Bonus material
As you would expect, Warren Foegele, the pickup from Carolina for Ethan Bear, was an RFA and thus needed a new contract. Holland took a much bigger risk than he usually would for depth players, signing Foegele for $8.25 million over three years, which is $2.75 million a season.
Out of all the contracts Holland signed this season, I consider this the riskiest one – yes even riskier than Zach Hyman. After all, there’s an unwritten rule in the NHL that you don’t sign depth players for longer than two seasons and at an absolute maximum of $2 million per year.
Holland broke both of those rules with this player so he obviously believes in him. Only time will tell if this is a good idea. If Foegele plays as advertised and drives the bus on offence against soft competition on the third line – likely eventually with Ryan Mcleod and Josh Archibald – then it’ll be worth it as he helps develop and take the load off of Mcleod and gives Archibald more offensive punch.
There’s also this to consider – if Foegele moves into the top six permanently – as is a possibility – then his contract will be considered a bargain.
On the other hand, if Foegele falls flat on his face this contract will be haunting us for the next three seasons. As I say, only time will tell whether this contract holds up or not.
Brendan Perlini was signed to a one-year, two-way contract at NHL minimum. This is obviously a guy who Dave Tippett remembered from his Arizona days and likely persuaded Holland to sign him for depth. He broke into the NHL well enough, putting up two seasons of 21 and then 30 points for the Coyotes, but then dropped off the map after that – so much so he played a whopping 21 games in Europe last season. This is a typical low-risk, high reward potential for both Tippett and Holland. If Perlini does well, they’ve found a great bottom six-piece at a bargain-basement price. If it doesn’t work out, they send him down to Bakersfield and his cap hit is erased.
Slater Koekkoek was re-signed for two years, $1.85 million over two years, $925K per. We know what he can bring, and injuries hampered him next season. He’ll likely play the lion’s share of the season at third pairing left side. He’ll do great at compensating for the inevitable mistakes that greenhorn Evan Bouchard makes on his other side. If he gets injured again, in steps Kris Russell. If he falls on his face? Waived or sent down to Bakersfield and most of his cap hit gets buried in the minors. Some are chiding Holland for the extra year but this is nit-picking.
Tyler Benson was signed for one year and a 2-way contract for the NHL minimum. Time will tell whether 1/3 of last year’s dynamite first line in Bakersfield can make the jump to the NHL. If he doesn’t do it this year, the Oilers will likely give up on him, considering they’ve got other guys coming they need to develop and give ice time to down there.
His linemate Cooper Marody remains unsigned. Word is his skating is still not up to NHL par. I’m not optimistic for his future with the franchise.
Devin Shore was signed for bottom-six depth, $1.7 million ($850K per) for the next two seasons. We know the kind of depth he can bring, so why not bring it back? Maybe he can be a regular on the fourth line this upcoming season.
Alex Stalock has a real opportunity to take more starts from Mikko Koskinen. Maybe his roster spot altogether. Ditto for Russian prospect Ilya Konovalov, who may not spend too much time in Bakersfield. If either guy becomes an internal option for the Oilers, expect Koskinen to be a lot easier to be traded as it opens up the possibility for a roster dump for the player, with only a pick or prospect coming back rather than forcing another goalie to come back as had been rumored earlier in the summer. Even if they have to retain some salary – which is a real possibility on the overpaid, struggling stopper – it’s totally worth it as the Oilers need the cap savings badly.