The Edmonton Oilers PTO for defenceman Travis Dermott, while not announced yet, fits because he can play both sides like Philip Broberg did, rather than inviting a straight right-shot guy like, say, Justin Schultz, to training camp on a look-see.
No great surprise that Dermott, 27, is getting a tryout here because connecting the dots, Dermott played for Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch in junior in Erie and was also Connor McDavid’s teammate, Connor Brown’s, too. Dermott’s current agent is also Dave Gagner, Sam’s dad, but he used to be repped by Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson.
While Dermott has played 329 NHL games, realistically he’s still is a long shot to make the Oilers with their tight cap room and seven D already signed to one-way deals. But he could score a two-way deal as forwards Gagner and Adam Erne did last year, and start in Bakersfield for some organizational depth.
As a left-shot defenceman, he gives the Oilers another veteran on that side with Mattias Ekholm, Darnell Nurse and Brett Kulak. They can take a look at Dermott in several exhibition games because Ekholm and Nurse don’t need to play many of the eight pre-season tilts, and being able to play the right side also means Dermott could give Evan Bouchard a rest in camp games as he auditions.
Dermott, who has had a run of injuries in his NHL career, played 50 games last season in Arizona, and averaged 17:16 minutes of ice time as a teammate of current Oilers right-shot defencemen Troy Stecher and Josh Brown. He would likely be third-pairing injury insurance here, if signed.
Going into camp, the seven expected defencemen on roster are Ekholm, Nurse, Kulak, Evan Bouchard, Stecher, Ty Emberson and tough-guy Brown, who signed a three-year free-agent deal at $1 million a season. Farmhand lefty Ben Gleason, who had a very good camp last fall, is also in the mix. He was recalled last December when Philip Broberg was sent down to the AHL, but didn’t get into a game during his three weeks here.
TAKING FLIGHT IN CAROLINA
When Sam Gagner signed his PTO here last fall at 34 after two hip surgeries, he said “I still feel pretty young and I feel like I have years ahead of me,” so now 35, he’s going to give it another whirl on a camp audition, this time with the Hurricanes.
Gagner had 10 points in 28 Oilers games last season and nine in 15 games in Bakersfield, proving he’s still got some offensive game as he enters his 18th NHL season. But he couldn’t squeeze his way into the Oilers two-month playoff lineup, with no injuries except for Kane. By giving it another tryout whirl in Carolina, with his three kids Cooper, Beckham and Cali and doctor wife Rachel here, clearly Gagner didn’t want his 1043 game career to end as a spectator.
Gagner probably knows the training camp score.
He’s in a difficult spot, but he’s always been a terrific teammate, able help on a secondary power play or to kill penalties.
The Hurricanes have Seth Jarvis, Martin Necas, Jordan Martinook and Jack Roslovic on their right-wing depth chart, but they’ve lost Jesper Fast for the season to neck surgery, so that opens a hole. But they also have 13 forwards signed, including disturber Brendan Lemieux, and free-agent adds Eric Robinson and Tyson Jost.
They only have $79,000 in cap room right now.
This ‘n that: The Oilers have added three people to their hockey ops staff including Tobias Salmelainen, the former IFK Helsinki GM and one-time player agent, whose older brother Tony was an Oilers second-round draft pick in 1999. Tony was traded to Chicago in 2006 for Jaroslav Spacek, one of Kevin Lowe’s all-time best trades because Spacek became Chris Pronger’s defence partner. Tobias will be in charge of player acquisition and development in Europe … Andreas Karlsson, the former NHL winger and recent assistant coach in OHL, will now be a player development coach and Vincent Malts, a former Vancouver Canucks draft pick and junior scout in Quebec, will be involved in the mental performance side after doing that in the ECHL. Presumably the hires are to find an older Euro or two who can come over for cheap money, like a Gaetan Haas … Ex Oilers forward Kailer Yamamoto, who turns 26 in two weeks, has a PTO in Utah, the first time he’s had to go that route. Utah has lots of cap room to sign him if he performs in the pre-season but it’ll be a tough go to make it on right side there with Nick Schmaltz, Dylan Guenther, Josh Doan and Alex Kerfoot — if Kerfoot moves over from centre — there already. But, PTOs are auditions for other NHL teams in exhibition games, too, and he would be available on waivers before the season. Yamamoto had 16 points in 59 games in Seattle last season, mostly in fourth-line work. Not surprising that Seattle was proactive and got UFA defenceman Adam Larsson resigned for four more years at $5.25 million AAV. The former Oilers defenceman averaged 22:57 a night there last season and is Seattle’s shutdown guy. The Oilers last offer to Larsson, by the way, was in the $5 million AAV range to stay here but, for family reasons, he said no … Utah still has Zack Kassian, who was around the Oilers during their playoff run, on their salary cap books for one more season at $767,000 … Former short-term Oilers winger Adam Erne has a PTO with New York Rangers, which fits. He’s from New Haven, Conn., and if he gets a two-way deal there he’ll be playing in Hartford, their AHL affiliate. Erne is in tough to make their NHL roster because the cupboard appears full of fourth-line wingers like Will Cuylle, Matt Rempe and Jimmy Vesey, but he might get a two-way deal as he did here. The Rangers only have $700,000 in cap space … one-time Oilers TV colourman Drew Remenda will be back with buddy Randy Hahn as Sharks TV commentator full-time this season, with Bret Hedican changing gears and now in player development with AHL San Diego Gulls.