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Report: Oilers Looking At Signing Fourth Line To Extension |
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Courtesy of Elliotte Friedman and his 31 Thoughts, the Edmonton Oilers have begun contract discussions with several of their players set to be free agents. An extension for Zack Kassian has been discussed for some time, with the fanbase questioning what type of contract makes sense.
New information. links Joakim Nygard, Riley Sheahan, and Josh Archibald to receiving an extension with the Edmonton Oilers. In a perfect world, this would/should be the fourth line for this team.
Last summer, Ken Holland hit the bargain bin and collected as many potential "value players" as possible. Each of the players below were signed to a one year contract.
Markus Granlund - $1.3 million
Josh Archibald - $1 million
Joakim Nygard - $925,000
Gaetan Haas - $925,000
Riley Sheahan - $900,000
Tomas Jurco - $725,000
Patrick Russell - $700,000
A couple of these names have not panned out; those being Markus Granlund and Tomas Jurco with both being banished to the AHL with no real chance of returning to the NHL lineup. The rest have all managed to make an impact in the NHL in some regard.
Archibald and Sheahan lead this group in points, both scoring 6 goals and recording 5 assists a piece. Over a full season, these are 20-25 point players. Nygard has played fewer games (only 32) and has gone 3-6-9 in those games.
For Nygard, this is his first season in the NHL, having played in the Swedish Elite League prior to this. It's taken some time but now that he has adapted to the North American game he has been fine in the role he has been tasked in. His speed and tenacity on the fore-check are clearly liked by the organization.
Not included in possible extension talks are Gaetan Haas or Patrick Russell who will both be UFA this season. A couple reasons for this:
First off, Patrick Russell has done some good things but this is a replacement level player for the Oilers. Despite some chances he has yet to score an NHL goal and is not used as a key PK player like the other names above. Russell's spot is essentially that of a 13th forward and could be replaced by any other player that makes league minimum.
It's slightly more surprising to not hear Haas's name as a candidate to sign because he has been another decent energy player for the team. The reality is both Haas and Sheahan fit in as fourth line centres and comparing the two, Sheahan is more valuable.
Sheahan leads all Oilers forwards in time on the PK, averaging 2:15 a game, with Archibald second at 2:11. One area that has been a massive improvement for the Oilers this season has been their PK. Edmonton has gone from being dead last by a wide margin last season, to a top ten PK this season. Sheahan also has a slight edge in terms of his total points and even strength production. Between Haas and Sheahan as a 4th line centre, Sheahan is the superior choice.
If Edmonton does sign Sheahan, Nygard, and Archibald to new deals, expect all three to be one or two year contracts in the 900,000 to 1.1 million dollar range, well in line with most other 4th line players around the league.
Personally I would like to see Holland find a way to move both Chiasson and Khaira and use the money from those contracts on the three names above. Neither Khaira nor Chiasson have fulfilled their end of the bargain on year one of their two year deals. Both players are scoring at a clip lower than Sheahan, Nygard, or Archibald despite receiving ample opportunity.
Last summer Holland threw darts at a dartboard at random and looks to have found a good 4th line out of it.
Next up, a third line.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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