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The Free Agency Live Blog!
By baggedmilk
Jul 1, 2016, 09:00 EDTUpdated:
It’s the most wonderful day of the year! CANADA DAY! Hell yeah! The NHL draft is in the books and now comes the day where free agents cash in on the dreams and promises bestowed upon them by GMs around the league.
After five days of speed dating, players and agents will start making decisions on where the players will go, with the fun all starting at 10am MST. We know that Chiarelli is going Lucic hunting but will he also add a side of Demers to follow? Maybe, but what the hell do I know? Rumours surfaced a few days ago that the Oilers had already agreed with both Milan Lucic AND Jason Demers, so it will be interesting to see if that actually happens. Twitter wouldn’t lie, right? If it doesn’t happen? Well… We should be getting used to having our hopes kicked in the balls by reality by now, right? Right.
*checks clock*
Anyway…
Regardless of what happens we can always take refuge in knowing that we’re sharing in the joys and miseries of being an Oilers fan together. As the deals get signed, and the day moves forward, I will be your friendly correspondent (read: mediocre blogger) that keeps you updated with what’s going on. I will also be live tweeting (@OilersNation and @jsbmbaggedmilk) as well as updating this post throughout the day. As news breaks, I will do everything humanly possible to get the news up here in a timely fashion. You will find said updates at the bottom of this article in the UPDATES section. Seems pretty straightforward. Got it? Cool.
*checks clock again*
WHAT’S HAPPENED SO FAR…
- Wednesday, June 15th – Andrew Ference cannot be bought out by the Oilers. Will spend year on LTIR
- Friday, June 24th – Oilers draft Jesse Puljujarvi 4th overall
- Wednesday, June 29th – Taylor Hall traded to New Jersey for Adam Larsson
- Thursday, June 30th – Oilers buy out Lauri Korpikoski
THE RUMOURS OUT THERE
- The obvious rumour is that the Oilers already have a handshake deal in place with Milan Lucic. If you take Darren Dreger at his word, this deal could see Milan Lucic signing for seven years at $6 million per year. That’s huge money, but my biggest concern would be the term. Seven years for a 28-year old could seem like an eternity in a few years.
- On Wednesday, Curtis Stock followed up his “Lucic to the Oilers” tweet with another saying that Jason Demers would also be dawning the blue and orange in October. Will it happen? We wait.
- Yesterday, Bob Stauffer was talking about a rumour that would send Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to the Avalanche for defenseman Tyson Barrie. Stauffer said the deal would most likely happen closer to Barrie’s arbitration case if it does happen at all. While I do like Tyson Barrie I’m not sure that my heart would be able to handle another trade that sees another first overall pick not named Nail Yakupov leaving the Oilers. Wild times, my friends.
- Luke Fox at Sportsnet is saying that there’s a possibility that the Oilers could make another move with New Jersey for Damon Severson. Severson is another RHD with potential which seems crazy considering the Oilers just moved Taylor Hall to get that. Will it happen? Who knows. I’m just reporting what’s out there.
POTENTIAL TARGETS
Milan Lucic (LW) – I feel like we’ve been talking about Milan Lucic for almost a decade around these parts, and when he became available it made a world of sense to put him at the top of our wish list. For me, there are no downsides to signing Milan Lucic apart from the dollars and term that he is likely to command. Apart from that, sign him up.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007-08 | NHL | 77 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 89 | -2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
2008-09 | NHL | 72 | 17 | 25 | 42 | 136 | 17 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 43 | |
2009-10 | NHL | 50 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 44 | -7 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 19 | |
2010-11 | NHL | 79 | 30 | 32 | 62 | 121 | 28 | 25 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 63 | |
2011-12 | NHL | 81 | 26 | 35 | 61 | 135 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | |
2012-13 | NHL | 46 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 75 | 8 | 22 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 14 | |
2013-14 | NHL | 80 | 24 | 35 | 59 | 91 | 30 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 | |
2014-15 | NHL | 81 | 18 | 26 | 44 | 81 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | |
2015-16 | NHL | 81 | 20 | 35 | 55 | 79 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
NHL Totals | 647 | 159 | 238 | 397 | 851 | 101 | 26 | 38 | 64 | 159 |
Jason Demers (RHD) – Right shot defenseman that slots in on the 2nd pairing with the ability to move up if needed. What’s not to like? The sticking point will be the dollars and term that he’ll get with his new contract, and the Oilers will have to be careful about how much money they’re tying up on that second pairing. Last year, Chiarelli paid big money for Andrej Sekera and I’m not sure the Oilers would want to spend that same amount on Demers. If you take Curtis Stock for his word Demers has already signed here as well.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009-10 | NHL | 51 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 21 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | |
2009-10 | AHL | 25 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 24 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | |
2010-11 | NHL | 75 | 2 | 22 | 24 | 28 | 19 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | |
2011-12 | NHL | 57 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 22 | -8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
2012-13 | SM-liiga | 30 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 18 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | |
2012-13 | NHL | 22 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | -4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
2013-14 | NHL | 75 | 5 | 29 | 34 | 30 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | |
2014-15 | NHL | 20 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | -6 | — | — | — | — | — | |
