The Oilers have now inked both of their professional tryout players to NHL contracts. Earlier today, Jason Garrison was signed to a one-year deal worth $650k, and now Alex Chiasson has been given an identical contract.

Chiasson, who won the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals last spring, came into camp on a PTO fighting for one of Edmonton’s final roster spots. With Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi having strong showings, Ty Rattie finding chemistry with Connor McDavid, and Drake Caggiula signed to a $1.5 million cap hit, it really came down to Chiasson and Pontus Aberg.

That was a battle that Chiasson would win. Aberg looked disinterested in camp and was hardly noticeable during the team’s pre-season games and ultimately got put on waivers. Chiasson appeared to be the better player and he had the advantage of a much greater track record than the Swedish winger.

Chiasson has played parts of six seasons in the NHL with the Capitals, Flames, Stars, and Senators. He was a second-round pick and a highly-touted enough prospect to be involved in the Jason Spezza trade back in 2014. Last season, he played in Washington’s bottom six, producing 18 points in 61 games.

Chiasson brings to the table a big body with pretty good hands and an ability to put the puck in the net. He’s a very solid option to have on your roster as an extra forward and there really isn’t much surprise that he ended up landing a contract.

The Oilers were able to sign Chiasson because they moved Kris Russell to the IR. So the Oilers have 23 players on the roster, and Russell is on the IR. Ethan Bear was assigned to the AHL (just a paper transaction), but he will be recalled once the Oilers place Andrej Sekera on LTIR.