In the wake of any actual news, it is my duty to note that the Oilers signed “prospect” defender David Musil to a 1 year contract yesterday. It’s news…technically.

While the Oilers have drafted (or acquired) players with more notoriety who have not lived up to their draft promise, David Musil is miles away from playing in the NHL on the fulltime basis. Brandon Davidson leapfrogged him in the organization without much trouble at all. Reinhart has more tools at his disposal. And, Jordan Oesterle proved that skating is what separates AHL defenders from NHL defenders.

The problem from day 1 with David Musil hasn’t been his Hockey IQ, willingness to play a physical game, or ability within his own zone. The problem with David Musil, and it stands out as a problem today, is that he’s skating in quicksand out there. He’s slow. Small rink dimensions or not, the NHL is the world’s fastest league. I think David Musil was born at least a decade too late to be an NHL player with his mobility issues.

Per Bob Stauffer the terms of the deal are as follows:

David Musil 600k/75k/85k guarantee, has a chance to get some games at NHL level, will need to clear waivers to go to Bakersfield

— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) July 29, 2016

With 4 career NHL games since being drafted 31st overall in 2011, it’s difficult to imagine a scenario where suddenly he develops into someone the Oilers will ever use. That’s why this signing comes with such little fanfare. Frankly, David Musil has such little value to the NHL club that it might have been a better idea to let him walk just to keep one more spot open on the 50 contract list. Edmonton today is at 47 contracts. Why get closer to the max number for a player who is somewhere close to 11th on the defensive depth chart.

He’s an AHL player and this helps keep veterans on the AHL club. That’s probably the nicest thing I can say about this deal. It’s really the ONLY thing you can take away from this deal because Musil is no longer an NHL prospect. Those days are over in practice even though he has an NHL (2-Way) deal. I think Reinhart can play in the NHL. I think Oesterle can play in the NHL. I do not think Musil can play in the NHL.

Signing Musil right now is not unlike eating that jar of antipasto in the back of the fridge. You aren’t sure why you did it. You don’t even like antipasto. You were just bored and it was there.

Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy

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