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From Oilersnation
Fixing Holes: Left-handed Defencemen on the Free Agent Market by Cam Lewis
While the majority of talk about how the Oilers can improve this off-season is focused on adding forwards, the team could also use a veteran defender to play on the second pair.
Ken Holland went out and acquired Dmitry Kulikov ahead of the trade deadline to fill this role mid-season. Assuming Adam Larsson is re-signed, Holland will again want to find a veteran who can play on a shutdown pair with Larsson as a contingency plan for Klefbom.
Let’s go through some names on the free-agent market that could fit the bill.
Alec Martinez: Martinez had the best season of his career offensively this year, scoring 32 points over 53 games. He would have shattered his career-high of 39 points set back in 2016-17 had the season been a normal length.
Martinez turns 34 this off-season and will likely be able to translate his strong season into a raise from his current $4,000,000 annual salary.
BLH’s Thoughts: I can’t see him getting that much on a new contract in this economy and at his age. Now, if he’d be willing to sign for closer to $3M, I think the Oilers would have interest in him on a short-term deal. However, they do have Kris Russell who is of similar vintage and size and there are probably better clubs for Martinez to sign with at this point in his career.
Jamie Oleksiak: Drafted No. 14 overall in the 2011 draft, it took Jamie Oleksiak a few years to establish himself at the NHL level, but he’s emerged into a quality shutdown defender for the Dallas Stars. He was a rock for the Stars on their run to the Stanley Cup Final last summer and logged a career-high 20:29 per night in 2021.
BLH’s Thoughts: I’m betting this is the guy that everybody wants and for good reason. When all the cards were on the table last season, he thrived. Now he’s considered one of the better 2nd pair defenders in the league.
Partnering him with Adam Larsson for the next four years would give the Oilers a formidable 2nd pair and allow them to bring Philip Broberg along at an appropriate pace.
Mind you, that’s a pretty rosy scenario and it requires a few things to break down in Dallas for Edmonton to even have a shot at the gargantuan defender. I would expect him to sign a decent-termed deal worth close to, if not more than, $4M/yr.
Mike Reilly: Reilly was traded to Boston ahead of the trade deadline and took on a large role on a Bruins blueline that was bogged down by injuries. He averaged a career-high 21:04 per night and posted an impressive 14-to-9 goal differential while with the Bruins.
Reilly’s 27 points this season was the highest of his career by a wide margin and he’ll earn himself a hefty raise on the two-year, $1,500,000 annual deal he signed his last time in free agency.
BLH’s Thoughts: Should the Oilers find themselves in a situation where they need a left-shot defender for 1-3 seasons, Mike Reilly would be a solid choice. He can move the puck, he skates well, and he’s old school. I remember him attempting to take some liberties with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl this past year and if he’s on my team, I dig the balls on a guy who’s willing to target the other team’s stars.
He could get as much as $3M/yr but I feel like it’ll come below that, maybe closer to $2.5M or lower depending on term.
Ryan Murray: The biggest challenge for Murray throughout his NHL career has been staying healthy. He did that this year with the Devils, logging 18:37 per night over 48 games with an impressive 35-to-29 goal differential.
BLH’s Thoughts: We know now that Edmonton wanted to take Ryan Murray instead of Nail Yakupov (remember him?) at the 2012 draft and in hindsight, it wouldn’t have matter because the right choice would’ve been Morgan Rielly.
Anyway, Cam Lewis also says that due to Murray’s spotty health over the course of his career, he’d be a risky signing and I can’t disagree with that. If he could be trusted to stay healthy I wouldn’t mind taking a shot on him because if nothing else, he’s a very safe player to have on your backend.
Derek Forbort: Forbort was picked No. 15 overall in 2010 and didn’t crack the Kings full-time until the 2016-17 season. Since then, Forbort has established himself as a solid defensive defenceman. He played in all 56 games for the Jets this season, logging 20:45 per night, and played a big role in shutting down the Oilers in the first round of the playoffs.
