Edmonton Oilers sign forward Adam Erne to professional tryout

The Edmonton Oilers are adding another body to training camp.

With Sam Gagner and Brandon Sutter already having professional tryouts set for Oilers camp, the club announced Tuesday 2013 2nd round pick Adam Erne inked a PTO of his own.

Erne, 28, was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning playing four years in the organization before he was acquired by the Detroit Red Wings in an August 2019 trade.

A veteran of 355 NHL games, Erne has scored 40 goals and 89 points and drew in for 61 games last year with the Red Wings. He played a depth role as a tweener between the third and fourth lines. According to hockeyviz.com, he contributed offence at a 16 percent rate below league average, and defence at a rate one percent better than league average.

With him on the ice at 5×5 last year, the Red Wings controlled just 41.62 per cent of the shot attempt share, 40.35 percent of the expected goal share, 38.94 per cent of the scoring chances and just 36.36 per cent of the goals scored. All the numbers were five to six per cent below the team average last season, but it’s worth noting he had a 97.8 PDO and a .896 on-ice save percentage.

A physical presence on the ice laying 13.29 hits per hour at 5×5 last season, Erne has shown a penchant for being able to chip in offence over the course of his career. Over the last three seasons, he’s averaged 25 points per 82 games played — very solid numbers.

It’s not unreasonable to think that Erne could land a spot on the Oilers. While his ability to be an offensive driver of play isn’t astute, the truth of the matter is that underlying analytics aside, his individual contributions sitting near league average are a solid sign.

It’s also not unreasonable to think that on a roster like the Oilers’ instead of the Red Wings’, Erne’s underlying numbers, too, could improve.

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@oilersnation.com.