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Oilers Notes: Yamamoto, Bourgeault, Free Agency

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While Edmonton settled for a one-year deal with Jesse Puljujarvi, they’re hoping to sign Kailer Yamamoto to a multi-year contract prior to his arbitration hearing, notes Postmedia’s Derek Van Diest.  The 23-year-old winger is coming off a nice bounce-back year that saw him put up 20 goals and 21 assists in 81 games last season while chipping in with seven points in 14 playoff contests.  Without arbitration rights last summer, Yamamoto settled for a one-year, $1.175MM agreement but now stands to receive more than double that this time around, even if it doesn’t get to a hearing.  With Yamamoto’s hearing slated for August 7th, filing numbers will be exchanged on August 5th if a new deal isn’t in place by then.

More from Edmonton:

  • Prospect Xavier Bourgault is leaning towards not participating at the upcoming World Juniors, mentions Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link). Several Canadian forwards are opting out of the summer tournament to instead prepare for NHL training camps in the fall.  Bourgault was a first-round pick by Edmonton last year (22nd overall) and had a strong season with QMJHL Shawinigan with 36 goals and 39 assists in 43 games and with the Oilers needing some low-cost players to round out their roster to stay cap compliant, he could have a chance to push for a roster spot in the preseason.
  • In the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek posits that UFA winger Phil Kessel could wind up with the Oilers. The 34-year-old had just eight goals last season with Arizona but still put up 44 assists in 82 games.  Kessel’s days as a top winger are basically done but in a secondary scoring role, he can still be a contributor.  However, once Yamamoto and Ryan McLeod sign their contracts, Edmonton will be capped out so a trade or two will need to be made to free up the money to take a run at Kessel later in free agency.

Edmonton Oilers Announce ECHL Affiliation

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For the last few seasons, the Edmonton Oilers had been partnered with the Wichita Thunder for their ECHL affiliation, using the minor league team to help develop their prospects. That will change after the team announced a new agreement with the Fort Wayne Komets. The two teams had been previously affiliated between 1988 and 1990.

Oilers assistant general manager Bill Scott released the following statement:

On behalf of Ken Holland, Keith Gretzky and the entire Edmonton Oilers organization, we are thrilled to announce our new affiliation with the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL. As one of the premiere clubs in the ECHL with a rich history of professional hockey in Indiana, we are very excited to have our future Oilers in Fort Wayne.

One of the most notable connections with the two organizations will be Colin Chaulk, who had his number retired by the Komets in 2017 after a long outstanding career with the team. Chaulk was named the new head coach of the Bakersfield Condors, Edmonton’s AHL affiliate, last month after serving on an interim basis after Jay Woodcroft’s promotion last season.

The Komets won the Kelly Cup as ECHL champions as recently as 2021, while partnered with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Los Angeles Kings To Retire Dustin Brown’s Number

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The Los Angeles Kings are poised to add a seventh member to their list of retired numbers. On February 11, 2023, the team will retire winger Dustin Brown’s no. 23, unveiling a statue of him as well prior to a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, per the team.

He’ll be the team’s third winger to have his number retired, joining Dave Taylor (18) and Luc Robitaille (20). Defenseman Rob Blake (4), center Marcel Dionne (16), goalie Rogie Vachon (30), and Wayne Gretzky’s no. 99, which the team had a separate ceremony for in addition to its league-wide retirement.

Brown announced his retirement late in the 2021-22 season, saying he’d retire after the culmination of the Kings’ playoff run, which ended in seven games against the Edmonton Oilers in the First Round. He finished his career as the team’s all-time leader in games played with 1,296, although Anze Kopitar is set to surpass that mark shortly as well. Captaining the team to two Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014, he’s remembered as one of, if not the best, power forwards the team’s had in their history.

While his production dipped mid-career, Brown never gave up on playing meaningful minutes, and his work ethic led to a late-career resurgence that included 61-point and 51-point seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Brown will be just the third individual to have a statue in his honor in LA, joining Robitaille and Gretzky.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Jesse Puljujarvi

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The Edmonton Oilers have avoided arbitration with restricted free agent Jesse Puljujarvi, agreeing on a one-year, $3MM contract according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Puljujarvi was the next scheduled arbitration hearing, set for this Friday, which will no longer be necessary.

The 24-year-old winger had been issued a qualifying offer before he filed for salary arbitration and had a rather strong case after scoring 36 points in 65 games this season. Selected fourth overall in 2016, Puljujarvi has had a rocky career with the Oilers so far (including a stint spent in Finland) but is starting to show signs of being a strong two-way winger that can contribute and help drive play.

This season, he set a career-high in points, assists, shots, and average ice time, while also even earning a fourth place Selke Trophy vote. His defensive ability has developed nicely, even if his overall offensive ability is still incredibly inconsistent.

