Edmonton Oilers extend defenseman, solve practical need

The Edmonton Oilers announced the extension of defenseman Ty Emberson to a two-year, $2.6 million deal on Saturday. The deal ends speculation regarding the blue liner’s status in Edmonton, as the future in Oil Country was uncertain.

Now, the Oilers have locked up the 24-year-old rearguard, ensuring at least some stability on the blue liner. Signing Emberson provides, at the very least, some certainty in the bottom pairing.

He played 76 games during the regular season, perhaps more than the team would have liked, but Emberson did manage to keep his head above water. That situation makes him more valuable than one might believe.

Emberson solves a practical need: The Oilers need healthy bodies on the blue line. This season, Edmonton was decimated by an unusually high number of injuries. The losses of Mattias Ekholm and Jake Walman down the stretch proved costly for the Oilers.

As such, Emberson provides certainty. Given his young age, he should continue to grow and develop into a solid NHL defenseman. At $1.3 million AAV for two seasons, Edmonton isn’t breaking the bank. It’s a solid bet that could, potentially, pay off big time.

Emberson’s performance this postseason will provide some early returns for this signing. But as it stands now, the Oilers locked up a promising young defenseman for pennies on his cap value.

Oilers did right thing by extending Emberson amid thin free-agent market

The free-agent market this upcoming summer lacks the sort of blue liners the Oilers could target to fill voids in their bottom four, without overpaying. Some familiar names jump out at first glance. However, they don’t fill the practical need the Oilers face at the moment.

Players like David Savard could fill a need, but on a short-term basis. The same goes for Jeff Petry, Aaron Ekblad, or Matt Grzelcyk. While Ekblad could move the needle, he would likely cost far too much.

Then, some blue liners could make an impact for the Oilers. Vladislav Gavrikov, whom the Oilers will see plenty of during the playoffs, and Ivan Provorov could be enticed to move out to Edmonton. But there’s no real sense of how much they could cost.

As for depth defensemen, one name that could prove interesting is Henri Jokiharju. The Finnish defenseman split time between the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins. For the right price, Jokiharju could be a good depth piece.

The same goes for Dante Fabbro, who got his season back on track in Columbus. Calvin de Haan is another name the Oilers might want to kick the tires on after his season ended with the New York Rangers this past week.

Overall, the Oilers must look for value contracts that could add depth. The last thing the Oilers must do is experiment with players like John Klingberg. The Oilers took a flyer on Klingberg being able to play again. Unfortunately, that was not the case. As such, the Oilers must avoid making needless bets.

Players like Ty Emberson offer much more certainty if underwhelming results.

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