Brandon Davidson declines PTO from Oilers

It appears the Edmonton Oilers were interested in giving Brandon Davidson a chance at Round Three, but they weren’t interested enough to offer him a contract. According to Reid Wilkins of 630 CHED, the Oilers offered the two-time former Oiler a professional tryout contract, but Davidson declined because he’s close to getting an NHL contract with another team. 

Davidson was originally drafted by the Oilers in the sixth round of the 2010 NHL draft. He would spend a few years in the minors before making his debut with the team in 2014-15. Davidson played with the club for two-and-a-half years before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens for David Desharnais at the trade deadline in 2017. The Oilers claimed Davidson on waivers from the Habs last year, but then flipped him to the New York Islanders for a third-round pick a few months later.

While Davidson is a fan favourite, the Oilers have ultimately decided that there was a better option to boost the depth of the team’s blueline. That really isn’t all too surprising given the fact they’ve now traded him two separate times, once for a draft pick.

Davidson appeared to be a logical option for the Oilers to sign after Andrej Sekera went down with an Achilles injury given his familiarity with the team. Instead, Peter Chiarelli ultimately decided to roll with Jakub Jerabek who brings more of an offensive element to his game on a one-year, $1 million deal.

I can’t blame Davidson for wanting to look for a secure contract rather than just a PTO and an invite to training camp. He’s certainly a good enough player to land somewhere, though it may be on a two-way deal.