It appears that Tyler Pitlick’s time with the Edmonton
Oilers is not yet over. On Friday the club announced that it had signed the
2010 second-round selection to a one-year contract extension. 

Contract details were not immediately available. Pitlick had been slated for restricted free agency upon the expiration of his last deal, a one-year, two-way contract with a salary of just over $761,000. 

My guess would be that his new deal is along the lines of what a qualifying offer would have looked like: a two-way deal with an NHL salary of just under $800,000. For players making less than $1.0 million, the NHL CBA specifies a five percent on any Q.O. (as long as the final number doesn’t exceed $1.0 million) and for players in Pitlick’s situation allows for a two-way deal to be offered. 

This is obviously a minor deal, but it isn’t a bad way for Edmonton to go.

Pitlick has always been an intriguing player. He has NHL size and NHL speed, and over his years in the AHL has worked on developing both his physical play and his scoring touch. He has 27 NHL games under his belt and for several seasons now has been on the cusp of major-league duty.  

The trouble has always been injury. Pitlick played 62 games as a rookie pro in 2011-12, though at the time we didn’t realize that was going to be a high-water mark. He played just 37 games last season and has played between 31 and 49 regular season games for four consecutive years. It would not have been a surprise had Edmonton’s management looked at that injury history, shrugged its collective shoulders, and cut him loose.

I would imagine the thing that prevented them from doing so was the low risk involved in bringing Pitlick back. A two-way deal with such a minimal cap hit is basically risk-free; the only thing the Oilers were risking here was a spot on the team’s 50-man reserve list, and that’s a pretty small commitment for a 24-year-old AHL’er who might be able to provide Edmonton with cheap NHL minutes at some point during the year.

As it turns out, Pitlick was slightly cheaper than I had expected, coming in below what a qualifying offer would have dictated.

 

There are few certainties in life – we can always count on the sun coming up in the morning, Edmonton winters being dreadful, and the Oilers missing the playoffs. As such, we present the annual OilersNation Draft Party! It’s time to honour the the anniversary of drafting our beloved Connor, celebrate the rewards of another failed season, and raise some money for charity.

Here’s what you need to know…

The party is happening at the Pint Downtown on Friday, June 24th. The goal is to raise as much money as possible for the Red Cross and their efforts to bring normalcy back to Fort McMurray, and have a little bit of fun while we’re at it. For $30 you get a Draft Party t-shirt, a $10 Pint GC, a $10 Oodle Noodle GC, a draft party collectors cup, and a chance for prizes and eternal glory.

All proceeds from tickets sold will be donated directly to the Red Cross so bring your friends, get involved, and help us support a community in need. Tickets are still available here.

One day, the Oilers will be a good hockey team and we’ll all be able to laugh about this. Until then, we party.