville captain.

Josi will be expected to log big minutes once again for the Predators next season as he continues to close in on the end of his current contract. The 28-year old defenseman is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2020, meaning an extension from GM David Poile and the team just over a year from now seems like almost a sure thing. Josi will carry a cap hit of just $4MM this season and next, another one of the Predators’ mind-boggling bargains on the back end. He, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis combine for just a $10.25MM cap hit and are among the best at their position—broken hand and all.

  • The Bakersfield Condors have hired Dave Manson as an assistant coach for next season, joining the Edmonton Oilers’ AHL affiliate and head coach Jay Woodcroft. Manson, former NHL player and father of Anaheim Ducks’ defenseman Josh Manson, had been coaching with the Prince Albert Raiders since his retirement in 2002. The Condors will try to get back to the playoffs next season, after finishing just 31-27-10 in 2017-18.
  • Michal Kempny has been a huge part of the Washington Capitals success since coming over from the Chicago Blackhawks during the season, but even he wasn’t expecting to have such an impact. In fact, according to Frank Seravalli of TSN, Kempny was considering returning to Europe at some point as he doubted his future in the NHL. The 27-year old shouldn’t have to worry about that any longer, as he’s done enough to earn a contract offer from the Capitals at very least, and likely many more suitors on the open market should he decide to test unrestricted free agency this summer.

Oilers Re-Sign Defenseman Keegan Lowe

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The Edmonton Oilers risked losing 25-year-old defender Keegan Lowe this off-season, but have worked quickly to rectify the situation. CapFriendly reports that the Oilers have signed Lowe to a two-year extension. It is a two-way deal that pays the veteran defenseman $650K/$150K in year one and $700K/$225K in year two (NHL/AHL).

While it is relatively uncommon for a player of Lowe’s age to reach unrestricted free agency, the 2011 third-round pick had achieved Group 6 free agent status as a 25-year-old with more than three pro seasons under his belt but less than 80 NHL games played. It was this same situation that allowed Lowe to sign with Edmonton in the first place last off-season. Lowe would have again been free to sign with any team in the league on July 1st.

Instead, the son of former Oilers star defenseman Kevin Lowe will remain in the city where his father made his mark and where he himself played his junior hockey with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings. Lowe was originally drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes and even played in two games with the team as a second-year pro, but was unable to work his way into a regular role in Raleigh. He was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in 2017 before signing with the Oilers last summer. Lowe got back into the NHL last year with a pair of games, but will most likely continue to serve as an AHL mentor and emergency depth option. This extension simply affords him security and the ability to continue playing for an organization with close ties to his family. For a reliable and high-character albeit low-ceiling player like Lowe, that is often enough.

Cap Space Could Dictate Edmonton's Approach With Darnell Nurse

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  • The Oilers will have a tough call to make when it comes to defenseman Darnell Nurse, opines Postmedia’s Jim Matheson. Has he shown enough to land a long-term contract that could hover around the $5MM per season range or are they better off with a bridge deal instead?  Edmonton’s salary cap situation may help dictate their path as well as if they have eyes on adding established talent to their roster, they may have to go the shorter route with the 23-year-old.  That would allow them to sign him for less now but they would pay for it down the road as his next contract would mostly cover UFA-eligible seasons.

Nick Ellis Announces Retirement From Professional Hockey

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In a surprising decision, Edmonton Oilers minor league goaltender Nick Ellis announced his retirement today via a post on his Instagram page. Ellis will instead pursue a career as a teacher and coach, ending his professional playing career just a few years after it began.

Ellis, 24, was scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer after spending the last two seasons in the Edmonton organization playing for the Bakersfield Condors and Wichita Thunder. Though it seemed likely that he wouldn’t get a qualifying offer, it’s unusual to see players walk away from the game at such a young age. Ellis signed out of Providence College in 2016, but never made it into a game at the NHL level.

