RANDOM THOUGHTS: OILERS’ JEFF JACKSON CRUSHES FREE AGENCY, AND EDMONTON IS NOW A DESTINATION
What’s amazing about Oilers fans expecting the team to have a quiet start to free agency is that no one would have ever seen this coming. Not only did Jeff Jackson put the band back together, but he found a way to upgrade the team in a very real way without breaking the bank. Is this real life?
NOT A GM, BUT TOTALLY A GM JEFF JACKSON
For a guy who specifically said he didn’t have any interest in being the Oilers’ GM, Jeff Jackson has done a pretty damned fine job in the chair so far. Not only did he bring back most of the Oilers’ free agents for another tour of duty, but he also went out and upgraded the lineup with two top-six forwards on team-friendly contracts. Toss in the decent-not-great smattering of defensive depth on the right side, and our man put on a clinic on a day when Oilers fans expected little of anything.
Since Jackson took the ball and ran with it as well as he did, a lot of us are wondering what the rush is to bring in someone else to replace him. Outside of Jackson suggesting that Draisaitl would only sign an extension if he knew who the GM would be, I don’t see any reason to rush into hiring someone if J.J. can keep smashing dingers. I mean, you’ve gotta be a little bit curious about what he could do with a few months in the gig, right?
STILL STUNNED ADAM HENRIQUE IS BACK
I’m just gonna go ahead and say how much I love that the Oilers were able to bring Adam Henrique back on a two-year deal. While not the flashiest player we’ve ever had, Henrique is a Swiss army knife in the lineup, and that versatility proved invaluable during the Oilers’ Cup run. And since he was so quietly solid no matter where he played in the lineup, I was resigned to assuming that Rico was going to make bank in another market. I would have guessed it would be a 4/10 chance he’d be back.
Whether playing on the wing in the top six or anchoring what ended up being an amazing third line with Brownmark, Henrique proved to be a fantastic fit for the Oilers throughout their run — he was a significant loss in the Canucks series — and I’m pumped he’ll be back for two more years. From my side of the computer screen, I think players like Henrique are precisely what this team needs to get over the hump because of his versatility and how he can contribute positively at both ends of the rink.
TWO NEW TOP-SIX WINGERS
Does anyone else find it remarkable that Jeff Jackson was able to add not one but TWO top-six wingers to the roster without having to break the bank? I mean, how else would you describe the additions of Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner for a combined $7 million? I remember a time when adding two players of that calibre would have likely cost the Oilers $12 million+. It’s going to take a minute to get used to the Oilers being a free agent destination.
We’ve come a long way from the days when adding Ben Eager, Darcy Hordichuk, and Eric Belanger was a big free agency day around here, am I right? I remember when those three got signed it was a fantastic free agent day for the Oilers, which is obviously hilarious in hindsight. Almost a decade later, the Oilers just pulled off a July 1st for the ages and it couldn’t feel further away from being excited that Belanger took the extra year because he believed in what we were building.
CONNOR BROWN IS BACK IN TOWN
When Connor Brown said that his heart is in Edmonton during his year-end press conference, I was hoping that the Oilers would be able to bring him back on a cheap contract for a second spin around the playground. Yeah, it sucks that he has a $3.25 million bonus on the books for this season, but to have him back in the lineup for a second year when he’s finally healthy makes me feel like year two will be a whole lot more productive.
No one is saying that having Brown at a million + his $3.25 million bonus is an ideal scenario, but I’d also suggest that it’s better to have him back on a cheap deal is better than carrying only the dead space. Knowing what Brown told Gregor about his recovery a few weeks back, I’d also bet that he will have a better year on the scoresheet than we got in 2023-24. I don’t think any of us considered how difficult his recovery would be, and now that he’s healthy, I’m bullish on the Brown redemption arc continuing.
MATTIAS JANMARK CLEANS UP
Isn’t it wild to think that the last time Mattias Janmark had a multi-year contract before his new deal with the Oilers was back when he signed his ELC? The guy has been betting on himself with one-year contracts all over the map since those early days, and I was happy to see him get a little security in Edmonton after being so impactful for them in the playoffs. Janmark gives you the kind of quiet, steady minutes that you need in the lineup, and even when he’s not scoring, he finds ways to be productive at the other end of the rink. That said, I think there’s more offence in there.
Similar to his PK partner in crime, Janmark had a down-year for production — it was his worst statistical season in four years — and I’m expecting that he’ll have a bit of a rebound from the four goals and 12 points he had in 2023-24. I’m betting that having a three-year deal in his pocket will give him the peace of mind and confidence needed to make some secondary scoring happen. The good news is, even if that doesn’t happen, the Janitor is so good at the other end of the rink that you can almost set your watch to him cleaning up more messes than he makes.
LTIR SOMEONE, I WANNA CHEAT
According to PuckPedia, the Oilers are $2.4 million over the salary cap with Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg in need of new contracts. I don’t think either guy will cost a lot on their next deal, but it doesn’t take Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting to figure out that the math doesn’t work. If we assume that Holloway and Broberg will both hover somewhere around $1 million per season, Jackson and the Oilers will need to clear $5 million to be cap-compliant. The question will be how creative they want to be to make that happen.
Will Edmonton be able to bury and trade enough roster money to make it work, or will they look at the health issues to players like Kane and see an opportunity to use the loopholes available? Now, I’m not saying that the Oilers should take their sweet time on figuring out the proper rehab/surgery program for Kane’s hip issues/sports hernia just for the sake of tomfoolery. All I’m saying is that I would personally like it very much if the Oilers paid homage to the cheating ways of champs before them if the opportunity presents itself. Might be fun, you know?
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2024-07-04T13:24:06Z dg43tfdfdgfd