2014-15 | NHL | 61 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 63 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | |
2015-16 | NHL | 62 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 72 | 16 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | |
NHL Totals | 423 | 28 | 115 | 143 | 254 | 52 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 40 |
David Backes (C) – Of all the centremen that are on the market David Backes would be the best fit for the type of team that Peter Chiarelli is trying to build. He’s tough. He’s experienced. I don’t think there’s much chance that Backes signs here, but this is the kind of guy that I would want coming in if the Oilers truly believe that trading Nuge is their best option to improve the defense.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2006-07 | NHL | 49 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 37 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | |
2007-08 | NHL | 72 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 99 | -11 | — | — | — | — | — | |
2008-09 | NHL | 82 | 31 | 23 | 54 | 165 | -3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | |
2009-10 | NHL | 79 | 17 | 31 | 48 | 106 | -4 | — | — | — | — | — | |
2010-11 | NHL | 82 | 31 | 31 | 62 | 93 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | |
2011-12 | NHL | 82 | 24 | 30 | 54 | 101 | 15 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 18 | |
2012-13 | NHL | 48 | 6 | 22 | 28 | 62 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
2013-14 | NHL | 74 | 27 | 30 | 57 | 119 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
2014-15 | NHL | 80 | 26 | 32 | 58 | 104 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
2015-16 | NHL | 79 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 83 | 4 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 8 | |
NHL Totals | 727 | 206 | 254 | 460 | 969 | 49 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 40 |
Luke Schenn (RHD) – I mean… I wouldn’t sign him, but he is a right shot defenseman and he is technically available.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008-09 | NHL | 70 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 71 | -12 | — | — | — | — | — | |
2009-10 | NHL | 79 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 50 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | |
2010-11 | NHL | 82 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 34 | -7 | — | — | — | — | — | |
2011-12 | NHL | 79 | 2 | 20 | 22 | 62 | -6 | — | — | — | — | — | |
2012-13 | NHL | 47 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 34 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | |
2013-14 | NHL | 79 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 58 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
2014-15 | NHL | 58 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 18 | -2 | — | — | — | — | — | |
2015-16 | NHL | 29 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 30 | -7 | — | — | — | — | — | |
2015-16 | NHL | 43 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 52 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |
NHL Totals | 566 | 28 | 100 | 128 | 409 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
BACKUP GOALIE OPTIONS:
There are actually quite a few veteran backups that are available this summer. I think Chiarelli is going to pick someone up (not necessarily today) that will buy Brossoit another year (or until the trade deadline) of playing big minutes in Bakersfield. Here are some of the UFA goalies that are available this morning. Not all of them would be good ideas, but I’m only presenting the information.
James Reimer
Season | GP | GS | W | L | OTL | SA | GA | GAA | S% | SO | MINS |
2015-16 | 40 | 37 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 1,128 | 88 | 2.31 | .922 | 3 | 2,291 |
NHL | 215 | 196 | 91 | 78 | 23 | 6,327 | 542 | 2.79 | .914 | 14 | 11,658 |
Chad Johnson
Season | GP | GS | W | L | OTL | SA | GA | GAA | S% | SO | MINS |
2015-16 | 45 | 40 | 22 | 16 | 4 | 1,270 | 102 | 2.36 | .920 | 1 | 2,592 |
NHL | 101 | 88 | 50 | 30 | 11 | 2,720 | 227 | 2.39 | .917 | 4 | 5,703 |
Jhonas Enroth
Season | GP | GS | W | L | OTL | SA | GA | GAA | S% | SO | MINS |
2015-16 | 16 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 398 | 31 | 2.17 | .922 | 2 | 857 |
NHL | 147 | 128 | 50 | 66 | 15 | 4,238 | 379 | 2.80 | .911 | 7 | 8,115 |
Anton Khudobin
Season | GP | GS | W | L | OTL | SA | GA | GAA | S% | SO | MINS |
2015-16 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 175 | 16 | 2.70 | .909 | 1 | 357 |
NHL | 100 | 92 | 44 | 39 | 8 | 2,692 | 221 | 2.42 | .918 | 5 | 5,483 |
Al Montoya
Season | GP | GS | W | L | OTL | SA | GA | GAA | S% | SO | MINS |
2015-16 | 25 | 22 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 608 | 49 | 2.18 | .919 | 0 | 1,352 |
NHL | 136 | 110 | 55 | 40 | 18 | 3,503 | 318 | 2.59 | .909 | 5 | 7,354 |
Anders Lindback
Season | GP | GS | W | L | OTL | SA | GA | GAA | S% | SO | MINS |
2015-16 | 19 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 443 | 47 | 3.11 | .894 | 0 | 907 |
NHL | 130 | 102 | 45 | 58 | 8 | 3,403 | 327 | 2.87 | .904 | 3 | 6,845 |
I’m sure I’ve missed plenty of viable options, and I encourage you guys to throw in your favourites to be signed in the comments section. All I was going for here was a quick list of guys that make sense based on the current depth chart.
THE NORTH X NORTH GRETZ PODCAST
This week the boys wax poetic about the loss of Taylor Hall, how much they dislike the Taylor Hall trade, what they’re going to miss about Taylor Hall and Chris The Intern gives his advice on how to forget Taylor Hall (plus a bit of Adam Larsson talk too) before a Taylor Hall heavy edition of #AskTheIdiots. Taylor Hall.
UPDATES
- 7:03am: Why did I wake up so early? NOTHING FUN HAPPENS FOR THREE HOURS!
- 8:27am: Alex Radulov has reportedly signed with Montreal. Good thing they got rid of that “me first” player in PK Subban.
- 9:52am: Looks like Brian Campbell is going to Chicago for $2 million-ish. Also looks like Loui Erickson is going to Vancouver. We shall see.
- 10:01am: The Oilers sign Milan Lucic to a 7-year, $42 million contract
- 10:15am: Anyone else shocked that Andrew Ladd got seven years?
- 10:50am: The NHL has gone crazy. Here’s a recap.
- 11:15am: The Oilers have signed backup goalie Jonas Gustavsson to a 1-year deal.
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