2 More Free Agent Targets For The Edmonton Oilers
Recently, I published an article where I suggested 2 free agent targets for the Oilers and went over the benefits of signing forward Rickard Rakell and defensemen Ryan Murray. I got a good mix of positive and negative feedback following the release of that article, so I figured I’d bring it back with two more potential options for the Oilers and adding possible contract lengths and price.
Current Oilers
The Oilers are still looking good as of late. Mike Smith is on a bit of a hot streak, Kris Russell scored his first goal in a significant amount of time, Zack Kassian hopped in on the offence and has been playing his role just as well as he can. But as I’ve mentioned in the past, the issues in the Oilers games are very obvious. Whether it be a specific player, a system not working on a certain night or the inconsistency of the goaltending tandem, the Oilers have holes they need to fill and some of them can be helped with an aggressive free agency.
Braden Holtby
32 year old Stanley Cup Champion goaltender Braden Holtby has played 24 games with the Dallas Stars this season, and has amassed a 10-10-1 record with a 2.78GAA and a .913sv%. I think it’s safe to say Mikko Koskinen will not be returning after this season as he knows his worth, and it’s likely the Oilers won’t be able to give him what he deserves with the likes of Evander Kane, Ryan McLeod, Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto needing new deals.
Holtby would be a cheap option to bring in as a veteran goaltender, but this would only work if Mike Smith wasn’t running the tandem with him. Ideally, a Holtby/Skinner tandem would not only help Skinner learn from one of the best in recent history but I truly believe Holtby would thrive in a backup leadership role with the team. I can see Holtby costing $800k-$1.1M AAV on a 1-2 year deal.
Max Domi
27 year old Max Domi has put up 36 points in 65 games this season, and was picked up by the Hurricanes at the deadline with one year left on his contract. The struggling forward has been moved around his entire career and has never really settled down, but brings a strong 2 way game to the bottom 6 wherever he ends up. If the Oilers bring him in, on a cheap 1-2 year deal ranging around $1.5M-$2M. He could run the 3C/4C slots and bring the much needed non existent offensive side to the Oilers bottom 6.