There have been many who believe a change of scenery is the best option for both the Oilers and Puljujarvi, a thought only amplified when Ken Holland said at his end-of-year media availability that he had to “sort out” the situation and talk to the coaching staff before making a decision. Reports have continued to surface in the weeks since that though there were a handful of teams interested, the Oilers would be selling him for a relatively low return.

That could still happen after this agreement, and in fact, it might help any trade talks move along. Teams rarely target players headed for arbitration as acquiring them means preparing for the hearing as well. In Puljujarvi’s case, figures would have been exchanged tomorrow and once the hearing began, no settlement is allowed.

Now, the Oilers sit over the cap with a 19-man roster, though Mike Smith and Oscar Klefbom are both expected to spend the entire season on long-term injured reserve, giving the team a bit of flexibility. Edmonton still has two key restricted free agents to go, including Kailer Yamamoto whose arbitration hearing is set for August 7. When that case is settled, they will receive a short buyout window that could be used to clear additional cap space, if they chose to use it.

Edmonton Oilers Hire Mark Stuart

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After John Buccigross of ESPN broke the story in the morning, the Edmonton Oilers officially announced the hiring of Mark Stuart as an assistant coach.

The veteran defenseman will join Jay Woodcroft’s staff after previously serving under his brother, Todd Woodcroft, at the University of Vermont in 2020-21. This season, he was an assistant with Colorado College, making this quite the jump for the former NHL regular. Stuart played in 673 regular season games during a long career, suiting up for the Boston Bruins, Atlanta Thrashers, and Winnipeg Jets during that time. His career ended after one year overseas in 2018, but he hasn’t been relaxing much in retirement.

In 2018-19 he re-joined the Jets organization to help the Manitoba Moose, and then went to school to finish his college degree. Coaching since then, he’ll now be back on an NHL bench (or at least behind it) for the upcoming season.

He joins Glen Gulutzan and Dave Manson as assistants with the Oilers, who also announced today that skating coach David Pelletier will return for 2022-23.

Brett Kulak Reflects On Free Agency, Decision To Re-Sign In Edmonton

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  • Edmonton Oilers defenseman Brett Kulak had a chance to reflect on his trip to the UFA market and his decision to re-sign in Edmonton with Mike Arcuri of EdmontonOilers.com (link). A hometown player and native of Stony Plain, AB, Kulak nonetheless chose to take the experience and see what the market brought to him, considering it a potential once-in-a-career opportunity. Ultimately, the former Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens defenseman chose to stay-put, signing a four-year, $11MM contract, telling Arcuri that Edmonton’s offer gave him and his wife “the balance of things I wanted in my next contract,” citing opportunity, a good team, and dollar value as the things he was searching for. Kulak’s comments serve to shed light on the free agency experience for players and show that the decision is not always solely financial or solely personal, and impacts more than just the player. Coming from Kulak, a good NHL player, but not necessarily the prized-piece like a Johnny Gaudreau, brings light to how the average NHL player looks at these decisions, and even helps consider that no two players are exactly the same and each has plenty on their plate to influence the decision that they and their family members make.

Could Warren Foegele Be A More Plausible Cost-Cutting Candidate For Oilers?

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  • With the Oilers being among the teams that are still looking to clear out some money this summer, Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal posits that the cleanest option for Edmonton might be to move winger Warren Foegele. Acquired in a trade from Carolina last summer, the 26-year-old signed a three-year, $7.5MM deal that has two seasons remaining.  Foegele had 26 points in 82 games last season but posted 127 hits (a new career-high) which could be of interest to teams looking for some grit in the bottom six.  Edmonton still has to re-sign forwards Jesse Puljujarvi, Ryan McLeod, and Kailer Yamamoto and are basically down to the LTIR space from Oscar Klefbom and Mike Smith ($6.367MM combined).  It will be difficult to sign those three with that money so finding a spot for Foegele would certainly help their cause.

Andrej Sekera Retires From NHL

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After 16 seasons, one of the best Slovak defensemen to ever lace them up is calling it a career. Andrej Sekera told a Slovak-language newspaper today that he’s stepping back from the NHL.

A 2004 third-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres, Sekera carved out a quite long, underrated NHL career with the Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers, and Dallas Stars, where he spent the last three years and 135 games of his career.

His peak season, interestingly enough, came during his only full season with Carolina, notching 11 goals and 44 points in 74 games while averaging a career-high 23:41 per game.

Sekera was one of the more overlooked pieces that helped the Edmonton Oilers return to relevancy with Connor McDavid at the helm. He was the team’s most important defensive player in the 2016-17 season that saw them make the playoffs for the first time in 11 years, but a torn ACL during the second round in 2017 really hurt his career. He never played more than 57 games in a season after that and never averaged higher than 18 minutes per game after consistently averaging 20 or more for a number of seasons prior.

