The Edmonton Oilers have agreed to a 4 year, $13 million deal with right shot defenseman Codi Ceci with an AAV of $3.25 million. He will be a good fit on the back end after loss of Adam Larsson.
The Edmonton Oilers adding Cody Ceci to the roster will make the team better defensively. With the re-signing of Tyson Barrie, it made the right side on the backend filled with too many similar-style players. Trading Ethan Bear for Warren Foegele and signing Ceci has made the Oilers a harder team to play against.
Ceci signs with the Oilers. 4 years. $3.25 mil per
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 28, 2021
After signing three, one-year deals in a row Ceci was looking for a long-term option. The offer of the 4-year deal was likely what brought Ceci to Edmonton. With 12G-39A with a plus 3 rating in the regular season since 2018-2019, Cody will hopefully be a stabilizing player for the next 4 years in Edmonton.
Cody Ceci was not brought to Edmonton to put points on the board, but rather to keep points off. He will likely be slotted as the 3rd pair right defenseman behind Tyson Barrie and Evan Bouchard. He is first right-handed option on the penalty kill as well.
He is not as good as a shutdown player as Adam Larsson was, but he is still a large size player with a similar build. He will be a player that has the ability to stop the cycle using his size and strength down low in their end.
The defensive pairings that I could see next year if there is no further changes, is this:
Nurse-Barrie
Keith-Bouchard
Russell-Ceci
The defensive lineup at the end of the year was:
Nurse-Barrie
Kulikov-Larsson
Koekkoek-Bear
I think the moves made so far this offseason have increased the defensive effectiveness of the Edmonton Oilers blueline. Plus with the Oilers in win now mode, all you want to see is things getting better. With the signing of Cody Ceci I think that the Oilers are better team. Let me know how you feel about this addition?