On Thursday, Oilers GM Steve Tambellini locked up two key players when he re-signed goaltender Devan Dubnyk and defenseman Jeff Petry to two-year deals. Set Dubnyk's cap hit to $3.5mil per season, and Petry at $1.75mil per. Good deals?

Not bad.

I think it's an overpayment for Dubnyk, but at least the signing clears up any confusion that could exist as to what the plan is for him. Devan will be the Oilers starting goalie for the next two seasons. $3.5mil per is not back-up money. Solid numbers will equal a significant long-term deal a year from now for Dubnyk.

Based on Petry's play during the second half of last season, $1.75mil per is an absolute bargain. Keep in mind Petry's successful development was the main reason Tom Gilbert became an asset that could be moved. Gilbert was a $4mil per season player. If you ask me, Petry is a better all-around and worth more.

With these two locked in, Tambellini's attention will shift to the only other significant RFA: Sam Gagner. It will be extremely interesting to see how Gagner's deal will play out. If I was the GM, I'd offer Sammy and agent $3.5mil per for five seasons, just to see how they react. A comparable contract could be Derick Brassard in Columbus, who receives $3.2mil per. Gagner is at least as good of a player if not better than Brassard...could turn into a 60pts per season player if he plays with Taylor Hall and Nail Yakupov next season (as it has been suggested). Considering the short contract length given to Dubnyk and Petry, I'm not convinced Gagner will be signed for a term longer than a couple of seasons. Management is obviously trying to figure out how player contracts can fit once Hall, Eberle and Nuge receive their 1st non-ELC deals.

Tough time for Oilers fans? I'm not sure if this is the summer people have been hoping for. Yes, we've added Justin Schultz and Nail Yakupov, but what has Tambellini done for us lately? Oh yeah, he re-signed Dubnyk and Petry. And we'll never forget it.

We knew Petry and Dubnyk would be re-signed, so Thursday's news wasn't exactly exciting. What's more interesting to me and everyone else is to see how Oilers management will react to all the moves made by the other teams in the Western Conference. The news I'm hoping most for? That the Oilers have found a way to keep Oscar Klefbom in Edmonton next season. We're gonna have two super-rookies in Edmonton next season anyway (Yakupov and Schultz). We might as well make it three.

Join the Discussion: » 133 Comments » Post New Comment

» Goodbye and Good Luck

» Ranking Top 5 Roster Groups - Blog #1

» Mods and Rockers

» The Reverse Psychology Blog

» The 10 Least Interesting Teams in the NHL