The signings are coming in fast and furious these days as the Edmonton Oilers and Bakersfield Condors keep some key players in the fold, in addition to adding some fresh new talent out of Sweden. 
Bakersfield Condors Re-Sign Two Vets
Assistant GM Keith Gretzky did the parent club a solid by getting veteran Condors Brad Malone and Luke Esposito to sign two-year extensions with the Oilers’ AHL affiliate. The key to these deals being that they’re AHL contracts and will not count against Edmonton’s 50-man limit thus giving Ken Holland some more room to work with when the time comes.
Similar to a player like Josh Currie (also a UFA and someone I expect the Oilers to re-sign given his significance to that team and the community), Malone and Esposito are very important to Jay Woodcroft’s team as they are highly-regarded and well-respected minor league players who will no doubt have a very positive effect on the younger players that will be playing in Bakersfield for the next couple of seasons like Raphael Lavoie, Kirill Maksimov, Ryan McLeod, Evan Bouchard, and Dmitri Samorukov.
Gretzky has been busy this off-season with signings. Since the AHL season was put on hold he’s signed Liam Folkes (RW), Janis Jaks (D), Devin Brousseau (F), and Blake Christiansen (LW).
Here are some notes on Brad Malone and Luke Esposito courtesy of BakersfieldCondors.com,
BRAD MALONE (stats) – 30 years old, 6’2″, 217 lbs., Chatham, New Brunswick, Canada
- A veteran of 583 professional games combined between the NHL and AHL
- Over three seasons with the Condors, he has recorded 89 points (34g-55a) in 148 games
- Was in the midst of his best AHL season in 2019-20 with 31 points (13g-18a) in 49 games
- Led the Condors in the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs with 13 points (5g-8a) in 10 games
- Has served as an alternate captain during his Condors career
- Appeared in 199 NHL games with Colorado, Carolina, and Edmonton
LUKE ESPOSITO (stats) – 26 years old, 5’10”, 183 lbs., Andover, Massachusetts
- Has played 150 AHL games over three seasons (two with Bakersfield) and has 57 points (15g-42a)
- Led the 2019-20 Condors with two shorthanded goals
- Second on the 2019-20 Condors with two game-winning goals
- Went to the Calder Cup Playoffs in his first two AHL seasons (2019 w/BAK, 2018 w/GR)
- Two-time ECAC Champion at Harvard University (2017, 2015) and was named to the 2017 ECAC All-Tournament Team
Lennstrom and Haas Sign with Oilers
You had to know something was going to drop given how much chatter there was going on with regards to Gaetan Haas last week on Oilers talk radio and this week the Swiss forward took a 10k paycut to sign a one-way one-year deal worth 915k with the club.
I talked about it earlier, but I really like having Haas on this team. It’s probably a bit silly to say given his nationality but he really is a bit of a Swiss army knife on the ice and possibly even more so going forward. I wonder if he might get some time on the second powerplay unit (a place he was well familiar with during his time in the Swiss league) given his ability to tip pucks as well as more time on the second penalty-killing unit.
That said, before any of that happens, he needs to get stronger and better on the faceoffs. He’s got the speed, the skills, and the processor to play the NHL game but he gets knocked around out there quite easily and loses battles that he should be winning. A bit of added strength and a sturdier core would go a long way I believe.
At the moment, Haas is back in Switzerland with his significant other recuperating from finger surgery awaiting instructions from the team.
Last time I spoke about Teddy Lennstrom I said that it was my belief that he’ll be depth for Edmonton’s AHL team in Bakersfield and I still believe that even with the news that was passed on to me yesterday.
Unless Ken Holland is thinking of shaking up his defense in a major way, I can’t see Lennstrom beating Oscar Klefbom, Darnell Nurse, Caleb Jones, William Lagesson, or Dmitri Samorukov for a spot on the Oilers defense patrolling the left side. Right now, Bakersfield has Samorukov as its sole left-side defender because we’re under the impression that Philip Broberg will be staying in Sweden for another year and that William Lagesson will be on the Oilers roster unless Edmonton trades him or is okay with losing him via waivers next year. Keegan Lowe and Brandon Manning are UFAs.
RUMOR
I was told, Kris Russell‘s time as an Edmonton Oiler could be coming to an end when the 2019/20 NHL season is concluded.
Ken Holland will be looking to move the veteran defender in a cost-cutting move and there is possible interest in the shot-blocking king from teams in the Eastern Conference.
Now, Russell as a M-NTC, NMC in his current deal and will need to pass on a 15-team trade list before the season starts. He’ll only be making $1.5M in real money next season but will be a $4M cap-hit for the team acquiring him.
Maybe a team like Ottawa would take a swing at him given that they’ll need to hit the cap floor. Plus they’ll have 39-year-old Ron Hainsey turning UFA and his last deal was worth $3.5M and the Sens aren’t going anywhere fast (even if they do win the draft lottery and select Alexis Lafreniere and Quinton Byfield).
The Sens also have a shite ton of draft picks to part with and speaking of teams with lots of draft picks who like gritty older defenders, the Montreal Canadiens intrigue me as another possible option. I reckon Rusty would be an upgrade on Xavier Ouellet and Brett Kulak and the Habs would only have to give up one of their three 4th round picks or one of their two 5th rounders.
I’m just speculating on trade partners and I would venture to say that anything else that’s being posted on the socials is just the same. With that in mind, anything could happen between now and whenever NHL teams are allowed to make trades again.
