Oilers sign Adam Cracknell to a one-year, two-way contract

This morning, the Edmonton Oilers announced via their social media channels that the team has signed 35-year-old Adam Cracknell to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2020-21 season.

After hearing reports that the Oilers were chasing Adam Cracknell for a second tour of duty a couple of days ago, you’ll remember that he played eight games with the team back in 2015-16, the contract was made official early this morning. The Edmonton Oilers took care of a little bit of minor league business by signing free agent, Adam Cracknell, to a one year contract for the upcoming season (whenever that is). A veteran of 210 NHL games and many many more in the minors, Cracknell will be counted on to provide some leadership and professionalism for a young Condors team that surely needs it as they look to get back on track in 2020-21. If he can chip in with a little bit of offence while guiding some of the young prospects along, something he’s been able to do a few times at the AHL level, then Cracknell’s addition could help Bakersfield get back into the playoffs after the team took a step backwards in 2019-20 before the season was eventually cancelled.

What I didn’t expect, however, was to see how many Oilers fans were genuinely upset about this move on Twitter, almost acting as if this is all the team is going to do this offseason. While I understand that the NHL roster has plenty of holes and needs that Adam Cracknell could never dream of filling, I’m just as mad as anybody about the way the play-in series against Chicago went, I thought it was pretty obvious that this is a player that is meant to help out the Condors. I mean, could he play a couple of games with the big club if injuries occur? Maybe, but I’d guess that the chances of that extending beyond a cup of coffee are slim. There’s also the fact that the NHL free agency period is still a month away from happening so taking care of some of these minor deals in the interim is actually good business, at least as I see it. While there’s no doubt that the Adam Cracknell signing is miles away from the sexy variety, there’s still plenty of time before the puck drops on the 2020-21 season for changes to be made. At least, that’s what I’m choosing to believe for now anyway.