Edmonton Oilers Free Agent Tracker: Radim Vrbata

The Edmonton Oilers need to add a few more moving parts to make the team stronger after an outstanding year. This, of course, may make them more active in the free agent market.

This offseason, dependent on how the expansion draft and other speculation works out, the Oilers may be interested in adding more depth on the right wing. One option would be to look into Radim Vrbata.

Edmonton Oilers

The Coyotes forward had an impressive season and is one of the top right wingers on the market. In 81 games this season, Vrbata put up 20 goals and 55 points. He was the Coyotes leader in goals and points, and also a positive veteran presence for the team.

Edmonton needs a 20-goal scorer and a smart winger to play on the top six. Jordan Eberle, who is supposed to be a core, high-scoring winger, barely hit the 20-goal mark and struggled to get pucks on net. His sluggish play and lack of success resulted in a demotion to the bottom-six, and the Oilers cannot have that.

In addition, Leon Draisaitl has acted as the top-line winger, but also holds great potential to fill out the top six and carry the second line as the centre. With that being said, the Oilers need to add another winger to allow Draisaitl to carry out his duty and add centre depth.

Even at 35 years old, Vrbata is still scoring and has proven consistency. He is a six-time 20-goal scorer and still has great speed and ability when comes to stick handling. His on-ice vision is unprecedented, and he’s an outstanding skater.

By the same token, his possession metrics aren’t the worst, and he’s not one to constantly turn over the puck. The 6-foot-1, 194-pound winger can also play well at both ends of the rink.

Overall, he may just be the investment that Edmonton needs heading into next season.