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Sekera Out Long Term With Torn Achilles

August 14, 2018, 7:58 PM ET [125 Comments]
Sean Maloughney
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT


The Oilers announced that defenseman Andrej Sekera would be out indefinitely due to a leg injury. Unless the Oilers find a way to trade for another top four defenseman they will have to lean on their current defensive depth to tread water until Sekera returns.

Meanwhile the team still has issues on the right wing as Chiarelli and company are hopping at least one of Puljujarvi, Rieder, or Rattie can solidify themselves as a top 6 option.

Wait a minute this all sounds very familiar.... almost like we went through this exact song and dance last year. Maybe it isn't a good idea to build a roster based on the hope that nothing goes wrong.

Back to the matter at hand. Sekera is out indefinitely with a torn Achilles tendon which he injured during a training session this off-season. As best as I can surmise this is a different injury than the torn ACL which left him out most of last season. Whether or not the two are related.... or even the same limb is unknown.

This is a massive loss for the Oilers. Many who suffer from short term memory will shrug this off as Sekera could not be called a factor in many games last season. However one year prior, before the team tried to rush him back from a serious injury, Andrej was the Oilers most reliable defenseman. He was one of the most effective defenders vs elite competition and was by far the best at moving the puck effectively from the defensive zone.

In a previous post I had written that Sekera was going to be a key reason the Oilers returned to the post season this year if he was able to deliver close to what he brought in the 2016/2017 season. A healthy Sekera gave the Oilers an average defense core... without him the Oilers once again have one of the defensive groups in the league.

Optimism time. With Sekera on the LTIR the Oilers now have 5.5 million of cap space relief. There are a few options that could be looked at to shore up the back end.

1.) Make a trade for a defenseman with little term left on their deal.

Justin Faulk is where this is going in case you didn't already know. Faulk has two more years left on his deal at 4.8 million before he becomes a UFA. It has been heavily rumoured that Faulk is in play, especially with the likes of Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, and van Riemsdyk. We can sit here and debate the assets needed to make such a trade happen but this is the best case scenario.

2.) Bring back Brandon Davidson

#BringbackDavy has been going around Twitter since the news broke. Davidson has been a mixed bag during his several tenures with the team. He is familiar with the coach and systems and could step in as a cheap option on the third pairing.

3.) Look at current free agents.

Let's see we have Sbisa, Garrison, Emelin..... we could bring Mark Fayne back guys.

4. Hope Bear or Bouchard is ready

Bear and Bouchard could be key members of the Oilers in the future therefore they should be developed correctly... however if panic is on the rise I would not be the slightest bit surprised if we saw one of these players full time next year.

This is some of the worst news for Oilers fans at this time. In order to make the post season the team needed many of the things that went wrong last year to not happen.... but with Sekera out, the wing depth in question, and fear on what the GM will do next, we are well on our way to this season going alot like the last.
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