Sekera retired third all-time in games played amongst Slovak defensemen, trailing the obvious (Zdeno Chara) and Lubomir Visnovsky.

Jesse Puljujarvi, Kailer Yamamoto File For Salary Arbitration

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The National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) announced that 24 players have filed for player-elected salary arbitration, the deadline for which came this afternoon. This list is not necessarily the final and complete list of players headed for arbitration, with clubs now eligible to elect salary arbitration until tomorrow, July 18th at 5:00 pm ET.

Mason Appleton (WPG)

Ethan Bear (CAR)

Jesper Bratt (NJD)

Lawson Crouse (ARI)

Morgan Geekie (SEA)

Mathieu Joseph (OTT)

Kaapo Kahkonen (SJS)

Kasperi Kapanen (PIT)

Keegan Kolesar (VGK)

Oliver Kylington (CGY)

Maxime Lajoie (CAR)

Steven Lorentz (SJS)

Isac Lundestrom (ANA)

Zack MacEwen (PHI)

Niko Mikkola (STL)

Andrew Mangiapane (CGY)

Matthew Phillips (CGY)

Jesse Puljujarvi (EDM)

Tyce Thompson (NJD)

Yakov Trenin (NSH)

Vitek Vanecek (NJD)

Jake Walman (DET)

Kailer Yamamoto (EDM)

Pavel Zacha (BOS)

Notably out of this list, Mikkola had previously filed for arbitration, but the two sides were able to settle on a one-year, $1.9MM contract that will leave the defenseman an UFA after next season.

A key distinction to add is that any player who has filed for arbitration is no longer eligible to sign an offer sheet, effectively taking the players on this list off the market. Three notable names that did not file for arbitration are Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine. Though contract talks have been quiet on Dubois and Tkachuck, word of amicable discussions between Laine’s camp and Columbus has been made known. Once tomorrow’s club-elected salary arbitration deadline passes, teams and players will have time to prepare their cases before hearings begin, running from July 27th through August 11th.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Mattias Janmark

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The Edmonton Oilers have announced their latest free agent signing: former Vegas Golden Knight Mattias Janmark is heading north, joining the Oilers on a one-year, $1.25MM deal.

Janmark, 29, was a third-round pick of the Dallas Stars at the 2013 draft and has been a consistent third or fourth-line forward since making his NHL debut in 2015-16. Janmark made the jump to North American professional hockey after an impressive season with Frolunda of the SHL and made an immediate impact with the Stars, scoring 15 goals and 29 points in 73 games. Janmark missed all of 2016-17 with a knee injury, but that didn’t stop his immediate production, as he scored 19 goals and 34 points in his first season after the injury.

The year after that, though, Janmark’s puck luck evaporated. Janmark’s shooting percentages in his first two seasons had hovered in the low teens, and in 2018-19 it crashed to just 5.7%, leading Janmark to a disappointing six-goal, 25-point year. In 2019-20, Janmark’s shooting rebounded only slightly, and he finished with another six-goal performance on a 7% shooting percentage. Those two disappointing years sealed Janmark’s exit from Dallas, and he signed a one-year, $2.25MM deal with the Chicago Blackhawks.

In Chicago, Janmark re-discovered his goal-scoring touch, potting ten goals and 19 points in just 41 games before he was traded to the Golden Knights as part of a three-team trade that net the Blackhawks second and third-round picks. In Vegas, Janmark had only five points in 15 regular season games, but that wasn’t what earned him a contract extension. Janmark is best known in Vegas for serving as the team’s hero in Game Seven against the Minnesota Wild, a game where Janmark scored a hat trick. Janmark finished with eight points in 16 playoff games and earned a one-year $2MM extension in Vegas.

Janmark’s most recent season with the Golden Knights was an up-and-down affair. His production was decent, as nine goals and 25 points aren’t totally out of line with his career averages. But injuries and the overall decline of the Golden Knights as a whole kept Janmark from having the night-to-night impact in a winning team’s bottom-six that he’s used to having. That’s what’s likely responsible for this slight decline in pay, although Janmark does now end up in a favorable situation in Edmonton.

Janmark is joining a team that just went to the Western Conference Final and he should be able to take on a valuable bottom-six role as a second-unit penalty-killer and secondary goal-scorer. Janmark has averaged around a minute of shorthanded ice time per game for the past few seasons and that’s about what should be expected of him in Edmonton.

At a $1.25MM price tag, the Oilers have secured a reliable, experienced, prime-age bottom-sixer who can help their penalty kill. The Oilers’ offseason is far from over, as Kailer Yamamoto, Jesse Puljujarvi, and Ryan McLeod are all restricted free agents, but this is a sensible addition nonetheless.

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