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Petr Mrazek, Sought After UFA Being Looked At By The Edmonton Oilers

By Sean Maloughney

RALEIGH, NC - MARCH 23: Petr Mrazek #34 of the Carolina Hurricanes is congratulated by teammate Sebastian Aho #20 following a victory over the Minnesota Wild during an NHL game on March 23, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - MARCH 23: Petr Mrazek #34 of the Carolina Hurricanes is congratulated by teammate Sebastian Aho #20 following a victory over the Minnesota Wild during an NHL game on March 23, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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News before the Draft keeps piling on as it has been reported that the Edmonton Oilers have inquired about the rights to goaltender Petr Mrazek.

One area that Ken Holland has specifically discussed he will be pursuing this summer is a veteran UFA goaltender that can push for at least 35 games.  There are a number of players this season that are Unrestricted Free Agents; Mike Smith, Cam Talbot, Cam Ward, Ryan Miller, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Brian Elliot to name a few.  Of all those names, Petr Mrazek had the highest SV% of 0.914.

The news comes from Pierre LeBrun that the Edmonton Oilers have inquired about the pending UFA goalie.

Mrazek had a poor season in Philly and Detroit back during the 2017/2018 season and was moved in the summer to Carolina.  There the 27 year old netminder had a massive resurgence, starting in 40 games, winning 23 of them.  His GAA of 2.39 is another reason that makes him such a good choice (to compare Brian Elliot had a GAA of 2.97).

Mrazek shared the net almost evenly with Curtis McElhinney, with Mrazek playing 40 and McElhinney playing 33.  The tandem was a huge part of the Hurricanes success, both in the regular season and the playoffs.

So why would the Hurricanes want to part with either player, especially the younger one?  Reportedly they don’t, but whether it is due to contract negotiations or simply being uninterested in playing in Carolina, it appears as though neither will return.  The Hurricanes will continue to negotiate with the players but if it seems likely they won’t come to an agreement, they may look to make a deal.

How does that work?

Simply put, if Ken Holland was interested in acquiring Mrazek, the team may for example, trade a 6th round pick in the 2020 draft for the rights to Mrazek, giving them an opportunity to sign the player prior to July 1st when any other team can offer him a contract.  It is a smart move that would prevent the Oilers from getting into a bidding war over the net-minders services.

Holland already has a history with Mrazek, having drafted the goalie back in 2010.  Mrazek is one of the best UFA goalies this summer and won’t come at the same big ticket price that Bobrovsky will.  A tandem of Koskinen and Mrazek next year would at the very least be an above average duo with the potential of either continuing to grow into a true starter.

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