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Eric Gryba

2017 NHL Free Agency Tracker

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Stay with PHR for all of the free agency signings this off-season. As of noon ET on July 1st, unrestricted free agency is open, but not before many extensions earlier in June. This page serves to organize everything in one spot, and are linked to the PHR story that corresponds with the signing. All July signings will be separated by date while June signings are organized alphabetically by team. It will be updated as soon as stories post.

Please note that signings on this list start on June 12.

July 1st:

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Eric Gryba Re-Signs In Edmonton

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The Edmonton Oilers continue to bring back their veteran defense group, as according to Bob McKenzie of TSN the team has re-signed Eric Gryba for two years. The deal will pay him an average of $900K per season.

Gryba played last season on a two-way deal but spent the whole season with Edmonton or on the shelf due to injury. In 40 games he registered six points but amazingly recorded 145 hits, an impressive rate that would have had him near the top of the league had he played all 82. He’ll likely return in a similar depth role, but is an interesting piece as a big bruising right-handed defenseman.

Now with Gryba and Kris Russell back in the fold, the Oilers have seven NHL defenders under contract. Andrei Sekera won’t play for the first part of the season, but it seems like Edmonton is probably finished when it comes to free agent defensemen. With Matt Benning and Darnell Nurse expected to take a step forward, and Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson entrenched as the leaders on the back end, it could be a pretty solid defensive group this season.

Klefbom Out For Oilers

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In a potentially devastating blow to their defense, Edmonton’s Oscar Klefbom will not participate in Game 6 in what is a must-win against Anaheim. He left warmups prior to puck-drop and did not return. Fellow defenseman Andrej Sekera was already ruled out earlier in the day. The defenseman has taken heavy assignments on the top pairing with Adam Larsson. Klefbom’s aggressive defending helps clear the slot and move the puck up ice. The swede’s offensive game had truly blossomed this year – he posted 12 goals and 26 assists during the regular season to lead the team from the blueline. Klefbom has been a workhorse for the young Oilers, and his loss will definitely alter matchups for coach Todd McLellan. For tonight however, McLellan has the benefit of last change at home.

Without Klefbom, Mark Fayne was initially slotted to take third pairing duties. Instead, Griffin Reinhart found his way back to the take the ice, after a late season call up. The once promising prospect has had his fair share of struggles in Alberta. His entry was a surprise to most, but Fayne’s rust likely became a factor. Fayne had not played an NHL contest since December and did not overly impress for the AHL Bakersfield Condors. Reinhart certainly has more upside, but also the potential to commit more egregious defensive errors. Edmonton will need to rely even more heavily upon Larsson, as well as ask Kris Russell and Darnell Nurse to substantially up their minutes and quality of play.

Eric Gryba will replace the injured Sekera and play alongside Reinhart.

Oilers Lose Sekera For Rest Of Series Against Ducks

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The Edmonton Oilers not only lost a heartbreaker Friday night when the Anaheim Ducks came back from a three-goal deficit with 3:16 seconds remaining to tie the game and later win it in overtime and take Game 5 and a 3-2 lead. Now the team lost veteran defenseman Andrej Sekera for the rest of the series, according to head coach Todd McLellan.

The 30-year-old defenseman is a key piece to the Oilers’ defense as he is third on the team in blocked shots. The team now must win two straight games without him in order to advance to the next round of the playoffs. He left Game 5 during the first period after being hit in the boards. His absence was definitely a factor in Game 5.

The veteran scored eight goals and 27 assists this past year for 35 points, his second-best output in his career. Veteran Eric Gryba will move into the lineup to fill in the gap for the Oilers. The 29-year-old played in 40 games this season and had six points.

Playoff Notes: Zaitsev, Benning, Sanford

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The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without Nikita Zaitsev again on Saturday night when they try to even up their series against the Washington Capitals. As Kristen Shilton of TSN reports, Zaitsev missed practice again despite Babcock lobbying for his return. All season the Maple Leafs have kept clear boundaries between the coaching staff and the medical staff, taking any decision out of the player or coach’s hands.

Zaitsev’s absence was noticeable for the Leafs, who were forced to use Matt Hunwick for over 26 minutes, often on his wrong side. As we wrote yesterday, an impressive performance from Hunwick in the first round could be very impactful for his career in the NHL, and he actually showed fairly well. While he’ll never be an elite defender, the Leafs held their own against the powerful Capitals, even holding a 2-0 lead at one point in the first period.

