Tobias Rieder returns to Edmonton after being drafted by the organization in 2011 and traded away in 2013. The Oilers sent him to Arizona before he finished junior hockey, and he spent a year and a little bit in the minors before making the NHL. The Oilers will now benefit from one of the few useful players they’ve drafted past the first round in a long time.

Rieder’s been a productive middle-six forward who can play both special teams. He had a dip in production and time on ice last season and was sent off to Los Angeles where he wasn’t qualified. Rieder’s seen significant shorthanded time in his career, and will be a welcome addition to Edmonton’s porous penalty kill. He’s been a decent possession player up until last season.

Rieder adds speed and has a good opportunity to play with one of Edmonton’s skilled centers. He might already be Edmonton’s best right wing and could end beside the most talented center he’s ever played with. Other than his brief time with Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar in Los Angeles, Rieder hasn’t played with the best of players in his career.

This includes every forward Rieder’s spent 100 5-on-5 minutes with in his career. He’s played with a lot of mediocre players on poor Arizona teams. There’s a glaring hole at right wing in Edmonton. Rieder could easily end up beside Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Edmonton’s right side includes: Ty Rattie, Jesse Puljujarvi, Drake Caggiula, Zack Kassian, and possibly Kailer Yamamoto. Rieder is by far the most proven of that group and the only one with a 15-goal, 30-point season in the NHL.

He might not be the scoring winger Oilers fans were hoping for this offseason, but he’s spent a lot of time alongside Martin Hanzal on the Coyotes’ shutdown line in previous years. He shouldn’t be out of place facing good competition with either McDavid or Draisaitl. Edmonton has a few competent left wings with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Milan Lucic on the roster, but they lack the wingers on the other side.

Rieder is a nice pickup for just two million per year. He’ll be a restricted free agent after next season and could fill a depth role long-term for the Oilers. Edmonton has almost no established right wingers in their top nine currently and Rieder should be able to seize that role given his competition.

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