In his only season as a starter for Providence, Ellis dominated the NCAA ranks with a 25-7-4 record and .936 save percentage. Turning that into a pro contract, he found early success in the AHL and looked like a solid signing for the Oilers to provide some depth at the goaltender position. This season Ellis wasn’t as effective, and it’s easy to see how he wouldn’t have had a job with Bakersfield next season. Dylan Wells is an upcoming prospect for the Oilers, and after signing Mikko Koskinen the team will likely have to send Al Montoya to the minor leagues. Shane Starrett is also still around, while Stuart Skinner—while still in junior—is being groomed as the goaltender of the future.

For Edmonton, this is little more than a few hundred thousand dollars lost for their trouble. Ellis didn’t take up a draft pick, or steal any real development time from their other goaltending prospects. Though he was an effective goaltender at times, the team has other plans for the position.

Oilers Leaning Towards Keeping The Tenth Pick Over Trading It

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  • While Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli suggested following the season that they could move their first-round pick (tenth overall), Oilers radio analyst and team employee Bob Stauffer suggested via Twitter that moving that selection for short-term help isn’t a likely outcome.  David Staples of the Edmonton Journal adds that it’s becoming more and more apparent that Chiarelli isn’t willing to move that pick.  He noted at the end of the season that there are several defensemen that he likes and there’s a good chance a quality defender will be available if they stand pat.

Pacific Notes: Boeser, Viveiros, Cammalleri, Carrier

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While most people have been under the impression that rookie sensation Brock Boeser would be ready for the start of the 2018-19 season, general manager Jim Benning confirmed that, according to an NHL.com report.

Boeser suffered a back injury back on March 5 when he hit his back on an open bench door and broke a transverse process, a spur that projects off the side off each vertebrae. The injury, which Boeser once referred to as “career threatening,” ended a dominant rookie season to that point. In 62 games, he tallied 29 goals and 55 points. On top of all of that, he also was dealing with a wrist injury he suffered in February, which required platelet-rich plasma injections and four weeks of immobilization.

“My understanding is he’ll be 100 percent for training camp,” Benning said. “My understanding is the cast was taken off a week ago. I haven’t talked to Brock about it, but I believe the cast had to be on a month. The doctor that he went back to see in Minnesota is the Vikings’ hand specialist and that’s the doctor that did Brock’s surgery two years ago. We were able to get an appointment for him and we wanted to get him in there and have the doctor have a look at him. The worst-case scenario was that he would require another surgery, but he didn’t need to do that.”

  • Edmonton Journal’s David Staples writes that the Edmonton Oilers’ hiring of WHL Swift Current head coach Emaneul Viveiros is an underrated hire after the team announced their new assistant coaches Friday. What impresses the scribe the most is the way Viveiros’ Broncos, which captured the WHL title this season, had the league’s best power-play unit with a 29.4 percent success rate. If he can bring that ability to an Oilers team that struggled immensely in the last year in special teams play, Edmonton could be on their way to a rebound season. Staples himself adds that he believes the team was misusing both Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the power play as they were usually placed in the right face-off circle, a position that didn’t benefit either player.
  • Sticking with the Oilers, the Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins analyzes the value of bringing back forward Mike Cammalleri for next season. The soon-to-be 36-year-old veteran joined the Oilers in a November trade with the Los Angeles Kings and will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. While his numbers on offense (seven goals and 22 assists in 66 games last year) don’t stand out, they are actually quite solid for bottom-tier forward. His experience and IQ on the ice could prove valuable to a team with a lot of young players. His suspect defense doesn’t help his cause, but his solid face-off skills even out some of that. The scribe concludes that if the Oilers consider bringing him back, it should only be for the league minimum.
  • While a report yesterday stated that Vegas Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said that he expects forward William Carrier to be available for the Stanley Cup Finals, it looks doubtful that he’ll be available for Game 1 on Monday, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen. Carrier was wearing a red no-contact sweater in practice today, suggesting he’s likely not ready yet to rejoin the team. He missed the entire Western Conference Finals against the Winnipeg Jets with an undisclosed injury.

 

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