  • Ryan Rishaug of TSN reports that Matt Benning will likely make his playoff debut tonight, inserted into the lineup for the struggling Eric Gryba. Gryba played a key role in two of the San Jose Sharks goals, and the young Benning will try to fix those weaknesses as the Oilers try to get back even in the series. The 22-year old was quite a find for Edmonton this year, coming straight out of Northeastern and at times looking like a solid NHL piece. Gryba had 16 minutes of ice time in game 1; expect a similar amount for Benning tonight.
  • Robert Bortuzzo and Zach Sanford will both be in the St. Louis Blues lineup tonight according to Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, with Jordan Schmaltz and Jori Lehtera coming out. Sanford will likely skate alongside Alex Steen and Vladimir Sobotka, though Steen did miss practice today. Bortuzzo fits in beside Carl Gunnarsson on the third pairing. The Blues will have to try and reduce the number of chances they allow to the Wild, as it took an outstanding game from Jake Allen to give them the victory. Sanford was a big part of the Kevin Shattenkirk deal, and could make fans forget all about their traded all-star if he plays a big role tonight.

Edmonton Oilers Activate Eric Gryba, Send Dillon Simpson To AHL

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The Edmonton Oilers announced Wednesday that the team will activate Eric Gryba from injured reserve ahead of their matchup this Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They’ve sent Dillon Simpson back to the Bakersfield Condors to continue his development and see more ice time.

As we wrote after learning that Darnell Nurse would miss up to twelve weeks following surgery, Simpson has been used extremely sparingly by Edmonton during his time in the NHL. The young defender saw just 10:53 of average icetime in his three contests, and is obviously not ready for the higher level.

The team will now look to Gryba to step back into an important role with Nurse out, likely pairing with Andrej Sekera or Kris Russell in his absence. Gryba was logging just over 17 minutes before he was injured last month and was a nice surprise for Edmonton this summer. The former Ottawa Senators defenseman signed a PTO with the Oilers and though he has been held pointless all season, playing tough minutes is more than they were expecting bringing him to camp.

Darnell Nurse Undergoes Ankle Surgery, Will Miss Up To 12 Weeks

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If you were waiting for good news on the Darnell Nurse mystery injury, you won’t get it. The Edmonton Oilers announced today that the young defender underwent surgery to repair his ankle and will miss up to twelve weeks. The Oilers had placed Nurse on injured reserve on December 3rd, and told the media that he’d be out “long-term”, but were unclear on the specifics of the injury.

Nurse had bounced back after struggling as a rookie last year and was finally showing the promise he had when the Oilers selected him seventh overall in 2013. No longer relied on as the sole shutdown option with Kris Russell, Adam Larsson and Matt Benning added and Oscar Klefbom playing a larger role, Nurse looked like he could be an integral part of an average-at-worst blueline in Edmonton. While his injury doesn’t necesarily doom the Oilers back to their losing ways, the team had dropped four straight (three of them in overtime or a shootout) before winning yesterday thanks to Patrik Laine’s latest snipe.

The team has turned to Dillon Simpson in the meantime, though only for about ten minutes a night. With more minutes put on the top pairings, the Oilers will need Russell to continue his renaissance this season. After a summer filled with rumors, Russell had to wait until October 7th to sign his one-year deal with the club for a discounted $3.1MM. Now playing around 25 minutes a night, the shot-blocking specialist is a key part to the middle section of season for the playoff-hopefuls.

Nurse, who is still on his entry-level deal with the Oilers, will miss another 34 games if his rehab takes the full 12 weeks. He had five points through his first 25 games, after registering just ten all of last season. The Oilers take on the Columbus Blue Jackets Tuesday night and will look to continue their new win streak. Interestingly the team also announced the assignment of defenseman David Musil to the AHL. The 23-year old had been with the team since last Wednesday, but had yet to dress for a game.  As Tom Gazzola of Oilers TV notes, head coach Todd McLellan mentioned this weekend that both Brandon Davidson and Eric Gryba are close to a return, which could mean the end for Simpson as well.

Pacific Division Notes: Noesen, Domi, Jooris, Gryba, Davidson

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Sometimes things just have a way of working out for the best. That turned out to be the case for the Anaheim Ducks back in the 2011 NHL draft. Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times relays the story of Stefan Noesen, who was a first-round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2011, but has spent the last five seasons working to establish himself as an NHL regular. During that span he has overcome two major leg injuries – torn knee ligaments in his first pro season and a lacerated Achilles the next year – and was part of a trade package Ottawa sent to Anaheim for Bobby Ryan. As Zupke notes, Noesen may not be a household name but he has an opportunity to win a job with the Ducks on the team’s fourth line.

Interestingly enough, the Ducks, who owned the 22nd choice in the 2011 draft were prepared to select Noesen but the Senators took the American winger one pick before Anaheim could pull the trigger. With their top option off the board the Ducks decided to move down the board, dealing the 22nd pick to Toronto for the 30th and 39th overall selections. The Leafs selected Tyler Biggs, who has yet to appear in the NHL and is currently playing for the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL. The Ducks, on the other hand, took forward Rickard Rakell at 30 and goaltender John Gibson at 39; two key contributors for Anaheim.

