ALL SUMMER LONG

10 years ago

Roman Horak (in photo, courtesy Rob Ferguson) is one of Edmonton’s restricted free agents this summer. Horak and his agent will no doubt be pursuing a new deal for more money, and a one-way (NHL) deal if possible. The Oilers have only so much room on their 50-man list, and are facing some tough decisions.

50-MAN LIST FOR 2014-15

G Ben Scrivens
G Viktor Fasth
G Tyler Bunz
G Laurent Brossoit
G Frans Tuohimaa
D Martin Marincin
D Andrew Ference
D Oscar Klefbom
D Brandon Davidson
D Martin Gernat
D David Musil
D Brad Hunt
D Jordan Oesterle
D Darnell Nurse (sliderule)
C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
C Sam Gagner
C Boyd Gordon
C Mark Arcobello
C Will Acton
C Travis Ewanyk
C Jujhar Khaira
L Taylor Hall
L David Perron
L Matt Hendricks
L Jesse Joensuu
L Ryan Hamilton
L Kale Kessy
L Mitchell Moroz
R Jordan Eberle
R Nail Yakupov

RFA PLAYERS

G Richard Bachman (rfa)
D Jeff Petry (rfa)
D Justin Schultz (rfa)
D Phil Larsen (rfa)
C Anton Lander (rfa)
L Luke Gazdic (rfa)
L Roman Horak (rfa)
L Curtis Hamilton (rfa)
R Tyler Pitlick (rfa)
R Andrew Miller (rfa)

The Oilers often flush this group year over year, it’s a dangerous point for players.

POSSIBLE ADDITIONS

D Dillon Simpson: He’s very likely to sign.
C Marco Roy: He is eligible to sign, but may return to junior.
C Bogdan Yakimov: MacT loves the guy.
D Erik Gustafsson:
The Swede has enjoyed a good season.
D Joey Laleggia: He has one more year of eligibility if it comes to that.
R John McCarron: I’d bet money they sign the big forward.

Now we’re up to 46, and of course there’s every chance the first round pick will be signed. MacT may have two or three free agents he wants to sign, so we’re reaching a point where someone has to go.

The Oilers mays also want to sign some of their own free agents. Ryan Smyth, Anton Belov and Taylor Fedun (among others) may find their way back into an Oiler/Baron uniform.

THREE FOR ONE?

I’d love to see a three for one deal, but suspect the Oilers will find a way to walk away from a few of those RFA’s. I’d say the club would consider qualifying only five or six in an effort to have some wiggle room. Teams like Phoenix clean up late in free agency because they have cap room and some walking around money in August.

It’s also
possible that MacT finds a way to flush Tyler Bunz. Bottom line: Before
trades, the Oilers are pretty close to 40 of their 50-man list for next
season.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

The Oilers need a 2line C, two NHL defensemen and all kinds of secondary help. In the past, they would often lose their ability to capitalize on late free-agent signings for two reasons:

the club rarely made a decision on a player until they absolutely had to do it.
the club had most of their roster set when the rest of the league ran out of cash and roster avails.

Craig MacTavish has been very active compared to both Steve Tambellini and Kevin Lowe. I expect we’ll see more of the same this summer, and am hopeful that will include some late summer bargains. Phoenix has taken advantage of this area of free agency long enough, time for the Oilers to get in on the action.