Oil On Whyte
Fansided

The Edmonton Oilers Need To Get A Few Brandon Pirri’s

By Sean Maloughney

EDMONTON, AB - DECEMBER 1: Ty Rattie #8 and Ryan Spooner #23 of the Edmonton Oilers celebrate after a goal during the game against the Vegas Golden Knights on December 1, 2018 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
EDMONTON, AB - DECEMBER 1: Ty Rattie #8 and Ryan Spooner #23 of the Edmonton Oilers celebrate after a goal during the game against the Vegas Golden Knights on December 1, 2018 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Brandon Pirri is a candidate for the Oilers middle six

Assuming the Oilers aren’t able to find a suitor to trade Milan Lucic…or Kris Russell… or one of the other overpaid contracts that Edmonton currently has, they will have to look at the bargain bin in order to fix the depth issues throughout their forward lineup.

Brandon Pirri is a peculiar player in that whenever he has played in the NHL, he has managed to produce goals, however has been constantly bounced by his coaches between the AHL and NHL.  Last season in only 31 games, Pirri scored 12 goals.  Through those 31 games, his most common linemates were Paul Stastny and Alex Tuch.  Those three enjoyed relative success, maintaining positive possession numbers which in fact improved whenever Pirri was on the ice. 

Despite his positive possession numbers, Pirri has been known to his coaches as a defensive liability and is the primary reason he has not enjoyed longer success in the NHL.  This past season certainly showed however, that he can not only play in the NHL, but be an active member on one of the better teams in the league.

Last season Pirri played on a one year, league minimum deal for the Vegas Golden Knights but you can bet he will be aiming higher this season.  In an interview Pirri was asked what he is looking for and he responded that he believed he was a full time NHLer and was now looking for somewhere where he could have the opportunity to show that every night.

Where better for the winger to prove it than Edmonton where he will:

A) Have plenty of opportunity throughout the lineup due to one of the weakest winger groups in the entire NHL.

B) Get an opportunity to boost his own numbers by potentially earning the right to play with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl or Ryan Nugent Hopkins.

Brandon Pirri can be for Edmonton what Tobias Rieder was supposed to be; a cheap value contract winger who can be counted on for 10-15 goals.  Edmonton should aim at signing the 28 year old winger to a one year contract in the 1 million dollar range.  Pirri might not have the same appeal as an Anders Lee or a Matt Duchene, but he will address a need while costing a fraction of the cost.

Brandon Pirri is one option for Edmonton, but for this team to be successful next season they will need to obtain a handful of contracts similar to this.

Home/Editorials