It may have taken six hours, but the Edmonton Oilers have finally found a free agent to sign on July 1st.

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the team is signing defenceman Riley Stillman. Puckpedia reported it’s a two-year contract for $775,000, the league minimum, and $475,000 in the AHL.

Stillman, 27, is a left-shot who appeared in five NHL games last year with the Carolina Hurricanes registering no points. He appeared in 35 games with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, scoring three goals and nine points.

He was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the fourth round, 114th overall in the 2016 draft. The son of ex-NHL’er Corey Stillman, who won the 2006 Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes, Riley has appeared in 163 NHL games with the Panthers, Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres and Hurricanes. Since turning pro in the 2018-19 season, he’s played 171 AHL games, scoring 12 goals and 41 points.

Most of his NHL games — 102, to be exact — came during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, playing for the Blackhawks, Canucks, and Sabres, contributing at the rate of a high-end third-pairing defenceman, according to HockeyViz. His defensive contributions were poor during those times. In 2021-22, he contributed defence at an eight percent rate below league average, while in 2022-23, it was 13 percent below league average.

The move is some organizational depth for the team and a likely replacement for Ronnie Attard, a defenceman who played 59 games with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, signing a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche.

Beyond trading winger Viktor Arvidsson to the Boston Bruins, the Oilers watched as free agents Corey Perry signed with the Los Angeles Kings, Connor Brown signed with the New Jersey Devils, and John Klingberg signed with the San Jose Sharks.

As July 1st winds down, the Oilers have $4.5-million in cap space, according to PuckPedia, with a few spots in the forward group and one on the blue line to fill.

Oilers general manager Stan Bowman is expected to hold a media availability at 5:00 pm MT — one that had been pushed back twice.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.