The Edmonton Oilers are down three out of the seven d-men who played for the team in the Stanley Cup Final, with a specific need now for a right-shot puck-mover to team up with Darnell Nurse on the second-pairing.
Philip Broberg, Cody Ceci and Vincent Desharnais are all out, but who is in?
No surprise that NHL insider Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff is reporting the Oilers area after a number of d-men with big names, though their play might not much that their reputations in recent seasons.
Said Seravalli: “UFA Update: Oilers are perusing the market for right-shot D, including Justin Schultz, Tyson Barrie and Kevin Shattenkirk, among others.”
My take
1. Seravalli was the insider who broke that the Edmonton Oilers were unlikely to match on Broberg and Dylan Holloway, so his credibility is at an all-time high in Edmonton. If he’s reporting this, I’ll take it as true fact.
2. Of course big name players like Barrie, Shattenkirk and Justin Schultz have solid reps, but their performance was down a quart or two last year or they would not be unrestricted free agents just now.
Barrie, 33, had just 19 points in 41 games for Nashville and was -10 on official goals plus-minus.
Shattenkirk, 35, who reportedly has turned down interest from Edmonton in the past, had 24 points in 61 games for Boston last year and was -2.
Schultz, now 34, had 26 points in 70 games for Seattle but was -23.
4. One interesting player is Tony DeAngelo, relatively young at 28, who had a poor season in Carolina last year, just 11 points in 31 games, though he did get into nine playoff games. But in the two previous season, DeAngelo had 51 and 42 points. He’s significantly younger in NHL years than Barrie, Shattenkirk or Schultz. If he’s healthy, fit and keen to go, is he not a strong bet to team up with Nurse?
DeAngelo and Nurse starred together on the same Sault St. Marie team in 2014-15, so if there are any questions about DeAngelo’s character, Nurse can speak to that if he’s inclined, though I should add ten years and plenty of miles have passed us all by since 2015. People change and grow.
5. Another name that’s often been mentioned is Travis Dermott, who played for Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch in major junior at Erie. He was -7 in 50 games in Arizona last year, with just seven points. He’s a left shot but he’s just 27 and knows McDavid and Connor Brown from their Erie days together.
6. When it comes to points per 60 minutes of even strength play, unheralded newcomer Ty Emberson had more last year, 1.04 per 60, than any of Schultz, Shattenkirk, Barrie, Dermott or DeAngelo. He’s going to have a shot at the job with Nurse, especially given he’s also got a solid reputation for defensive hockey. At age 24, he’s entering the prime of his career, not leaving it. I haven’t seen Emberson play, but his numbers are solid for what that is worth.
7. The week before Barrie was traded, few fans saw it coming and most thought he was doing the job well in Edmonton. I liked his play as well, though I thought if the Oilers were going to make a move, it was logical to trade out Barrie and create a spot for Evan Bouchard to work his magic in the Top 4 and on the top power play unit. GM Ken Holland, in his best move as Oil GM, traded away Barrie, a top prospect and a top pick for Mattias Ekholm. But perhaps Barrie has more gas in his tank. He’s certainly got some familiarity playing with Nurse.
From 2020-23, when Barrie and Nurse were paired together in 1189 even strength minutes, the Oilers scored 76 goals and gave up 58, a solid 56.7 per cent Goals For Percentage. The team without either of those two on the ice was at 51.4 GF% at even strength at that same time.
Of course, a lot of the success of Barrie and Nurse together came because they played so much with the NHL’s best player, Connor McDavid, 701 out of Barrie and Nurse’s 1189 even strength minutes together. Wtih McDavid they were 52 goals for, 35 against, a 59.8 GF%.
Without McDavid in 487 even strength minutes, Barrie and Nurse were 24 goals for, 23 against, a 51.1 GF%, about the team average in that time. That’s not too shabby and it’s certainly a mark in Barrie’s favour. Another mark in Barrie’s favour, of course, is that he’s a known quantity here in Edmonton and reportedly got along well with his teammates. Perhaps he’s the best bet. Or maybe the best bet is to bring in two players on PTOs, say Barrie and DeAngelo, and may the best man win a roster spot.
That said, given that Oilers GM Stan Bowman has already said Edmonton signed other d-men (such as Troy Stecher and Josh Brown), and owes it to them to give them a shot in pre-season, I doubt that Edmonton will bring in two players on PTOs.
At the Cult of Hockey
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