Ennis, Gustaffson, and Soderberg aren't going to come that cheap. Serivalli's recent report has Puljujarvi between $1.25-1.5M on a one-year deal.

I'm not a fan of that bottom pairing. Two offensively-minded guys looking at playing 15-20 minutes a night is risky. I definitely prefer Benning, especially if the talk about Edmonton not qualifying him to get him at a cheaper rate is true.

Edmonton's probably the last place Lundqvist signs. He's going to a contending team, not to a team hoping to make the playoffs.

King's pass, if they are taking on aging players as a cap hit they are looking to get paid not to spend futures.

I understand not wanting an older defenseman, but in some scenarios having a vet for one year to allow prospects to continue to develop is worth it.

Bouchard is over ripe. He was ready last year. Broberg has been playing adult pro league for 2+ years. Samorukov is draft plus 3 years. If these guys don't start seeing NHL time soon, they will plateau in their development.

I don't think another year of development will hurt any of them. Broberg just turned 19, no reason to push him onto the NHL roster... Samorukov has started well in the KHL, I'd rather leave him there than bring him back to Bakersfield. Bouchard is likely to start in the AHL next year, so he'll be the first recall when an injury occurs. He should get 20-30 games that way.

I doubt it, but we'll see. And I have $3.25M in cap space...


And? You're nit-picking here. I have $3.25M in cap space. $250k isn't going to break the bank and that report is simply speculation anyhow.


Fair comment. I like Benning and would be glad to have him back in this scenario - even at $2M - but Shattenkirk is an upgrade. He played 2nd pairing last year and through the playoffs, so I have zero concerns about his defensive abilities on the 3rd pairing.


Everyone wants to be on a contender. Edmonton's odds of winning the Cup are currently in the top 3rd of the league, they led the division for most of the last season and were 6th overall by winning percentage from New Year Eve on. The Oilers finished the season 9th overall in the league and 4th overall in the Western Conference. That's not a team "hoping to make the playoffs".

I can appreciate self-deprecation, but the facts are that Edmonton is a decent bet for a veteran goalie.

FYI Shattenkirk's most common partner both in the regular season and in the playoffs was the offensive-minded Sergachev. That seemed to work out okay for Jon Cooper.

Sarge may be an offensively minded defender, but he's very much a two way guy. Gustaffson is a forward that lines up on the blueline.

Yup, no question. He seems to produce enough offense to cover for that though - his 5v5 GF% has always been positive.