It seems like since Edmonton drafted Connor McDavid, we've discussed the potential of "The McDavid Effect," the idea of players signing in Edmonton, sometimes on a discount, for the chance to play with Connor McDavid. While we have seen some truth to this, the overall limited success of the team still isn't making many free agents come out in droves on team friendly deals.

However, the Oilers recent playoff run in which McDavid and a very injured Leon Draisaitl absolutely dominated and led the playoffs as the top two scoring players, despite being swept by the Avalanche has garnered notice. Evander Kane has also helped in this regard as the disgruntled player scored at above a 40 goal pace in the regular season and tied MacKinnon for the league lead in playoff goals with 13.

Put all of this together and Edmonton suddenly looks appealing to players in two different categories:

1) Players chasing a Cup
2) Players looking to play one season with McDavid and then make bank

With those thoughts in mind, here are 5 Unrestricted Free Agents that might be looking to sign in Edmonton.

CLAUDE GIROUX

Giroux was traded at the deadline for a decent return, but a limited one being that he had a NMC and essentially stated he would only go to Florida. It wasn't just the sunny beaches that made him choose the Panthers; he felt that team had the best chance to win a Cup. Obviously that did not happen as the Panthers were swept by Tampa but one should assume that Giroux is still looking for that best shot to hoist a Stanley Cup. Could the Canadian born player return home?

Giroux would check a few nice boxes for the Edmonton Oilers; at 34 years old, he is still at the very least close to a point-per-game player (42 points in 57 games on a bad Flyers team and 23 points in 18 games on the Panthers). He can play on the wing or at centre, and being a right hand shot makes him even more valuable. Giroux produces great numbers on the powerplay while still being a solid producer at 5 on 5 as well.

There is still much we don't know about the Evander Kane situation and if Holland feels he needs to pursue someone else quickly, than Giroux as a Kane replacement wouldn't be the worst thing.

JOE THORNTON

Staying on the Panthers train, another Florida player that might seek out Edmonton is none other than Jumbo Joe. The 43 year old is still chasing his first Cup, going to Toronto, Florida, and potentially now to the Oilers. Thornton is no longer the elite, physical top line centre and in fact was healthy scratched by the Panthers for multiple games as well.

I'm usually one of the first to scoff at bringing in guys who are "good in the room" but at league minimum, having a guy like Jumbo Joe around really can't hurt the team much and might actually help the bottom six from time to time.

PAUL STASTNY

Jay Woodcroft paired the nuclear option of McDavid and Draisaitl in the playoffs in large part because Leon's injury made it difficult for him to take on the brunt of work of centering his own line but also because the duo is just so ridiculously good together. One would assume that come the start of the 22/23 season, the duo would be split up again... unless you had a second line centre come in who could provide good offense while also preventing goals against.

Enter Paul Stastny. The 36 year old is coming off of a 21 goal and 45 point season with Winnipeg. Together, he and Ehlers were a defensive bright spot for the Jets, outscoring the opposition 28-14 at 5 on 5 when they were on the ice together. Stastny has come close a few times but has never won a Stanley Cup, though he has certainly made plenty of cash. Whether Edmonton interests him or not I would be he is looking to take a one year deal on somewhere that he believes is a contender.

Stastny would give Edmonton a solid veteran second line centre, a really good third line centre, or a versatile winger they could plug anywhere in the lineup. There is plenty to like about the player if he was on a cheap one year deal.

RIKARD RAKELL

The first few players on this list fell into the category of "Vet chasing a Cup." Rakell, falls into the latter of being a good player who might not be able to capitalize in free agency this year like he had hoped. At 29, Rakell has seen some downward production in his past few seasons. After putting up consecutive 30+ goal seasons in 16/17, 17/18, the winger has struggled to even reach the 20 goal mark.

After putting up 16 goals in 51 games with the Ducks, Rakell was traded to the Penguins where he posted only 4 goals in the final 19 games and no goals in the two playoff games he appeared in before being injured. Right now I could see teams looking to pay Rakell somewhere in the 4-4.5 million dollar range in free agency instead of the 5.5+ he might have hoped for.

Playing a year with Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl as his setup man however could put him back into that conversation and attempt free agency again as a 30 year old; still plenty of time to cash in on a long term deal.

ILYA MIKHEYEV

Reports are out from Mikheyev's agent that the 27 year old forward who put up 21 goals in 53 games this season are looking for between 4.5-5.5 million on a long term deal in free agency. That seems pretty rich and while I could easily be proven wrong, I don't see teams lining up to give him that much after one good season on a career high shooting percentage.

If Mikheyev isn't getting the big pay day that he wants I could see him decide to stay in Toronto on a one year deal to prove he can do it again, or alternatively he could try to do that somewhere like in Edmonton.

Thanks for reading.

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