Offseason Options: Which 3C would be best for the Oilers?
Ken Holland is leading the Edmonton Oilers into an absolutely pivotal offseason this summer. After having to penny-pinch due to the mistakes and bloated contracts of the past regime, he finally has the opportunity to put his stamp on the team. With the core of McDavid, Draisaitl, Nurse, and the recently extended Nuge in place, Holland now faces the task of converting that excess cap space to buffer that core’s supporting cast.
The position that I see the most pressing need to address is the glaring hole at 3C. As the playoffs have shown, a competitive team needs to have a productive bottom-6 that doesn’t get outscored- or, at least not to an insane degree.
Despite McLeod’s solid (if unspectacular) showing, the Oilers absolutely need to acquire an insurance policy or two for the possibility that McLeod fails to establish himself. Whether that insurance involves supporting his line, buffering the other bottom-6 line, or building an entire 3rd line up from scratch, a focus on this area would be prudent.
This is the basis for why I wrote my first series of Oilers’ offseason targets about C options for the bottom-6. Having now completed that, I think it’s worthy to summarize my opinion of which of the options would be best to pursue. To review, my series covered Nick Bonino, Nick Bjugstad (re-signed in MIN @ 900k x 1), Tyler Bozak, Casey Cizikas, J.T. Compher, Derek Ryan, Chris Tierney, and Alex Wennberg. So who makes the most sense?
3.) Derek Ryan
Ryan fills too many gaps to not fall into the top-3. He’s a wily veteran, a strong faceoff man, he brings consistent offense to his team’s bottom-6, and he has special teams utility. While his prior roles suggest he’d be better suited on a tertiary scoring line, he didn’t look horribly out of place on a checking line.
This combination of utility and mentoring ability make me believe he’d be a great fit alongside McLeod on a 3rd scoring line. His only shortcomings are his size and age but these will also factor into keeping him affordable at somewhere around 1mil.
2.) Casey Cizikas
While perhaps not the ideal 3C per say, Cizikas is a genuinely strong bottom-6 C and would be the best fit on a shutdown 4th line- a revival of the Wagon Line, if you prefer. With a strong defense, high effort, and consistent outscoring on the “Best 4th Line”, he would allow the Oilers to run a 3rd scoring line with some youth on it.
As an Oiler, Cizikas could be partnered with Khaira (or another UFA) and Archibald and give the rest of the team’s forwards some extra room to breathe. The cost would be my only concern as he’d likely demand a raise on his current 2.75mil contract.
1.) J.T. Compher
This should come as no surprise given my article about him but Compher strikes me as the best fit for this team going forward. He possesses a broad set of skills allowing him to be used in either a shutdown or more offensive role, he plays with tempo, he’s a right-shot, and he’s young enough to grow with the core.
He’d be a fine acquisition and would open up a number of options in the Oilers’ bottom-6 where he could either center Khaira and Archibald, Benson and Kassian or share C duties with McLeod on a line with another UFA (spoiler: Barclay Goodrow might be nice).
The fact that he’s under contract with the Avalanche for another 2 years does mean we’d have to give up something to get him and 3.5mil isn’t cheap for a bottom-6 guy. However, given the impending expansion draft, there may be a chance to get him for cheaper than usual (perhaps a 3rd and/or a decent prospect) as he may be a target for the Kraken.
Who would be your preferred option at 3C? Let me know in the comments!