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Free Agency Begins For The Oilers - Updates: Smith, Granlund, Chiasson |
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UPDATES
A quiet day for the Edmonton Oilers sees them on the outside of a number of moves. Edmonton had been pursuing centre Valtteri Filppula but he has signed with the Detroit Red Wings. It looks as though Gustav Nyquist is heading to Columbus. The free agency solid options are growing smaller and smaller.
It also looks like the Oilers are looking at signing Alex Chiasson, reportedly to a two year deal. No word on money yet.
OILERS SIGN ALEX CHIASSON - 2 YEARS AT 2.15 MILLION
Having missed out on a number of different options, Holland quickly signed UFA forward Alex Chiasson to a two year deal. The Oilers are familiar with Chiasson and while it is highly (extremely) unlikely that he will be able to match his 22 goal season from last year, he has shown he can be a regular 10-12 goal forward in a third or fourth line role.
KHAIRA EXTENDED - 2 YEARS 1.2 MILLION PER
The Oilers have extended Jujhar Khaira for two more seasons at 1.2 million per. Frankly I think that is a little high for Khaira but when he is on his game I love what he brings. Really need some more consistency from him.
TOMAS JURCO SIGNED - 750,000
AHL depth move here. A prior 2nd round selection by Ken Holland is added to the Oilers. Jurco may compete for a 13th forward spot but all in all this is an AHL bolstering move.
ORIGINAL POST
Free agency doesn't technically begin for another thirty minutes from when I began this blog, but a number of signings have already been announced or leaked to sports media. Some might call signing players or agreeing to contracts before Free Agency begins tampering... others would call it..... wait no it's definitely tampering.
That is how the league has always functioned and it is unlikely to change anytime soon. For the Edmonton Oilers it appears as though a couple signings have already occured. Yesterday to the divisiveness of fans, the Oilers bought out Andrej Sekera, freeing up an additional 3 million dollars in cap space this season.
The Oilers Reportedly Sign Mike Smith To A One Year Deal - 2 Million Dollars
There were plenty of telltale signs over the past few days that this was going to happen. Holland and the Oilers appeared to be aggressively pursuing Mrazek but it seems as though he priced himself out of Edmonton's range.
Instead Edmonton goes with the declining Mike Smith, and he certainly has been declining over the years. His overall SV% last season was 0.898, the lowest in his career... and that was on a Flames team that won the Western Conference last season. His 5 on 5 SV% was 0.906, his GAA was 2.90. The only positive thing I can say about this contract is that thankfully it is cheap and only for one year.
Oilers Sign Markus Granlund To A One Year Deal - 1.3 Million
The second signing reportedly announced this morning is that the Oilers have signed Markus Granlund to a one year deal. While Granlund can play centre, this is more likely a move to have another option at left wing on the third line. Granlund had 12 goals last season in 77 games, including 2 markers on the powerplay. At 1.3 million it is a fine cheap signing to add some depth to the lineup.
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I will update the blog as the day goes on. The Oilers still reportedly want to sign Nyqvist but he may not be in the Oilers budget range anymore. We will see.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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