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Oilers Sign Defenseman Jakub Jerabek - UPDATE: 1 Year 1 Million |
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UPDATE: Jerabek deal is 1 million dollars for one year on a one way contract.
A few days ago I brought up a number of options on what the Oilers could do to replace Andrej Sekera. The Oilers top brass decided to ignore my options and went with choice D; none of the above.
Instead the Oilers opted to sign Jakub Jerabek. In the last hour I have become an expert on Jerabek (thanks Google) so allow me to share some details with you.
Jerabek has been a career European professional before being brought on by the Montreal Canadiens before being traded to the Capitals for a 5th round pick. Last season was Jerabek's first year playing North American hockey. The results were fairly strong and looking at his underlying numbers this looks to be a good safe bet by the Oilers.
It should first be mentioned but this is a very small sample size to look at with Jerabek. However what we see here is a player who looks to be effective at transporting the puck out of the defensive zone. He is not a volume shooter nor does he excel in the offensive zone but he could be a strong option on the 3rd pairing as a calm defensive zone presence. Jerabek was not used as a special teams player but I wonder if he proves to be effective if he could be another option on the PK.
It might not be the sexy big name some including myself were hoping the Oilers were gain to address the defensive woes but the math certainly supports this as a decent gamble. Likely we would see Jerabek on a 3rd pairing, likely with Kris Russell but I would first want to try Benning with Jakub. A Benning and Jakub pairing vs lesser competition could bring a strong possession backend option to the Oilers.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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