CHIARELLI IN FREE AGENCY: ONE YEAR AGO
By Lowetide
7 years agoA year ago, Peter Chiarelli had a giant list of problems to solve and by July 1 had addressed goaltending (Cam Talbot) and some defensive issues (Griffin Reinhart, Eric Gryba)—some successful, some not so much. He would enter the free agency segment of the summer with a dire need for a top defenseman and a two-way center. As we head toward another July 1, here is a quick look back at the UFA season in 2015—and what it might tell us about tomorrow.
THE CENTER
Peter Chiarelli signed Mark Letestu as his center solution. Letestu had some strong seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets and had established himself as a solid faceoff man who could help a little offensively. On July 1, I spoke to Letestu, and he suggested that along with the checking work, he could (and had in the past) help out on the power play.
MARK LETESTU 15-16
- 5×5 points per 60: 0.61 (No. 14 among regular forwards)
- 5×4 points per 60: 4.11 (No. 5 among regular forwards)
- Corsi for 5×5 %: 45.1
- Qual Comp: 12th toughest competition among regulars (fourth line)
- Qual Team: 11th best competition among regulars (fourth line)
- Corsi for 5×5 % REL: -10.6
- Shots on goal/percentage: 107/9.3
- Boxcars: 82GP, 10-15-25
Sources are Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com, behind the net and nhl.com. These resources are fabulous and highly recommended. Letestu delivered pretty well on 5×4 offense, and he also won over 51 percent of his faceoffs. In fact, most of the concern about Letestu this season came from work he did on the third line and above—in other words, he was asked to take on more chores, performed as well as he could, and on some level his reputation suffered for it. Long time Oilers fans will recognize this kind of story from past centers like Shawn Horcoff and Eric Belanger.
ANDREJ SEKERA
Entering free agency, these men were discussed heavily as Oilers options. Sekera had the best possession number, and he as a 22-minutes blue liner—just what the doctor ordered in Edmonton. Sekera could play in all three game states and for the Oilers he was a gran addition.
ANDREJ SEKERA 15-16
- 5×5 points per 60: 0.40 (No. 4 among regular defenders)
- 5×4 points per 60: 4.24 (No. 1 among regular defenders)
- Corsi for 5×5 %: 48.8 (No. 5 among regular defenders)
- Qual Comp: 2nd toughest faced among regular D (top pairing)
- Qual Team: 2nd best available teammates among regular D (top pairing)
- Corsi for 5×5 % REL: -1.9
- Shots on goal/percentage: 155/3.9%
- Boxcars: 81, 6-24-30
This is a dandy player card, Sekera delivered across the board (for such a poor team, this is terrific)—save for 5×5 offense. He played about 22 minutes a night and was the rare defender who was healthy all year. He even picked up a Lady Byng vote or two—I am not sure Oilers fans want that kind of behavior from their blue but there you are, ladies and men.
Chiarelli’s list through the draft, trade and free agency a year ago was fairly long:
- Draft McDavid (Check) (No extra credit is due for drafting McDavid)
- Find a quality goalie option (Cam Talbot)
- Acquire a legit top pairing blue (Andrej Sekera)
- Sign a two-way F (Lauri Korpikoski)
- Veteran two-way center (Letestu)
Not all options worked out perfectly, but he did in fact get a reasonable solution (imo) in goal, on defense in Sekera and Letestu the center. Here is this year’s list:
- Top-pairing RHD (Two-way skills—Adam Larsson)
- Find a replacement for Taylor Hall
- Second-pairing RHD (Offensive defenseman)
- Acquire RHC with some skill
- Backup goalie
Last year, Chiarelli tried to address need and did a good job (imo) in four of five spots (Korpikoski did not work)(No extra credit is due for drafting McDavid). This year?
- Top-pairing RHD (Two-way skills—Adam Larsson)
- Find a replacement for Taylor Hall (Milan Lucic)
- Second-pairing RHD (Offensive defenseman) (Tyson Barrie)
- Acquire RW with skill (Brett Connolly)
- Backup goalie (Chad Johnson)
Lord only knows what the cost would be for Barrie, but that list represents optimum weekend. We wait.
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