The next restricted free agent I’m going to discuss is Jamie Oleksiak. The Penguins acquired Oleksiak for a fourth round pick from the Dallas Stars early on in the 2017-18 season. Oleksiak was a former first round pick that never gained traction in Dallas.
Oleksiak fit in comfortably in the Penguins lineup in a bottom pairing role. As long as you don’t hold expectations on Oleksiak as a former 14th overall pick and look to get competent bottom pairing play I think you’ll do OK. Pittsburgh’s defense depth isn’t what it once was and considering Oleksiak’s qualifying offer is only $964,888 qualifying offer.
Oleksiak is probably best known for his booming slapshot, but there’s another thing that he does well that I think helps the team even more and that is his ability to lug the puck up the ice
His skating for his size is what I would consider above average and as you can see it has translated into a lot of zone entries for the Penguins. I think this is something that the Penguins should encourage and utilize if he returns to the team. I would try and work with him on lowering the number of dump-ins and how he can translate them into even more controlled entries.
As far as bottom pairing defenseman go Oleksiak has some promise and should come with a reasonable enough price tag. Pittsburgh needs to work on their positional depth and this would assist in doing so. I don’t see any reason why a deal wouldn’t be reached between the two parties.
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