If you were betting on Kailer Yamamoto heading home to the Seattle Kraken in free agency then you get a smiling sunshine sticker on your report card as the team just announced a one-year deal for $1.5 million early Sunday afternoon.

After getting traded to Detroit along with Klim Kostin on Thursday, Kailer Yamamoto’s $3.1 million contract was promptly bought out by the Red Wings, sending the 22nd overall pick from 2017 into free agency for the first time. And while some of us thought that having Yamo available as a free agent meant he would come back to Edmonton on a cheap deal, the reality was that Ken Holland wouldn’t be able to pay him much more than the league minimum and certainly nowhere near the money he ended up getting in Seattle. As much as it would have been fun to circumvent the cap a little bit with Yamamoto coming back at $1 million or less, it’s hard to fault a guy for heading back home where he’ll have the chance to play in front of his friends and family.

While it certainly sucks that Yamo’s time in Edmonton ended the way it did — we all had such high hopes for him after the 20-goal season he put up in 2021-22 — I’m happy for him that he got the chance to head back home on a reasonably priced contract. I think we can all agree there’s a player there, but maybe not the one we need right now. At $1.5 million, Yamamoto will be paid at a level we all wished he was at with the Oilers, but the most important part is that he’s getting a chance to rebound after what was a very tough year. Unfortunately, Yamamoto ran into some injury problems last season that prevented him from playing at the level we needed in a top-six role, and I hope that he’s able to stay healthy enough to get himself back on track.

In 244 regular season games played with the Oilers, Kailer Yamamoto registered 50 goals and 68 assists for 118 points to go along with 106 PIMS and a +29 rating while averaging 16:25 in TOI. Yamamoto added three goals and nine assists for 12 points in 34 playoffs games.