The Edmonton Oilers will be making some tough decisions this spring with their restricted free agents. There are some obvious decisions on both sides of the ledger and a few tough ones. Let’s have a look.
- C Sam Gagner, $3.2M. Gagner is having a career offensive season and the club is going to be buying free agent seasons (unless they trade him). They could take him to arbitration but that only moves the decision back and then you’re staring at losing him to free agency. An offer sheet is possible, I’m not sure the Oilers would match. Despite his considerable skills, I have the feeling Oilers management see his flaws as being significant. My preference: long term deal. My prediction: trade. If they draft a center in the first round this summer, we’ll have our answer.
- L Magnus Paajarvi, $1.525M. Oilers will have to increase their spend with this player based on his applying all of the lessons learned and blossoming this year. Will $2M get it done? My preference: two-year deal at reasonable money. My prediction: same. Paajarvi could end up playing top 6 minutes next season.
- D Theo Peckham, $1.075M. The Oilers are either teaching him a lesson that will never leave him or have absolutely flushed him, or both. Either way, I still wouldn’t give up on him. My preference: another one-way deal. My prediction: will not qualify him. He’ll get another chance, but not in Edmonton.
- G Niko Hovinen, $950k (AHL). Waiver pickup hasn’t done much, suspect the Oilers will be overhauling their pro goaltending this summer. My preference: pass. My prediction: will not qualify him. Oilers don’t need a blue chip G, but should be pushing for better prospects.
- D Colten Teubert, $916k (AHL). As a prospect he’s in trouble. The Oilers are graduating defensemen a dozen at a time, and he is not pushing up the depth chart through performance. My preference: quality for depth, 2-way deal. My prediction: qualify for depth, 2-way deal. At this point he appears to be following Alex Plante’s career path, and that is not a good thing.
- D Taylor Fedun, $900k (AHL). Had a solid year and I do believe he’s on the radar for the big club. That doesn’t mean he’s going to make the team this fall, but he’s certainly worth a contract. My preference: qualify and sign to a 2-way deal. My prediction: same. Taylor Fedun has an NHL chance.
- C Mark Arcobello, $900k (AHL). He’s played so well in his first contracts I think the Oilers are forced here. Arcobello is exactly the kind of player Edmonton doesn’t need (small, undersized skill F) more of, but performance has been splendid. My preference: qualify and sign to a 2-way deal. My prediction: same. Sometimes when a player keeps beating the odds, you have to change your mind on him. This is Arcobello.
- L Teemu Hartikainen $875k. At the end of his entry level deal, Hartikainen has pushed as far as he can without actually winning NHL employment. The men blocking him are not superior and do cost more actual dollars and cap. That’s a nice place for Harski to be. My preference: sign him to a 2-year, one-way deal at reasonable dollars. My prediction: same. The draft/system pays off with a useful player outside the top 150 selections. Nice.
- D Alex Plante $625k (AHL). The blame here does not lie with the player, but rather the scouts who drafted him way too high. Concussions didn’t help and I sincerely hope he catches on somewhere and has a healthy NHL career. My preference: it’s time to say goodbye. My prediction: same. Playing AHL defense is a brutal job, maybe he should try Europe for a year or two.
- L Phil Cornet $580k (AHL). Like Arcobello, Cornet is the kind of prospect who is never going to find a job with the current Oilers. Smallish, skilled but not close to the #1 overall selections in that department, he’s better off moving on. My preference: do not qualify. My prediction: do not qualify. It’s the right thing to do. 35 goals in his last 100 AHL games.
- L Antti Tyrvainen $570k (AHL). Oilers gave the agitator a full chance, and he certainly can agitate. The problem is there’s not enough of a hockey player here. In the final analysis, he’s the easiest choice on the list. My preference: do not qualify. My prediction: do not qualify. I don’t think it went well.