BLH’s Thoughts: I’m already hearing pundits around Edmonton chatting up Forbort as a possible target for the Oilers due to that performance against Edmonton. The recency bias is always strong within the Oilers media.
I’m not sold that he can recreate that form again and I distinctly recall Winnipeg not having the greatest regular season for which Forbort was a significant part of. In my opinion, they’re lucky they got into the playoffs.
If Edmonton wants to bring him in as a 3rd pair option on the cheap, I’ve got no qualms there.
Jordie Benn: A defensive defenceman the team acquired ahead of the trade deadline in order to add veteran depth to their blueline. Benn played just 14:45 per night between Vancouver and Winnipeg this season…
BLH’s Thoughts: Nope. No thanks. Next!
Jordan Oesterle: Oesterle is a quiet defender who passes well and plays a simple game. He doesn’t produce much offence and doesn’t have the profile of a tough, rugged shutdown defender, so he won’t command a large salary.
BLH’s Thoughts: Oesterle’s skillset would be a tad redundant in Edmonton, no?
Again, perhaps he’s a 3rd pair option for the Oilers, but he shouldn’t be considered anything more.
Niklas Hjalmarsson: A well-known veteran defender who played a key role on all three of the Chicago Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup-winning teams. Hjalmarsson has had a very good career in the NHL but he’s also been beaten down by logging so many miles.
BLH’s Thoughts: The Swede wouldn’t waive his no-trade during the year, so I’m not sure he’d be willing to leave Arizona even as a free agent. It sounds like he’s planted some serious roots in the area.
He’d be an ideal trade deadline acquisition though…
Alex Goligoski: Goligoski has been a minute-munching machine throughout his NHL career and has hardly missed any time due to injury. Most recently, Goligoski logged 23:00 per game for the Coyotes, scoring 22 points over 56 games with a 48-to-43 goal differential at even-strength. He turns 36 in July but can clearly still be a quality NHL defender.
BLH’s Thoughts: I know that of all the players on this list most are probably going to look at Goligiski’s age and immediately reject him, but we have to remember who’s making the deals here. Ken Holland isn’t an ageist and if he thinks a player will help the team, he’ll bring that player in like he did with Mike Green and Mike Smith.
Goligoski can play serious minutes in the NHL still and that’ll have appeal to Dave Tippett who has a history with the player going back to their time in Arizona together.
Jon Merrill: In New Jersey, Merrill was consistently in the red in terms of goal differential, but he found a role in Vegas and became a rock defensively for them, putting up some of the best underlying numbers in the league over his three seasons with the team.
Merill provides virtually zero offence but his shot and goal suppression history makes him an interesting possibility for a shutdown line.
BLH’s Thoughts: I’m not sure what happened to the Merrill who played in Vegas because if he was that good, he wouldn’t have a problem featuring for the Montreal Canadiens.
I wouldn’t consider him an option for Edmonton in the offseason unless Holland has really missed the boat.
Zdeno Chara: The Bruins opted to let Chara move on last off-season and he signed a one-year deal with the Capitals. He averaged 18:19 per game with the Caps and had a 35-to-33 on-ice goal differential at even-strength. The only question for Chara is if he wants to keep going.
BLH’s Thoughts: Chara could’ve went anywhere last year and he chose Washington. It’s clear to me that he’s more interested in playing for a Cup contender OR in a market close to Boston therefore Edmonton need not apply.
Dmitry Kulikov: He posted very strong underlying numbers in terms of shot suppression with New Jersey and was only on the ice for five goals against at even-strength in 10 regular-season games after getting traded to the Oilers.
BLH’s Thoughts: I was impressed by Kulikov in the regular season but in the series vs. Winnipeg he was healthy scratched in favor of Kris Russell… That probably should say enough about how the coaching staff sees the Russian and his prospects of re-signing with the Oilers.
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