Meanwhile, the Ducks would get Noesen anyway when the winger was acquired from Ottawa along with Jakob Silfverberg and a first-round pick – the Ducks would choose Nick Ritchie with that selection – in exchange for Ryan.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • Yesterday it was learned that the Arizona Coyotes had placed Max Domi on IR with what was believed to be a hand injury. Officially Domi was listed as week-to-week but Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reports (via video link) that the sophomore winger will have surgery on his injured hand and could miss as much as six weeks. When asked about the report, Coyotes GM John Chayka declined comment, according to Craig Morgan (Twitter link).
  • Earlier today it was announced that the Coyotes were awarded their waiver claim on Josh Jooris, formerly of the New York Rangers. In a corresponding transaction to clear a roster space, the club reassigned Tyler Gaudet to Tucson of the AHL (Twitter link). Gaudet has appeared in four games for the Coyotes this season and has just one assist while averaging nearly 13 minutes of ice time.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have been beset this season by injuries on their blue line but now it appears as if reinforcements may be on the way. The team tweeted today that injured defensemen Eric Gryba and Brandon Davidson could be back in the team’s lineup as soon as Tuesday. The possible return of Davidson has to be especially good news for the Oilers. The 25-year-old blue liner established himself as a steady presence on the team’s back end as a rookie last season.

Edmonton Oilers Recall Fayne, Move Gryba To IR

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After losing the rematch against the Toronto Maple Leafs on home ice last night, the Edmonton Oilers have decided to make a move. The team has recalled Mark Fayne from the AHL, while moving Eric Gryba to injured reserve.

Fayne was sent to the minors just yesterday after clearing waivers, but will rejoin the team for their upcoming matchup against the Winnipeg Jets. Playing in just one game this season it’s obvious that his favor has soured with head coach Todd McLellan and the entire Oilers organization.

Fayne once wore an alternate captain’s ’A’ for the Oilers, suiting up in 143 games over the past two seasons. The 29-year old was demoted at one point last year and now seems destined to bounce back and forth as a contingency plan. His $3.65MM cap hit prevents anyone from putting in a claim on waivers, so it doesn’t matter much how many times he goes up and down.

On the other, but very similar, hand is Gryba. Another hulking defenseman, Gryba came over from the Ottawa Senators in 2015 and played 53 games for the team last season. Off to a pointless start in fourteen games, he last played for the Oilers on the 17th. The Oilers will likely continue to dress the six other healthy defensemen for the time being.

Snapshots: Top Rookies, Tougher Oilers, McKeown

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It’s been a good start to the season for rookies in the NHL. Auston Matthews scored a stunning four goals in his debut and Finnish top picks Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujärvi also scored in their debuts. William Nylander had two assists.

However, two of the more impressive rookies to TSN’s Bob McKenzie are the Flyers’ Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov. McKenzie appeared on TSN 1260 in Edmonton, saying it’s “ridiculous how good [Provorov] is” and saying Konecny was their “maybe their best player” in their first game.

Despite their early success, McKenzie didn’t see either of them being in the Calder Trophy conversation, because neither will post the offensive numbers. He also joked that “everybody knows they already awarded the Calder the other night after the first game. People didn’t see that presentation afterwards, but Auston Matthews was presented with it after the game.”

McKenzie compared the style of play over the first two nights to Team North America in the World Cup, saying hopefully “the kids … will triumph because the first two nights of this season have been a joy to watch.”

In other new from around the hockey world:

  • David Staples of the Edmonton Journal took a look at how GM Peter Chiarelli turned the formerly soft Oilers into a much tougher team. The Oilers have added four tough and dependable NHLers in Eric Gryba, Zack Kassian, Patrick Maroon, and Milan Lucic for a total cost of two fourth round picks and three players who had no future in Edmonton: former starter Ben Scrivens who was toiling in the AHL, and fringe minor leaguers Travis Ewanyk and Martin Gernat. Scrivens and Gernat are now overseas, and Ewanyk signed with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL. Staples writes that the new-look Oilers are able to “[answer] the bell if it comes to clobberin’ time, as it surely will.”
  • The Carolina Hurricanes have assigned defenseman Roland McKeown to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. McKeown was a healthy scratch in the Hurricanes season opening loss in Winnipeg. McKeown is a former second round pick of the Los Angeles Kings, acquired in the Andrej Sekera trade back at the 2015 trade deadline. The Raleigh News & Observer Chip Alexander believes the team is expecting newly-acquired defenseman Jakub Nakladal to be available for Sunday night’s game in Vancouver.

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