Edmonton Oilers sign defenceman Josh Brown to three-year contract

The Edmonton Oilers have made a move to add a defenceman, signing Josh Brown to a three-year contract, the club announced Monday.

The deal will pay him $1-million per year.

Brown, 30, was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the sixth round of the 2013 draft, having spent time in the NHL with them, the Ottawa Senators, the Boston Bruins and most recently, the Arizona Coyotes, with whom he spent the last two seasons with.

Standing at 6’5, 220 lbs., Brown is a defensive defenceman who doesn’t provide much offensively. That being said, he scored three goals, seven assists and 10 points this year, the latter two being career highs for the veteran of 290 NHL games.

His underlying numbers paint the picture of a player who has struggled at the NHL level. This past season, according to HockeyViz.com, Brown provided offence at a four percent rate below league average and defence at a 22 percent rate below league average. Despite that, Brown was an effective penalty killer, contributing at a four percent rate above league average.

With him on the ice at five-on-five last season, the Coyotes controlled 41.26 percent of the shot attempt share, 42.23 percent of the shot attempt share, 43.03 percent of the expected goals share and 50 percent of the goal share, according to Natural Stat Trick. Relative to his teammates, these numbers were notably worse.

Brown figures to serve as a replacement for Vincent Desharnais, who has spent his entire pro career with the Oilers. He’ll compete for minutes on the third pairing as a No. 6 defenceman, and his contract could be easily buried in the American Hockey League.

The Oilers have been busy as free agency, signing Viktor Arvidsson to a two-year deal, while bringing back Connor Brown, Noah Philp, James Hamblin and Noel Hoefenmayer on deals.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.