Edmonton Oilers: 7 Affordable Free Agents That Would Help The Team

The Defencemen

Ryan Sproul (RD) – 25 years old

Darnell Nurse’s old D partner in the juniors has taken a bit too long in his development for both the Detroit Red Wings and the New York Rangers and finds himself an unrestricted free agent.

Sproul is 6’4″ and 205lbs; he amassed 29pts in 49 games during his spell in the AHL last season as well as 5 points in 15 games for the Rangers when called up. The former Sault Ste. Marie Greyhound shoots right and with that shot has scored many goals in both junior and minor pro. His slap shot is dangerous, and he can skate very well.

I haven’t watched a ton of him outside of my YouTube scouting to tell you why he’s going to be on his 3rd team before the age of 26. But if I had to guess it’d have to do with his defensive game not entirely coming together the way NHL coaches would like it to, or it could be that he joined two clubs who were deep on the blueline. I think he’d be a great 7th defenceman.

Possible cost:  $1.5M spread over two years.

Brandon Davidson (LD) – 26 years old

Anybody else up for the third round of Brandon Davidson? Taber-born Davidson played for three clubs in 2017/18, the Habs, Oilers, and Islanders; and was not all that impressive at any of the stops. Davidson benefitted from Peter Chiarelli’s generosity to the tune of $1.425M a year for the last two years.

My feeling around Davidson is that he’s a solid defenseman who can fill in when need be. He moves the puck adequately, he’s physical, he can skate well enough, and he’s got that clapper that he never uses too. He’s 6’2″ and 210lbs too, so he’s not a small guy.

Possible cost: $2.75 – $3.5M over three years.